Friday, March 29, 2024
spot_img
HomeLatest NewsSt Lucia records six deaths and the continuance of low COVID-19 testing

St Lucia records six deaths and the continuance of low COVID-19 testing

By Caribbean News Global contributor

CASTRIES, St Lucia – The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Monday reported five new COVID-19 deaths and one new COVID-19 related death in addition to 75 new cases of COVID-19 processed Sunday, January 23, 2022, from a total of 226 samples. And according to the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Sharon Belmar-George, “this week [today is Monday] although daily cases continue to be high, the seven-day average approximation suggests a leveling off pointing to the plateau in the epidemiological curve. We are beginning to see reductions in some of the public health indicators.” 

[Collected and processed samples are well below the ability to test up to 2,000 persons in one day.]

US Department of State issues Level 4: Do not travel, advisory on St Lucia

The MOH reporting method on January 24, said:

“Confirmation was also received of the recovery of 136 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19. This brings the number of active cases in the country to date to 4, 166. Currently, there are 52 positive cases of COVID-19 admitted at the respiratory hospital, of which six of them are severely ill. To date, the total number of COVID-19 deaths in the country is 251 and the total number of COVID-19 related deaths is 73. A total of 50, 908 individuals have been fully vaccinated. Another 6, 029 are partially vaccinated and 5, 892 have received their booster shot.”

In a separate communication Monday, January 24, 2022, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Sharon Belmar-George, narrated:

Saint Lucia has diagnosed a total of 19,680 cases in the country, with 4,233 active cases presently. The daily infection rate for the last 7 days is 164.4 per 100,000 population per day which represents a 10 percent reduction from last week, with a 39 percent average testing positivity rate and a transmission rate of 3.1. We have noted a total of 318 COVID-19 deaths,” the CMO continued: We have 53 positive cases admitted at the respiratory hospital, 1 case is critically ill and 5 are severely ill.

“Since the commencement of the 5th wave on December 16, 2021, 6,551 cases have been diagnosed with an average of 172 cases per day. Women account for 59 percent of the COVID-19 cases; 22 COVID-19 deaths have been recorded of which 59 percent of those are males. Tourists account for 2 percent of the cases diagnosed for the past 7 days. The prevalence increase is noted both in the northern and southern regions of the island,” the CMO recounted.

“Saint Lucia has not yet received gene sequencing results from the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA). Although we suspect the presents of the Omicron variant which is characterized, for the high levels of transmissions, and we still have the Delta variant in circulation locally,” the CMO advised. “The high number of COVID-19 cases on a daily basis noted at this point has the capacity to increase hospitalizations, deaths and productivity in the workplace. We appeal to all organizations, public and private sector to ensure the strengthening of all public health protocols.”

spot_img
RELATED ARTICLES

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

spot_img
spot_img
spot_img

Caribbean News

Omdia: Global semiconductor supply chain set to see growth in 2024 as GenAI demand increases 

LONDON, England - New research from Omdia has revealed that the global semiconductor supply chain is forecasted to reach approximately $600 billion by 2024, having navigated through strategic inventory...

Global News

New Commonwealth network to support knowledge exchange on medicines and vaccine procurement

LONDON, England - Officials attending the inaugural meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Procurement Network (HOPN) have underscored the importance of supporting countries to...