St Lucia records 240 COVID-19 cases and 3 more deaths

Coronavirus crisis continues to strengthen its feet in the Caribbean island of St Lucia. The country recently recorded three more virus-related deaths taking the death toll to 28.

The ministry of health and wellness stated that these fatalities include two women and an elderly man.

As per the data, the death number 26 is a 52-year-old woman from the Gros-Islet district, and another woman is a 36-year-old from Castries district. Besides this, an 81-year-old man from Castries also lost his life to the contagious disease.

The health ministry claimed that all these three deceased had pre-existing medical conditions that contributed to their overall health downgrade.

Besides this, the health ministry also confirmed 240 new coronavirus cases. The total number of cases diagnosed in the country is 2,860.

As per authorities, the samples came from a batch of 673 tests performed on specimens taken during the period 1 to 16 February 2021. All of these individuals were seen at different respiratory clinics, where they were assessed and tested for COVID-19.

Heath officials asserted that arrangements have meanwhile been made to place all these individuals in isolation while the contact detection team is conducting investigations to identify the contacts of these confirmed cases.

However, these patients were placed in home quarantine by healthcare practitioners awaiting the return of their COVID-19 test results, in accordance with the COVID-19 test protocols.

Furthermore, confirmation was also received from the recovery of 79 individuals who were in care. This brings the total number of active cases in the country to 395. Two of the active cases are currently critical in the respiratory hospital. Authorities have advised people to follow the protocols.

St Lucia has launched its vaccine drive, and Prime Minister Allen Chastanet and his wife were among the first ones to receive the doses of the Oxford-Astrazeneca COVID-19 vaccine that the country received from Dominica and Barbados.