No new COVID-19 cases in Saint Lucia: 124 negative tests received but CMO urges members of the public to be vigilant

As of October 27, the number of active COVID-19 cases in Saint Lucia is 36. On Tuesday, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sharon Belmar-George reported that a total of 124 negative test results were received yesterday. Sixty-three cases have been recorded to date, with 27 recoveries and zero deaths. Of the 63 confirmed cases, 18 were imported cases and 45, local. Over 10,000 tests have been conducted.

Dr. Belmar-George noted that there are a number of factors which put the country at risk for community transmission. They include:
-the high incidence of COVID in tourism markets
-the illegal entry at the ports
-breaches to home quarantine
-the non adherence to protocols in terms of the use of masks, physical distancing and hand washing

She added: “And the other issue which I have to point out which we have been seeing quite a bit of in the last few weeks, is the fact that people are symptomatic, they go to work, they go to the banks, they go to the stores, they’re in public places. This is a serious issue which we have encountered over the last 2 weeks.”

The CMO urged Saint Lucians: “We need for every single person to be vigilant in terms of somebody coming to work, coming to schools, coming to the bank with a bad cough or with fever, or being sick. This really puts us at high risk for transmission.”

Following the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, the government announced that all educational institutions will remain closed until November 8, and that all social activities and events are restricted to no more than 50 persons.

6:50 pm UPDATE: Saint Lucia has since recorded 2 new cases: https://stluciastar.com/saint-lucia-records-two-new-covid-19-cases-number-of-active-cases-now-at-38/