SVG now has 13 active COVID-19 cases, all imported from high risk countries

St Vincent and the Grenadines on Thursday recorded three new COVID-19 cases, bringing the number of new cases for the week to seven.

Two of the new cases are returning nationals who arrived with negative RT-PCR test results from the United States on Saturday December 5, tested negative on entry screening, then positive on day 5 testing for SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19.

The third case is an American national who also arrived on Saturday December 5 from the USA with a negative RT-PCR test result, tested negative on entry screening and then positive on day 5 testing.

The adult travelers were in mandatory quarantine and will be isolated until cleared by two negative tests. Contact tracing and testing have commenced.

Earlier this week, SVG recorded four new COVID-19 cases, two from Canada and two from the United States. All four cases arrived in SVG on Monday December 7 and tested positive on entry screening for SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19.

St Vincent and the Grenadines has now recorded a total of 94 COVID-19 cases, 81 of which have recovered. There are now 13 active COVID-19 cases, all imported from countries categorized as high risk.

“The increased rate of the occurrence of positive cases in travelers to St Vincent and the Grenadines over the last four weeks is associated with the major increase in cases in the USA, Canada and to a lesser extent the UK. All protocols must be followed to reduce the risk of the introduction and subsequent spread of new COVID-19 cases in St. Vincent and the Grenadines,” a release from the National Emergency Management Organization said.