St. George’s: December 27, 2020:
The Ministry of Health announces the confirmation of twelve (12) new cases of COVID-19 in Grenada.
Six (6) of the cases are imported.
Those individuals arrived in Grenada in the last week, went directly into quarantine and tested positive on day four.
The other six individuals are locals who are connected to the previously reported cluster.
All are in quarantine and are asymptomatic or exhibiting very mild symptoms.
As challenging as the last two weeks have been, health officials are encouraged that the number of positive cases has not spiraled out of control in a manner that overwhelms the health care system.
In fact, as new positive individuals are added to the case count, a number of other individuals are being medically cleared, thus resulting in a decreasing active case count.
The current number of active cases is forty-six (46).
Understanding the demands of the holiday season with the influx of travellers, as well as the local epidemiological situation, laboratory technicians worked through the Christmas holidays to test hundreds of exposed or potentially exposed locals and travellers who came into Grenada for the holiday season and needed to clear quarantine.
In addition to those, hundreds of other individuals also had to be retested to ascertain their true status, or to be medically cleared after their incubation period.
It has been, and continues to be a challenge, but the laboratory technicians and the team at the Health Desk continue to work assiduously to prove themselves equal to the task, testing and working to deliver results in as timely a manner as possible.
The Ministry continues to solicit the patience of the public, as well as its cooperation, as officials work to address every aspect of this current health challenge.
Through all the work done over the Christmas holidays, and with the compliance and sacrifices of most of the population, there were still reports of several individuals, families, and businesses disregarding the rules for social gatherings, physical distancing and the wearing of masks in public spaces.
Already stretched resources had to be deployed to address those reports of non- compliance, which put us all at enhanced risk for contracting COVID-19.
Again, the Ministry implores the support of the public, as together, we battle this deadly disease. No one wants a situation in which today’s flouting of the rules results in a spike in cases tomorrow-or worse, any resultant loss of lives stemming from careless and selfish behaviour.
The Ministry of Health also appeals for all to work together to contain the virus, so that we can all look forward to the day when the traditions of the holiday season, and every other season of the years to come, will once more be celebrated freely.
