National epidemiologist, Dr. Shallaudin Ahmed, revealed that the active number of COVID-19 cases in Dominica remains at two. Before the discovery of the latest two cases, 18 people had been infected by the pandemic and they were all treated and cured of the disease before their discharge. After nearly three months, two fresh cases were discovered last week, bringing the total number of cases to 20.
Dr. Ahmed disclosed that the two recent cases are not symptomatic in any way, but they are undergoing treatment at a government facility. He added that officials of the Ministry of Health had commenced on contact tracing, and that 39 people that related with the two asymptomatic patients have been identified. They have all been tested, and 22 confirmed negative, while the results of the remaining 17 are still being awaited.
The epidemiologist said a total of 2,077 people had been tested for COVID-19 in Dominica, and 2,057 tested negative to the disease.
Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Dr. Carissa Etienne, commended the government of Dominica for effectively managing the pandemic, but added that extra caution must be applied against new cases since the borders of the country have been reopened.
“We know that countries that depend on tourism cannot remain closed indefinitely,” she said. “But as they reopen, they must use all the resources available to reduce risk for their population. Dominica used its longstanding primary healthcare approach and its well established first level of care to promote and support public health measures, ensuring aggressive contact tracing, quarantine, case identification and isolation,” Etienne said the pandemic is still raging in other countries that prematurely reopened their economy and borders, and warned that the government must deploy all resources to ensure that this is not witnessed in Dominica. She stated that a second wave of the disease could be more deadly, and no government protective of its people must allow this to happen.
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