Schools closed to slow spread of the coronavirus

"Hope for the best while preparing for the worst.”

A sombre message from Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, after Dominica recorded its first confirmed case of the coronavirus on Sunday.

In an address to the state, PM Skerrit said his government had adopted a four-stage approach to managing the COVID-19 pandemic, and now that Dominica has recorded its first case, they need to be moved from level one to 2.

Because of this, he said classes in any respect schools across the state are suspended until further notice.

The Prime Minister said more stringent screening methods are implemented in any respect ports of entry.

“We shall be intensifying screening at our borders and that I anticipate that in an exceedingly day or two we shall be announcing new measures and regulations with relevancy the opening of our ports of entry,” he said.

PM Skerrit urged citizens with underlying medical conditions and people over the age of 70 to remain home and minimise contact with the overall public.

“I’m asking them to follow all the warnings that the doctors have shared with us. For instance, wash your hands properly or use hand sanitiser and don't place tour hands on your face. If you want to sneeze or cough, sneeze into a tissue and immediately lose the tissue in an exceedingly covered bin and wash your hands; cough into your elbow to avoid harming anyone,” he said.

The government has also appointed a committee answerable for addressing concerns about the potential threats the coronavirus could pose to the nation’s food security.

The Prime Minister said the committee are chaired by Director of Trade, Mathan Walter. “We are connected with the Ministry of Agriculture to work out what proportion food we've got within the soil in Dominica, what's the projection for the subsequent six months and every one of this is often contingency plans the govt. Has put in situ,” he said.

PM Skerrit said thus far there has been no disruption within the transportation chain in terms of containers and boats delivering supplies to the island.