(Press Release) – St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) on Saturday, January 9, 2020, confirmed 19 new COVID-19 cases, 18 of which are nationals without a recent travel history.
In a release, the National Emergency Management Organization – NEMO said that one of the new cases is a national who arrived from the USA on December 10, 2020, with a negative PCR test and tested negative on both entry and day 5 quarantine testing. The adult, however, tested positive on exit screening on January 5, 2021.
The release stated that all of the 18 other new cases are nationals without a recent travel history. The total number of cases under investigation is now 99. There are five distinct clusters and several cases which have not been linked. Contact tracing, further linking and testing related to all of these local cases are ongoing.
SVG has now recorded 225 cases of COVID-19. One hundred and six persons have recovered and 119 remain active. All positive cases will continue to be isolated until cleared by two negative tests.
Due to the extensive testing being conducted as part of contact tracing and the screening of persons with flu-like symptoms, there is currently a backlog of approximately 400 COVID-19 tests awaiting analysis, the release stated.
Advisory On Scheduling Of Covid-19 PCR Exit Tests
The Health Services Sub-committee in collaboration with the Molecular Lab Unit of the Laboratory Services of the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment on January 9 advised the public of the following relative to the scheduling of COVID-19 PCR exit tests:
The COVID-19 Task Force will not schedule appointments for sample taking (swab taking) for COVID-19 PCR exit tests if the result is required less than 72 hours after the date of the appointment.
The Stewards Office of the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital will not collect fees for COVID-19 PCR exit test results required less than 72 hours from the date of the appointment.
Results for COVID-19 PCR exit tests can only be collected at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital Lab.
- Requests for scheduling of COVID-19 PCR exit testing must be made via email to coronavirustaskforcesvg@gmail.com at least five (5) days before the required test.
One News St.Vincent 