This country’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Simone Keizer Beache, while speaking on radio earlier this morning disclosed that a number of evacuees, both in shelters and in private homes have tested positive for COVID-19.
Five positive cases of COVID-19 were found among evacuees, the CMO said that this is worrying. Two of the positive cases are evacuees who are staying in the home of a relative, so the exposure there is within a private home. The other positive evacuees were in shelters, one exposing twelve persons and the other two in another shelter exposing eight persons; she said one of the five positive cases is symptomatic. Dr. Keizer Beache said that contact tracing and extensive testing had already been initiated.
The CMO said that the health authorities are extremely concerned, stating that in one instance there is one shelter where none of the evacuees are vaccinated, which means that all those residing in the shelter are vulnerable. She stressed how important it is for those in the shelters to wear their masks, saying that a special effort will be made to get more masks out to the shelters and also asked that evacuees comply with requests to be tested.
