By Demion McTair Updated 2:07 a.m., Wednesday, 8 April 2020, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4)
Kingstown (ON SVG) – Thirty two people who will complete a 14-day quarantine today will still be tested for Covid-19, even though “they have no symptoms whatsoever”, Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves said in Parliament Tuesday.
The persons came into St. Vincent and the Grenadines on March 25.
Dr. Gonsalves said “but because of certain peculiar circumstances, CARPHA, at the request of the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) has agreed to have those persons tested out of an abundance of caution”.
“It doesn’t say that those persons have Covid” -Dr. Gonsalves said.
“We are trying to protect everybody and if you read the literature about asymptomatic persons and because of the particular cluster from the source, I would have thought that the public health authorities, the CMO is dealing with this matter very sensibly. It does not mean that any of those persons whose samples are sent down is presumed to have Covid-19, and we’ll see when the test comes” – Dr. Gonsalves added.
The Prime Minister cautioned against “spreading panic” and said “let us deal with this matter in a responsible way”.
As of April 7, 2020, St. Vincent and the Grenadines has recorded eight confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19).
