Dominica: 408 active cases of COVID, with 885 recoveries

During the COVID-19 update briefing on Tuesday, the National Epidemiologist, Dr Shalauddin Ahmed, stated there are 408 active coronavirus cases in Dominica.

He said the recovery rate has been good, as over 885 individuals fully recovered, while the country witnessed only one virus-related death.

Dr Ahmed said that the government continue to conduct COVID-19 tests islandwide, and over 42,527 people have been tested, including 23,536 PCR tests and 18,991 rapid antigen tests. He said the positivity rate now stands at 3.3%.

The National Epidemiologist said the average of the past six days shows around 80 people positive for COVID-19 daily, which is quite alarming. He said 77% of the total cases across the country are from Roseau Health District, while Castle Bruce has 1% of the total cases with the lowest rate of positivity.

As per statistics, there were around 440 coronavirus patients

between August 7 and August 20, and 95% of these individuals were unvaccinated, while only 5% were vaccinated.

Dr Ahmed discussed his personal vaccination-related experiences and asked the people to trust the doses. He said the vaccine protects people from catching. Giving examples, he said in a family two, the mother was fully vaccinated, but her son was unvaccinated, and they both shared one roof, while the son caught a virus, while the mother tested negative even though both lived under the same roof. He said they aired the same air, but the vaccination saved the woman.

Dominica recently discovered a spike in coronavirus cases after a Lot event in July. Authorities believe the rise in patients could be a result of illegal entry into the country.

Prime Minister Dr Roosevelt Skerrit recently stated that some samples had been sent abroad to identify the presence of any variants of coronavirus on the island. While he also stated that the government would not make vaccines mandatory for anyone.