In today’s official Dominica update, it was reported that the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases remains at 16. The last confirmed COVID-19 test result was obtained on April 7, fourteen days ago. To date, a total of 377 persons have been tested and 152 contacts have been identified and cleared. Nine COVID-19 patients have recovered and are being monitored by primary health care providers in their communities. There are 7 active COVID-19 cases, and thirteen persons are currently housed at the government run quarantine facility.
National Epidemiologist, Dr. Shalauddin Ahmed said, “We are still in phase 3 of the outbreak, meaning transmission is still in the form of clusters of cases.” He indicated that the next step in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic is to implement community-based surveys to detect asymptomatic carriers. Dr. Ahmed further stated, “We can safely say that so far we have flattened the curve in Dominica.” This he attributed to social distancing measures and the widespread testing capacity of the Ministry of Health, Wellness and New Health Investment. The public was urged not to become complacent and to follow all protocols for preventing further spread of COVID-19. These include practicing good hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette, social distancing and wearing of face masks.
Director of Primary Health Care, Dr. Laura Esprit urged the public to remain vigilant in the fight against COVID-19. She informed the public that the last confirmed COVID-19 patient was an atypical case in that this patient tested positive for the virus though the patient was asymptomatic. This highlights the difficulty in identifying carriers who are asymptomatic and tracing contacts of these carriers.
A state of emergency is currently in effect until May 11, 2020 which allows for curfew between 6 pm and 6 am Monday to Friday and a total lockdown on weekends from 6 pm on Friday to 6 am on Monday.
For more information on Dominica and to keep up with the official Dominica update, contact Discover Dominica Authority at 767 448 2045. Or visit Dominica’s official website: www.DiscoverDominica.com, follow Dominica on Twitter and Facebook and take a look at our videos on YouTube.
