The British Virgin Islands is experiencing a number of persistent positive COVID-19 cases with some 100 already reported and have also recorded several cases of long-COVID in some patients.
This is according to the National Epidemiologist Harmony Brewley-Massiah who made the statement during a recent COVID-19 panel discussion.
She said these persistent positive cases continue to shed viral loads even after the two-week quarantine period and in some cases have had to quarantine for more than one month.
“We have had a number of persistent positives, estimating so far last count about 100 persons out of our cases and these are persons who continue to shed after the 14-day quarantine period. Now some of these persons do still have symptoms and obviously we will extend the quarantine period if they’re still showing symptoms and we will continue to test them to see if they are recovering or coming close to the threshold that we deem as negative,” she stated.
“If they have been asymptomatic and their threshold is the region that we would deem noninfectious – and this is by global standards – we would then release them. And these are people who have been in quarantine for over 14-days, sometimes up to 35 days and they’re still showing positive,” she further stated.
Psychologically affecting some patients
The health professional also said that these unique situations can lead to high levels of stress for some individuals, impacting them psychologically.
“That doesn’t just have legal and ethical implications, but it also has psychological implications on a person who has to remain in quarantine for this period of time. So we do have to take all of that into account when we make our decisions whether or not to release these persons and even after we release these persons we do still cycle back to them to see whether or not they show any symptoms, because if they do, it could mean a resurgence, it could mean that maybe it went dormant and then flared back up because we have seen reports,” she explained.
Cases of Long-COVID
Meanwhile, Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ronald Georges made the disclosure that the territory has also been experiencing several cases of long-COVID.
Long-COVID can be described as symptoms continuing for more than 12 weeks after an infection – severe or mild – which can’t be explained by another cause.
“We have seen in the BVI here persons who have cleared and then they still have these chronic symptoms – it might be a cough, shortness of breath, chronic fatigue, headaches. There was an interesting one about shocking sensation in the eyes, they’re people who’ve had tinnitus or ringing in the ear or loss of hearing, so there is a wide range of symptomatology we have seen post-COVID in the BVI and lasting for several months as well,” Dr. Georges stated.
Brewley-Massiah also broke down the two categories of long-COVID and spoke on the type that the BVI has been battling.
“We have seen in the BVI here persons who have cleared and then they still have these chronic symptoms – it might be a cough, shortness of breath, chronic fatigue, headaches. There was an interesting one about shocking sensation in the eyes, they’re people who’ve had tinnitus or ringing in the ear or loss of hearing, so there is a wide range of symptomatology we have seen post-COVID in the BVI and lasting for several months as well,” stated the national epidemiologist.