By: (HMP), Press Release
July 20th, 2021 — As of July 20, 2021, fifty-five (55) residents at Her Majesty’s Prison and six (6) members of staff have fully recovered from the COVID-19 virus. They were given the all-clear by health officials after having two negative tests recently. Currently, there is one (1) resident and eleven (11) members of staff who are still considered active cases.
They are all in a stable condition at this time and the members of staff who are still positive remain in isolation. Personnel and residents at the Prison Farm in Nevis were tested twice after being exposed to a member of staff with the virus and both tests were negative.
Following an outbreak in the Prison in St. Kitts in June, the management team moved quickly to put several measures in place to protect the health of residents and staff members who were not affected. The measures proved effective in drastically slowing the spread of the virus. Commissioner of Corrections Terrance James and his team divided the cell block down the middle with a partition and put affected residents in isolation on one side.
To facilitate full recovery, those who test positive are given additional supplements, encouraged to exercise, and are also taken outside for fresh air and sunlight. They are visited regularly by the Prison doctor. Cells were sanitised to allow for recovered residents to move out of the isolation area. Where necessary, staff members are equipped with protective personal equipment (PPE) which was acquired with the assistance of the Ministry of Health.
Commissioner of Corrections James continues to work closely with Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Hazel Laws, and the Chairman of the National COVID-19 Task Force, Abdias Samuel, to monitor the situation at HMP and to address any issues that might arise. Personnel and residents are still being encouraged to get vaccinated. To date, just over 70 percent of staff and approximately 50 percent of residents have been vaccinated.
