Christmas season non-compliance a factor in Covid spike – PM Gonsalves

One of the factors that the health authorities assess as a cause for the huge spike in Covid-19 is a general non-adherence by the population to public health advice during the Christmas season.

Speaking in an address to the nation on Monday, January 17, Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves revealed that the raw data on Covid-19 tell a worrying story.

Between the date of the first recorded Covid-19 positive case, March 11, 2020, and December 27, 2020, the country recorded 110 positive PCR tests. These were either import cases or import related: 97 entry positives; 6 import-related positives; and 7 exit screen positives.

However, between December 28, 2020, and January 17, 2021, there have been 384 positives. Most of these positives, 357, were cases with no travel history.

This number has since increased, and as at Wednesday, January 20, there are 464 cases under investigation.

Why this increase in positive COVID-19 cases from 110 in the first 9 Ω months (March 11 to December 27, 2020) to 384 positives in less than three weeks between December 28, 2020, and now? the Prime Minister asked rhetorically.

The advice given to him by the health authorities is that the spiral may be attributed to a few factors.

These are, Recurrent breaches in the quarantine protocols; increased arrivals by air for the Christmas-New Year season; numerous social gatherings, including family gatherings, of varying sizes during the festive season; and a general non-adherence by the population to public health advice regarding the spread of COVID-19.