By: Spokesman Newsroom
BASSETERRE, St.Kitts (Wednesday 22nd April 2020) — Nearly one month since the Federation of St. Kitts-Nevis recorded its first two cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19), two out of the 15 patients have reportedly beaten the illness, but there are no further details about these individuals as the authorities have stopped sharing certain particulars.
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Hazel Laws shared the “good news” about the first patient but said positive cases will continue to increase. “This afternoon, I have good news. We have one confirmed case who has recovered with zero deaths to date.”
Public Relations Officer of NEOC Dr. Marissa Carty gave follow-up updates highlighting that 260 samples were tested with 15 cases positive, 233 confirmed negative and 12 results pending. Additionally, 1 person was quarantined at a government facility with 106 quarantined at home, while 633 persons had been released from quarantine.
“I want to remind us that we are still in the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak here in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis. Please note that our numbers will continue to increase with the numbers of continued cases reaching a peak. Subsequently, these numbers will then decrease. However, based on the evidence, this decrease will take place at a much slower rate,” Dr. Laws commented.
Medical Chief of Staff Dr. Cameron Wilkinson explained the policy on patient privacy: “Here, in this very small environment that we live, people know persons and so when you give a significant amount of information as it relates to the race, the age, the gender, persons have been tracking down persons and doing some of the worst things that you’d not expect people to be doing in an epidemic like this; putting persons’ pictures on Facebook etc.”