Dominica has recorded a sharp increase in the number of active cases of COVID-19 on the island.
National Epidemiologist. Dr. Shaluddin Ahmed told the nation on Friday that there has been 8 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 since the last press briefing.
He said, “We have had an additional 8 confirmed cases of COVID-19 .As of today, the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 is 50.
The number of active cases stands at 17”.
Dr. Ahmed explained, “The last 7 of the 8 positive cases are contacts of the individual from Jimmit, who has a travel history”.
He said further that 98 contacts from the Isaiah Thomas Secondary School have been swabbed. These contacts are from the original contact from the community of Jimmit.
Ahmed added that the other confirmed positive case is a deportee, who has been in quarantine since arriving in Dominica on October 23rd.
Dr. Ahmed said that there is still no evidence of community transmission in Dominica as Community transmission as defined by the World Health Organization “is evidenced by the inability to relate confirmed cases through chains of transmission for a large number of cases, or by increasing positive tests through sentinel samples (routine systematic testing of respiratory samples from established laboratories)”.
Ahmed explained, “Now a Cluster refers to an aggregation of cases grouped in place and time that are suspected to be greater than the number expected, according to the CDC. In our situation, so far all cases are linked and grouped within two nearby communities. Furthermore, all community-based screening tests have been negative”.
