Statement by Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sharon Belmar-George:
This afternoon Tuesday November 10, 2020 the Ministry of Health received confirmation of six new cases of COVID-19. This brings the total number of cases diagnosed in country to date to 148.
Case #143 is a 47 year old male from the Micoud district
Case #144 is a 32 year old female from the Castries district
Case #145 is a 40 year old female from the Vieux-Fort district
Case #146 is a 69 year old male from the Castries district
Case #147 is a 59 year old male from the Gros-Islet district
Case #148 is a 40 year old male from the Laborie district
Case #143 was in care in hospital for health complications during which time he was tested for COVID-19. He died earlier today and is Saint Lucia’s first recorded COVID-19 death.
The remaining five individuals presented at a health facility where they were assessed and tested for COVID-19. They were placed in quarantine while awaiting their test results. At this point, the contact tracing team has been unable to establish an epidemiological link of these six cases to any of our prior cases, but investigations are on-going. As per protocol, these individual have been placed in isolation.
An additional four recoveries were recorded this afternoon bringing the number of active cases currently in country to 101. At present, there are two COVID-19 cases in critical care and all other active cases remain stable.
The Ministry of Health takes this opportunity to once again emphasize the importance of:
- frequent hand washing or the use of an alcohol-based hand sanitizer
- wearing of a face mask which covers both the nose and mouth
- maintain a six foot physical separation from others
- seek medical care if experiencing respiratory symptoms
- avoid contact with people who are experiencing respiratory symptoms
The Ministry of Health and Wellness will continue providing updates as new information becomes available.
For more information please contact the Office of the Chief Medical Officer or the Epidemiology Unit, at 468-5309/468-5317 respectively.
