Health Expert Warns Against Complacency and Risk of Asymptomatic Infections
Director of Primary Healthcare and Chair of the National Contact Tracing and Sampling Committee, Dr. Laura Esprit, has revealed that it is now 16 days since Dominica last reported any new case of coronavirus on the island. She urged everyone not to relent in their guard against COVID-19 since the absence of any new case could make anyone to relax their guards, thinking the pandemic is over in Dominica.
Esprit warned that the absence of any new case is the misleading environment the virus needs to thrive among the populace. The primary healthcare director warned people who disobey the current curfew order by getting locked up in bars and holding indoor parties to desist from such acts since it endangers the entire nation in the light of the prevailing coronavirus situation.
She added that any further outbreak of COVID-19 will pose additional risks to an already overworked frontline workforce.
Esprit equally enjoined Dominicans to watch out for one another and to report persons entering the country illegally. She warned that even overseas students and cruise ship workers returning home should not be sheltered but should be reported to the authorities if they are coming into the country via illegal entry ports.
The healthcare official equally said care should be taken so that infected patients who are asymptomatic do not infect others unawares. “Because symptoms are subjective, some people may not report feeling sick but do have a proven viral infection,” Esprit said.
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