(CMC)— St Lucia has recorded nine cases of the Delta variant of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as Suriname and Jamaica continue to record deaths linked to the virus.
The St Lucia Ministry of Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs, said that it had received confirmation of the Delta variant here from the Trinidad-based the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA).
“All of the cases are nationals, the majority from Castries and Gros-Islet. Five of them are female, four males and the ages range from 18 to 60 years,” the ministry said, adding that it continues to manage the fourth wave of the virus.
According to the ministry, from July 25 to September 26, the island has recorded 5,703 cases at an average of 91 cases per day.
“During that period we note 94 COVID-19 deaths with a case fatality rate of 1.6 per cent. Females account for 53 per cent of the deaths. The average age of the deaths is 66 years.”
The ministry said that based on contact tracing data, the majority of the Delta variant cases are acquired from non-adherence to recommended protocols.
“We note excessive social activity especially on weekends even during curfew hours. The contact tracing team has informed of positive cases providing false contact information, withholding their place of employment and contacts.
“This prevents us from tracing and testing in a timely manner. The Respiratory Hospital also reports that many persons remain at home with respiratory signs and symptoms for extended periods and only access care at the critical stage which leads to poor outcomes,” it added.
The health authorities here said they were urging the public “to work with us and exhibit responsible behaviour to manage this fourth wave.
“Let us all take personal responsibility to keep ourselves and families safe. At present we have available both the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccine free of charge in-country at the various wellness centres. These vaccines have been proven to be safe and effective in protecting persons from developing COVID-19, its severe forms, complications, hospitalizations and death.”
Meanwhile, the authorities are reporting 19 confirmed cases of the virus from a total of 90 samples which were collected between September 25 and 26.
The ministry said that this number of positive cases bring the total number of cases diagnosed in-country to date to 11,250.
It said confirmation was also received of the recovery of 720 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19. This brings the number of active cases in-country to 1469. Two individuals are in critical state while 11 others are severely ill at the Respiratory Hospital.
In Suriname, while 153 positive corona cases were added over the past 24 hours, six people have died from the effects of COVID-19.
Suriname has had a number of 861 deaths and 40,476 infections since March 2020. There have been 26,881 recoveries. There are 113 people in the various hospitals, 19 of whom are in the Intensive Care units. Thirty-two people are in isolation.
