Basseterre, St. Kitts, July 02, 2021 (SKNIS): Thirteen additional inmates at Her Majesty’s Prison (HMP) in St. Kitts tested positive for COVID-19 bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 55 with 40 inmates showing signs of recovery.
These additional cases were announced by Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr. Hazel Laws, while presenting the Health Emergency Operations Committee (HEOC) Situation Report on Friday, July 02, 2021, during the NEOC COVID-19 Press Briefing.
“On July 01, we identified an additional 13 inmates who have been diagnosed with COVID-19. This brings the total number of inmates diagnosed to 55,” said CMO Dr. Laws. “But, it is important to note that 40 of these inmates are well on their way to recovery. We had mass testing at Her Majesty’s Prison two days ago and 40 of those inmates have received their first negative test. They were retested today and we are keeping our fingers crossed that their test would return negative.”
Dr. Laws explained that to be deemed fully recovered from COVID-19, serial testing would be done until two consecutive negative tests are recorded.
According to Dr. Laws, the first case was identified on June 09, with an additional eight cases registered on June 11 and two on June 15. On June 17, 26 positive cases were recorded, two each on June 19 and 29 and 13 on July 01, bringing the total number to 55 inmates infected with COVID-19.
CMO Dr. Laws also reported that eight staff members were tested positive for COVID-19, six were identified on July 01, while two were confirmed at the beginning of the outbreak at HMP. Those two have since fully recovered.
St. Kitts & Nevis COVID-19 Situation Report No. 463 as of Friday, July 02, 2021, states that the total number of confirmed cases now stands at 476 with 268 active cases, 205 recovered cases and three deaths. Four hundred and fifty-nine (459) of those cases were recorded in St. Kitts while 17 were registered in Nevis. To date, there have been 21, 034 negative results.
