Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Aisha Andrewin, commended the public for its support and participation in efforts to keep residents protected from the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking at the Government press briefing on Monday, March 7, Dr. Andrewin stated: “Our success really has been a testament to the country, the political directorate, and the people. We could not do this by ourselves – it is a real effort for all of society and the population.”
She noted that, “there is no team that can function in a society, or around a political directorate, that does not cooperate with them. We are going into a third year [of covid] and we have done so well because of you. We cannot pretend it was a heroic effort of one person. The health authority colleagues, the laboratory, and the isolation unit have all done a phenomenal job.
“When we opened the isolation unit, we hoped we would never have to use it, but here we are with mostly success stories, aside from the death rate – low but yet tragic. The majority of persons have walked out alive, including some of those who have been on ventilators.”
Anguilla, like the rest of the world, hasdbeen dominated by the Omicron surge for a few months. Results of samples sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) indicate that since the variant was identified in Anguilla, back in December, 84% of our samples have been Omicron – 64% of which have been from local and community transmission.
Globally, there is also great news to report, Dr Andrewin noted. She said: “WHO is reporting decisive reductions in new cases and deaths around the world overall. New cases have declined by 16% globally, and deaths have declined by 10% globally.”
She observed that although new case numbers are high, they are drastically lower than they were during the past weeks. “This gives us hope that we are through the worst of [the COVID-19 pandemic].”
With WHO now reporting global decreases over the last few weeks in cases and deaths, Anguilla is also noticing a “sustained low number of new cases and low or no hospitalisations.”
Dr. Andrewin repeated an observation from last week’s report. She said: “Going further into the pandemic as we move towards things going to a base level endemicity, we are making the call for [persons to receive] booster doses [of the COVID-19 vaccine], particularly persons among the most vulnerable groups – the elderly and those with chronic conditions.”
The Ministry of Health continues to encourage eligible persons to receive the vaccines, that are made available to them, at the various clinics as well as at the different primary schools on the island. This call is an effort to increase vaccination coverage island-wide and remove most of the COVID-19 protocols on Anguilla.
Reporting more good news, Dr Andrewin observed that the CDC has downgraded Anguilla’s status from Level 4 to Level 3. CDC uses Travel Health Notices (THNs) to alert travellers and other audiences to health threats around the world and advise on how to protect themselves. On November 21, 2020, CDC adapted the 4-level THN system for COVID-19 and regularly updates the criteria used to determine a country’s THN level.
Covid Statistics for Anguilla as of March 7
Confirmed Cases: 2,574
Recovered: 2,552
Active: 13
Deaths: 9 (7 unvaccinated adults; 2 vaccinated adults with underlying risk factors; 6 males, 3 females)
Isolation Unit: 3 (3 vaccinated all with underlying health conditions)
Vaccination Statistics for Anguilla as of March 4
Fully Vaccinated: 9,562 (62% adult population)
485 (39% ages 12-17)
256 (18% ages 5-11 receiving a 1st dose)
