The Ministry of Health and Wellness continues managing COVID-19 cases in country. A total of 5, 180 cases have been diagnosed in country from March 2020 to present and we have had 79 deaths. Over the last 14 days 91 new cases were noted and we have 97 active cases in country. The daily infection rate for the past week was 3.2 per 100,000 per day and an average of 6 cases per day. The majority of the cases continue to be seen in the southern region of the island and Babonneau and Gros-Islet in the north. We continue to manage outbreaks emanating from social activities.

The Ministry of Health and Wellness notes a reduction in the total number of diagnosed cases over the last few weeks. We also note the reduced number of persons with respiratory illness, reduced admissions at the Respiratory Hospital and reduced numbers accessing care at the clinics. We continue surveillance and testing on a daily basis, and strengthening the necessary public health systems to manage at this point.

The Ministry of Health and Wellness has recently received new results from CARPHA in relation to gene sequencing for Variants of Concern. We have noted 19 more cases of the British Variant (B.1.1.7) in country bringing the total number of British Variants diagnosed in country to 41. All of the new cases are nationals. The majority of the variants are from Babonneau, Gros-Islet and Castries. The samples sent to CARPHA are sequenced to detect all possible variants, but the British Variant is the only one which has been detected in Saint Lucia thus far.

We would like to alert the public that we are still in a vulnerable position based on the high risk of introduction of COVID-19 and the other Variants of Concern from the developed countries and neighboring Martinique and transmission in country due to poor compliance to protocols. We note the increase in social activities across the island especially on weekends and the general relaxation of the public health measures.

We continue to advise the public to remain vigilant, adhere to the protocols that are put in place to keep us safe. These include regular hand washing, use of face mask in public places, avoiding crowds and persons with respiratory symptoms and keeping frequently touched surfaces clean.

Vaccination remains the most effective public health measure in managing infectious diseases. The Astra Zeneca vaccine has been proven to be safe and effective in protecting persons from developing COVID-19, its severe forms, complications, hospitalizations and death. We continue to urge the public to access the various sites to get immunized at the soonest. The vaccine is available free of charge to the public at many venues on a daily basis. As of yesterday, June13, 2021 a total of 29,655 persons have received the first dose of the COVID19 vaccine and 20,589 have received the second dose of the vaccine. Encourage your family and friends to get immunized so we can all be protected.

The Ministry of Health and Wellness will continue providing updates to the public 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.