While speaking on state radio, Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves said that efforts would be made to provide accommodation for persons who are tested positive for COVID 19, and who may not have the appropriate isolation space at home.
Gonsalves said that since the spike in COVID cases here, he has been holding discussions with the relevant officials namely the Chief Medical Officer Dr Simone Keizer Beache, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health Cuthbert Knights and Health Minister St Clair Prince, to address this issue.
Gonsalves said finding accommodation is a problem. However, they have found one guest house so far.
“We found one with 25 bedrooms which the government will get at a reasonable price”.
Gonsalves says the cases to go there will be assessed by the National Emergency Management Organization.
“You have persons who will just want to go there even thou they can make adjustment in their home”.
Gonsalves said he heard of somebody whose home has five rooms and two elderly persons are living there.
“I understand you would want to protect them, but you are telling me you can’t find room in the five-bedroom house, a case like that I heard being spoken about “.
Gonsalves says there may be genuine cases. However, if you have 400 persons testing positive, the Government would not be able to house all of them.
“You have an obligation to yourself, to find space in your home or friends may be able to accommodate you, because the overwhelming number of cases where you have positive ones the persons are not really that sick, that’s why most of them work from home”.
Gonsalves says there is a small number of cases where persons get sick and an even smaller number where persons may die.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Tuesday confirmed sixty-two (62) new COVID-19 cases. All of the cases are nationals detected during contact tracing, testing at flu clinics and targeted screening. There have now been four hundred and sixty-four (464) local cases of COVID-19, the majority of whom are linked to various cluster types including worksites, churches and private parties.
One hundred and nineteen (119) persons have recovered, four hundred and eighty- one (481) cases remain active and two persons (2) persons have died from the complications of COVID-19. A total of six hundred and two (602) cases of COVID- 19 have been reported in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. All positive cases will remain isolated until cleared.
