A British national has tested positive to COVID-19 in Dominica – the first positive case following about 105 days of no-active cases in the country. According to national epidemiologist, Dr. Shalaudin Ahmed, the latest case entered into the country on August 10 and was negative when he was tested twice for the disease. He is also asymptomatic.
“The dreaded COVID is back,” Dr. Ahmed warned. “Let’s keep fighting against; let’s get back to wearing of masks when we are in public places. We can’t keep our country under lockdown; we must allow normal activity to continue.”
Before the patient arrived to Dominica on August 10, two PCR tests conducted on him returned negative, and another rapid test done on him at arrival was also negative. The unnamed individual has remained largely at home since he came into Dominica, but he has been moved to a government facility where he will be monitored for 14 days. Health officials have begun to trace contacts he related with since his arrival on the island.
“As it stands, now in Dominica, the total number of confirmed cases stands at 19, with active cases being 1 and 18 recovered cases with no death so far recovered,” the national epidemiologist disclosed.
He added that about 690 persons have entered into Dominica from July 15 to August 20, and warned people to uphold health recommendations of physical distancing, wearing of face masks, and hand-washing in public places.
Meanwhile, outgoing president of the Dominica Manufacturers Association (DMA), Severin McKenzie, urged customs and immigration as well as the police to tighten their control over the numbers of people coming into the country via the borders. He said there is always the risk of COVID-19-infected people slipping into the country unnoticed and infecting the local population with the disease.
“We are hoping that we can continue to control the persons coming in because one of the things about the virus is that it is imported,” McKenzie said. “And with the limited number of persons coming in, it was okay for the authorities to control. But if we were in a situation where we had hundreds of visitors coming into Dominica, we would not have been in this fortunate situation.”
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