US Agency Says COVID-19 Risk In Saint Lucia ‘Low’, Puts Island At Level 1

The United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has upgraded Saint Lucia to Watch Level -1, asserting that the country’s COVID-19 risk is low.

“New cases are decreasing or stable,” the US health protection agency asserted in its latest Travel Health Notice for this country on its official website.

According to the CDC, over the last 28 days, new cases of COVID-19 in Saint Lucia decreased or stabilized.

However it recommends  that older adults, people of any age with certain underlying medical conditions, and others at increased risk for severe illness talk to their health care providers before traveling to Saint Lucia.

On March 27, 2020, the CDC had issued a Level 3 Global COVID-19 Pandemic Notice advising against all nonessential international travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The agency bases its Travel Health Notice  risk assessment on two sets of criteria.

The primary one relates to virus transmission within a destination and the second has to do with  health care capacity and public health infrastructure within a destination.

Earlier this month Health Minister Mary Isaac asserted that local officials were baffled when the CDC asserted that the risk of COVID-19 in Saint Lucia was high and recommended that all non-essential international travel here be avoided.

At the time Saint Lucia was placed at warning level 3 – the highest, which is considered high risk.

Level 2 is deemed to be moderate risk, whereas level one – the status Saint Lucia currently occupies, is described as low risk where travellers are advised to practice usual precautions.

Saint Lucia’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Sharon Belmar-George, Monday  disclosed that to date, a total of 5,138 COVID-19 tests have been conducted here out of which 26 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been recorded.

She disclosed that of these 26 cases, 25 have fully recovered.

“The last case, which was recorded on Tuesday, August 18, 2020, is a repatriated national who is presently in care and stable at the Respiratory Hospital,” Belmar-George explained.