On Friday September 25^th 2021, National Epidemiologist, Dr. Shauladdin Ahmed provided a status update on the Covid-19 cases in Dominica. As of September 23^rd 2021, there are forty-eight (48) new cases of which forty-seven (47) cases are positive antigen cases and one case is a PCR positive case. Furthermore, the total number of active cases is now 581. 

Quite concerning, there are fourteen (14) Covid-19 related deaths, inclusive of one new recorded death. Dr. Ahmed noted that 51% of the adult population took at least one dose of the vaccine while 45.2% of the target population are now fully vaccinated. 

With respect to the daily trend of Covid-19 cases, from July 28^th to September 23^rd 2021, there has been increases in the Covid-19 cases. According to Dr. Ahmed, “At the beginning of the week, on Monday, you may see increased cases of Covid-19 and as the week progresses the number of cases goes down.”

Notably, the weekly average of cases have increased from the last week, that is, September 13^th to 18^th 2021. This week there was a weekly average of 66% Covid-19 cases while from previous weeks there was an average of 55% Covid-19 cases.

Importantly, Ahmed explains that 6% of the total active cases are severe, 8% are moderate and 85% are mild to asymptomatic. Of the severe cases, 98% are unvaccinated. Similarly, of the moderate cases 90% are unvaccinated. However, of the mild to asymptomatic cases, 88% are vaccinated. 

Moreover, the statistics show that children in Dominica are now being infected at an increased rate. For children under the age of one, 0.6% have been infected. Furthermore, 5% of cases are between the ages of 1 to 5 while 13 % of cases are between the age ranges of 5 to 18 years. “It is important to note that this is the only time in this surge that we have noticed so many children have been infected,” stated Dr. Ahmed.

In respect to the delta variant, Ahmed stated that it has caused Covid-19 cases to rise from 210 in a year and half, to 3035 within two months in Dominica, a 14-fold increase within a short period of time. According to him, prior to the delta variant, children under the age of five were rarely infected with Covid-19. Alarmingly, following the intrusion of the delta variant, a total of 14 deaths have been recorded in this surge compared to zero deaths in the prior surge. 

To conclude, Ahmed made a strong call for vaccinations, stating that vaccination helps. “It reduces death due to Covid-19 to zero, reduces hospitalization to less than 10%, reduces the infection rate to less than 24%, helps fight the delta variant and will help fight any future variants,” Ahmed affirmed. It is the hope of the health authorities that the percentage of vaccinated persons will increase so that Dominica will be better suited to fight this dreadful virus.