The Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment was informed this morning August 27, 2021, by CARPHA of the COVID-19 sequencing results of positive samples collected from patients in St. Vincent and the Grenadines on August 12, 2021, received at the CARPHA lab on August 17, 2021, and sent to the COVID19 IMPACT project lab on August 18, 2021.
The COVID19 IMPACT project lab reported on August 26, 2021, to CARPHA that the delta variant of concern (VOC) – B.1.617.2 was detected in two samples.
One sample was collected during entry screening at the AIA from a fully vaccinated traveller who arrived from England with a negative PCR result on August 12, 2021. The Molecular Lab Unit (MLU) of the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment subsequently reported on August 12, 2021, that the traveller had tested positive.
The other sample was from a vaccinated traveller who arrived on August 9, 2021, and tested positive on August 12, 2021, while in quarantine. Both travellers then transitioned to approved isolation accommodations, and have since tested negative for COVID-19.
Routine contact tracing detected six other COVID-19 positive cases associated with these travellers. All of these positive cases have since been cleared by negative SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) PCR tests.
