St. Vincent and the Grenadines today confirmed eighteen (18) new COVID-19 cases. All of the cases are nationals detected during exit screening, contact tracing, testing at flu clinics and targeted screening. There are now five hundred and ninety- seven (597) local cases of COVID-19, the majority of whom are linked to various clusters.
One hundred and thirty-four (134) persons have recovered, six hundred and two (602) cases remain active and two (2) persons with COVID-19 have died. Seven hundred and thirty-eight (738) cases of COVID-19 have been reported in St. Vincent and the Grenadines since March 2020. All positive cases will remain isolated until cleared. All close contacts of positive cases, must remain in their place of quarantine until receipt of their results.
The public is asked to comply with the mass gatherings protocol which restricts all indoor mass gatherings, including funerals and house parties, to ten (10) persons, and outdoor mass gatherings to twenty (20) persons. Outdoor gatherings include open air crusades, limes, outdoor fetes, gatherings around open bars (e.g. Heritage Square), gatherings with direct access to the courtyard or large yard or a large pool area, catamaran cruises, beach and river picnics.
All residents of and visitors to St. Vincent and the Grenadines are reminded of the importance of consistently wearing facial coverings to protect themselves from being infected with the virus which causes COVID-19. Hand hygiene and physical distancing are also basic measures of infection prevention and control.