Basseterre, St. Kitts, December 30, 2021 (SKNIS): Health authorities in St. Kitts and Nevis are implementing best practices from the tremendous success of managing previous waves of the COVID-19 virus and will follow updated guidelines in dealing with the fourth wave.
Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr. Hazel Laws, shared the news of the start of the fourth wave on Thursday, December 30, 2021, at an emergency COVID-19 briefing of the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC). She also shared that the Omicron variant is present in the Federation.
However, there is no evidence at this time to indicate that the rise in cases is fuelled by the highly transmissible variant.
CMO Laws said that statistics suggest that the fourth wave began last week on Christmas Eve – December 24. Fourteen positive cases of COVID-19 were reported on that day. Confirmed daily cases were detected, which jumped to 41 yesterday, Wednesday, December 29, 2021.
“When we look at this past week starting last Thursday to present, we’ve added 103 newly diagnosed cases of COVID-19 to our tally,” Dr. Laws reported. The number is 85 cases higher than the previous week.
The Chief Medical Officer urged residents to always wear a facemask when in public, frequently sanitize hands, maintain physical distance from others and boost one’s own immune system by eating fruits and vegetables, taking nutritional supplements and exercising regularly.
Residents are reminded that the best protection against COVID-19 is to get vaccinated. All health centres in St. Kitts and Nevis offer a COVID-19 jab from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. during weekdays. The Newtown Health Centre in St. Kitts is opening on two days over the long weekend to facilitate persons wishing to get vaccinated or to receive a booster shot. The centre opens on Sunday, January 02, 2022, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and again on Monday, January 03 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.