Today the British Virgin Islands received unwelcomed news; another person has tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total to 7 confirmed cases.
The announcement was made today by Deputy Premier and Minister of Health and Social Development, Honorable Carvin Malone who said “over the course of the past week, as per the protocol established, twenty-one (21) samples from the British Virgin Islands were sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency in Trinidad for testing and confirmation. I am reporting that while 20 of the samples were tested as NEGATIVE there exist ONE of the samples that was confirmed as positive for the virus that causes COVID-19.”
The health Minister further confirmed that Case #7 number was linked to a previous case and had initially tested negative but remained in quarantine because of the incubation period of the virus.
In summary, the territory now has a total of 132 persons that were tested, with 125 deemed negative, 7 deemed positive, 3 cases recovered, 3 active cases and there remains 13 persons currently in quarantine.
The Health Minster further said that it is safe to say that the Ministry of Health’s case finding, contact tracing, monitoring and quarantine efforts are achieving the intended result of reducing your risk of exposure to active cases of COVID-19.
He said” these efforts have been aided tremendously by your compliance with the curfew, social distancing, hygiene and sanitization measures implemented over the past weeks. By doing our part each of us continue to assist in interrupting the transmission of the virus. As the phased internal re-opening of the Territory continues to be rolled out and as we prepare to reopen our borders, it is more important than ever for all of us to continue to do our part to keep the risk of transmission of the virus to a minimum.”
Persons exhibiting any symptoms fever, cough, headache, fatigue, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, muscle aches, or difficulty breathing are reminded and encouraged to call the Health Hotline at 852-7650.
This announcement follows Government’s decision to soften the curfew from Sunday, May 10th. The new curfew will fall between 7pm to 6 am daily, allowing for businesses to open for longer periods.