Prime Minister Gaston Browne on his radio show over the weekend called for Antiguans and Barbudans to be even more vigilant and continue to comply with the covid protocols in the upcoming weeks.
This call stems as health officials have indicated that with the Christmas holiday approaching and travel around the world increasing the levels of contracting the virus will be increased as well.
Already flights have been increasing this month and PM Browne is certain that with the increased numbers the increased risk of a covid spread is possible.
“If we become complacent with this extremely meniscing disease we may see a reversal of the gains we would have achieved in the last several months. We have to credit the population for their level of compliance and I want to make it abundantly clear that the level of compliance should be greater because the risk at this time is greater,” Browne said.
He noted that with the latest occurrences around the world more so the country’s main tourism market- the United States, no one should become relaxed despite the low number of active cases Antigua and Barbuda has.
“I believe most citizens and residents would see what is happening around the world, the United States which is one of our biggest source markets is experiencing a rise in covid cases, hospitalizations and deaths. In fact, the US hospital system is now becoming overwhelmed and it seems the only thing that can stop this situation going forward is the vaccine but it may take the United States several months to effectively immunize a large portiin of the population.
At the end of the day we are dependent on their citizens to travel here and if you have an increase in the prevalence of covid in the US then evidently the possiblity and probability of importing cases from the US will increase so we have to anticipate an increase in covid cases.
We haved to also anticipate that the covid cases that we are likely to import during the winter season they weill be far more devastating, far more potent, in fact, individuals are expected to have a higher viral load and in that case the disease could become even more menacing that it has been in the last several months.
So, those of us who believe that covid is mild because we have mostly cases in the last several months I think we are going to see a completely different situation within the next two months. This will require greater vigilance. We cannot over emphasize the need for us to become even more vigilant during this period.”
The most recent reports received by the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment from the Mount St. John’s Medical Center (MSJMC)and the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) have revealed two new laboratory confirmed COVID-19 cases in Antigua and Barbuda as of Saturday 5th December 2020 at 6pm.
Sixty (60) samples were processed at the Mount St. John’s Medical Center’s Laboratory and twenty-one (21) at the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) which increased the pending results from zero to eighty-one (81).
Of the sixty (60) samples processed by MSJMC, fifty-nine (59) were negative with one repeat positive while the twenty-one (21) samples processed by CARPHA, nineteen (19) were negative and two (2) positive.
Meanwhile, one new recovered case has been recorded bringing that total to one hundred and thirty-four (134).
Consequently, the total number of persons with laboratory confirmed COVID-19 cases in Antigua and Barbuda remains at one hundred and forty-six (146) with eight (8) active cases.
