By Caribbean News Global contributor
CASTRIES, St Lucia – Following uncertainty and the assumption by the Ministry of Health (MOH) communications strategy and approach that, “the commencement of the current fifth wave has been approximated to be around December 16, 2021” and not knowing scientifically if Omicron is on the island, suggested that an “unknown virus/agent” dramatically redefined the COVID-19 surge in Saint Lucia, on Tuesday, February 1, MOH reported to have “ received the gene sequencing results from the Caribbean Public Health Agency CARPHA. The results indicated 14 new cases of variants of concern.”
The MOH press release said: “The Omicron variant was confirmed in 13 of the samples sequenced and 1 case of the Delta variant. Of the 13 cases of Omicron diagnosed 11 of them are nationals and 2 are non-nationals, 2 are male and 11 are female.
The MOH also tardily forward the assumption, the reads: ”Based on epidemiological patterns it appears that the Omicron variant may be the dominant variant circulating during this fifth wave. This justifies the high rate of transmission within the communities and workplaces.”
On January 31, Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Sharon Belmar-George, summarized a total of 20, 909 cases in the country, with 4,096 active cases presently.
“The daily infection rate for the last 7 days is 94.9 per 100,000 population per day which represents a 43 percent reduction from last week, with a 44 percent average testing positivity rate and a transmission rate of 2.9.
“We have recorded a total of 325 COVID-19 deaths. Since the commencement of the fifth wave on December 16, 2021, 7,780 cases have been diagnosed with an average of 173 cases per day.
“Women account for 59 percent of the cases and 29 COVID-19 deaths have been recorded 55 percent of which is male. The majority of the deaths are COVID-19 related due to other associated chronic health conditions. Tourists account for 2 percent of the cases diagnosed for the past 7 days but 4.8 percent of the total cases during the fifth wave.”
[Collected and processed samples are well below the ability to test up to 2,000 persons in one day.] However, says the CMO: “We note reductions in most of the public health indicators.”
More Confused, wrote on social media:
“I am so confused. It’s only Tuesday (no Monday’s result as yet) and you are already comparing weeks? I do not see the downtrend. It plateau at over 200 which is very high. The percentage infected to the number of tests is still in the 30s. Let us wait to see what the weekend brought. There are a few friends who have had symptoms and never got tested.”
Notwithstanding the analysis and data presented by the CMO to arrive at “suppositions” that “has perhaps guided the science to policymaking and the management of COVID-19” consists of what can be termed “false positives – a false flag of the actual situation”.
The response rendered to COVID-19 on the island demands an uptake in the organization required to ensure the strengthening of public health response and management services.
According to the MOH, January 31, reporting: “A total of 51, 231 individuals have been fully vaccinated. Another 5, 947 are partially vaccinated and 6, 183 have received their booster shot.”
