THE THREAT OF COVID-19 STILL EXISTS. PUBLIC IS ENCOURAGED TO PRACTICE SOCIAL DISTANCING AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.

As of April 14, 2020 the WHO reported a total of 1,844,863 confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally with 117,021 deaths. There are now 644,986 confirmed cases in the region of the Americas. The affected region includes Dominican Republic (3,167), Haiti (40), Barbados (71), Jamaica (72), Cuba (726), Dominica (16), Grenada (14), Trinidad and Tobago (113), Guyana (47), Saint Lucia (15), Antigua and Barbuda (23), Bahamas (47), Saint Vincent and Grenadines (12), Guadeloupe (143), Martinique (157), Puerto Rico (903), Saint Barthelemy (6), Aruba (92), Saint Martin (33), US Virgin Islands (51), Cayman Islands (53).

As of April 15, 2020, Saint Lucia has a total of 15 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Today, Wednesday, April 14, 2020 Saint Lucia continues on the partial shutdown and on a 10 hour curfew from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Saint Lucia is still at a very critical position in the staging of this COVID-19 threat. We need to be reminded that the threat of COVID-19 still exists. Some of the national protocols include: stay at home as much as possible, unless it is for food or medical purposes, avoid mass crowd events and social gatherings, practice physical distancing and good personal hygiene. The public is also advised against going to public places with flulike symptoms including fever, coughing and sneezing. When visiting the supermarket or public places, wear your home-made mask and refrain from touching items unless you intend to purchase them.

Although, hardware stores are open in an effort to facilitate household emergencies and increase water storage capacity, the public is reminded that we are still on national scale down. Only leave your house for essential goods.

Observe the rules of physical distancing. We continue to observe persons gathered in groups talking. We continue to advise the public to focus on the maintenance of standard recommendations to prevent the spread of infection. These include: - - regular hand washing with soap and water or alcohol based hand sanitizer where soap and water is not available. - - cover mouth and nose with disposable tissues or clothing when coughing and sneezing. - - avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing. - - seek medical attention and share your travel history with your health care provider if you have symptoms suggestive of respiratory illness either during or after travel.

The Department of Health advises the public to boost your immune system by ensuring you are eating healthy while at home. That includes a diet made up of fruits and vegetables and also get the necessary exercise at home and in your yard.

Keeping a good immune system will reduce possible chances of developing COVID-19 if you were in contact with someone who has it. The Department of Health and Wellness will continue providing regular updates on COVID-19.

For more information please contact the Office of the Chief Medical Officer or the Epidemiology Unit, at 468-5309/468-5317 respectively.