On March 26th at 1:04pm notification was received from the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), that two of the four samples sent on Monday, March 23rd from Anguilla had tested positive for the COVID-19 virus and two had tested negative.
The first positive case was identified as an imported case – a 27-year old female visitor from the US, who arrived in Anguilla on March 11th. The second positive case, a 47- year old male resident, is a close contact of the first case. This was taken as an indication of local transmission.
In accordance with public health practices for containment and prevention of spread:
- The individuals, who both presented with mild symptoms, were placed in isolation upon suspicion and they remain in isolation at this time.
- the Ministry of Health and Health Authority colleagues have initiated aggressive contact tracing to identify every individual who may have come into close contact with this patient. All individuals thus identified will be placed under quarantine and tested.
Furthermore, additional social distancing measures for the general public as outlined in the Plan for Escalation of Measures for COVID-19 will be announced shortly.
The Government of Anguilla has been preparing for the arrival of COVID-19 since late January. We urge residents not to panic and instead be guided by the helpful practices that you can do prevent the spread of COVID-19. To date, out of a total of nine suspected cases of COVID-19, five have tested negative, two have tested positive and two are pending.
Members of the general public are once again urged to follow proper hygiene, respiratory etiquette, and comply with the social distancing guidance in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Ministry of Health and the Government of Anguilla maintain that the health and safety of the nation continue to be the utmost priority.
The Ministry will continue to provide timely and accurate information as the situation continues to evolve. Persons with any questions or concerns that they may have been exposed to COVID-19 should call the Ministry’s hotlines at 476-7627, that is 476 SOAP or 584-4263, that is 584-HAND.
The Ministry of Health will continue to provide timely updates through our media partners, our official Facebook page or at www.beatcovid.ai.
Related:
The March 26th update circulated by CDEMA summarised the situation in Anguilla as follows:
- Two (2) confirmed cases as at today, March 26, 2020
- 60 people are on quarantine orders. Of these, 56 are on self-quarantine.
- Identified 5 quarantine sites and reconfigured a wing of the hospital for persons who need to be isolated
- By the first week in April the hospital should be able to house / isolate 10 persons
- Anguilla will soon have the capability to test for COVID- 19 on island. Given the newness of this virus and the equipment in-country, these results will need to be verified by CARPHA
- Anyone suspected of having contracted COVID-19 will go to the dedicated isolation unit at Princess Alexandra Hospital. The additional temporary isolation capacity is now ready to receive patients, should the need arise.
- Air and sea ports closed to passenger movements for 14 days from 11.59pm on Friday 20 March. There will be no exceptions other than declared medical emergencies.
- The movement of cargo into Anguilla remains unrestricted.
- Regulations will shortly come into force fixing the maximum price for a number of key commodities. Shops and merchants charging more than these prices will face legal penalty.
- The Government of Anguilla is very much concerned about the economic consequences of this pandemic which includes the layoffs and reduction of hourly wages for workers. They will outline their programme of support in the coming days.
- Ministry of Health hotline on COVID- 19: 1-264-476-7627 or 476 SOAP or visit http://www.beatcovid19.ai/