HEALTH MATTERS
COVID-19 HEALTH ADVISORY COMMITTEE CHAIR URGES CITIZENS TO BE MORE RESPONSIBLE
The Chairperson of the COVID-19 Health Advisory Committee, Dr. Bert Brathwaite, is warning that citizens need to be acutely on guard for any possible transmission of COVID-19, in light of the decision by many to assemble for Jab Jab, during the week of August 10.
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in physical contact. The wearing of masks is also another important issue to me. The two most important things for us to do is to continue the physical distancing and to continue wearing masks.”
Acting Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Shawn Charles, says there is cause for concern During a press conference on August 17, due to the fact that people set aside all Brathwaite said people cannot afford protocols in the name of having fun. to take this virus lightly, simply because Grenada has succeeded in keeping the “We are waiting in anticipation to see what numbers down. will [be] the result of all that activity that occurred over the past week and a half or “If you’re having mass activities where so. We are hopeful that we do not suffer people are close, intermingling, that is a setback, as is being experienced in the a recipe for spread of the virus and what south. We saw the measures that are being we will appeal to individuals not to do implemented, as of today, in Trinidad. is to go and even have private parties, Trinidad is our neighbor and we are just because people can hide away and hoping for the best and at the same time have private parties in closed quarters, we are asking the public to be responsible and that actually has caused death of a in the decisions that they make, because number of people in the United States. I it doesn’t just affect you, it might affect remember early in the epidemic, quite a one of your loved ones. Persons need to few Grenadians died after going to a party understand that sometimes the decisions in New York - it was reported. So, it’s tough, that we take can have far reaching but we have to be prepared not to engage consequences.”
Dr. Bert Brathwaite
STRENGTHENING OF COVID-19 PROTOCOLS
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hile addressing members of the media during a news conference on Monday, the Acting Chief Medical Officer in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Shawn Charles, said the Ministry of Health continues to strengthen its protocols at all ports of entry, to avoid the importation of COVID-19 cases into Grenada. Charles said, with Grenada’s phased opening of its borders to regional and international flights, there is a constant need to review the protocols in keeping with what is happening regionally and internationally. He said, “The COVID situation is dynamic. We are seeing how things are changing, both near and far, in further developed regions and even in our local region, we’re seeing some of our neighbours having small setbacks. We are hoping that they remain small setbacks in their efforts to respond to COVID and we are looking at what is happening there and adjusting our protocols, so that we do not enter into a similar situation.”
Numerous questions have been asked about the protocols in place for returning nationals and visitors from the various low, medium and high-risk zones. Charles said low-risk zones are those where the number of infections, within the past fourteen days, are less than twenty per hundred thousand people; medium-risk includes between twenty and ninety cases per hundred thousand and high-risk have over ninety cases per hundred thousand. He said, “For countries that are in low-risk category, all persons are required to have a negative PCR test to enter the State of Grenada and that test should be done no more than seven days before, but there is a small grouping that is exempt from this and that is what we call ‘the bubble’. This would include countries like Barbados, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia; St. Vincent. They’re currently exempt from this requirement.”
Dr. Shawn Charles
Charles also explained, saying that, “They’re requested to fill a number of forms, such as health declaration, waiver of liability, and public health locater forms. In the event that a public health official, on screening that person at port entry, determines that the person needs further testing, that person would have a PCR test done, and they will be required to stay in quarantine until we get the result.