- St Vincent Records 89 COVID Cases in July
On St. Vincent (SVG), there has been an uptick in COVID-19 cases, with the island recording 89 cases in July 2024. According to Gonsalves, there have been 125 COVID cases reported so far for 2024.
Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves made this information public on Sunday. Health officials announced on Friday that there was an outbreak of dengue fever on the island, with 119 confirmed cases.
“We have recently experienced two COVID deaths: one on the 1st of August, involving an 87-year-old individual, and another on the 2nd of August, involving an elderly individual staying at Lewis Punnett at home. Additionally, we have identified 12 COVID cases in shelters.”
According to Gonsalves, authorities are testing, and as soon as a person exhibits a symptom, they remove them from the shelter and treat them differently.
“You don’t want someone in the shelter spreading it.” Gonsalves said it is concerning for health officials. However, there has been a general increase in COVID cases both in the region and throughout the hemisphere.
Gonsalves said health authorities are encouraging people to be vaccinated.
“Naturally, there are vaccines; persons may take vaccines; if they don’t want to take the vaccine, that’s fine. But we encourage them to take the vaccine; obviously, at least the health authorities do.”
There are currently no restrictions in place regarding notification or advisories for individuals who are traveling.
“There have been public health notices for persons to know that there’s an uptick in COVID cases and to do your usual social distancing and be careful. I for instance went to the hospital to see two people a day in the week, and I made sure that I got a mask.”
“Given what we went through with COVID and how we dealt with it, not that anybody is more relaxed about it, but we have a better understanding and experience of the virus, and therefore people must be very careful to protect themselves,” Gonsalves said.
