The Ministry of Health reported that COVID-19 continues to dominate the health dialogue, globally, with a dramatic surge in positive cases and a plateauing in the number of covid-related deaths reported.
The Omicron and Delta variants account for 58.5% and 41.4% of positive cases respectively. The public health community and the international health community are concerned with the infectivity rate of the highly contagious Omicron variant and its overall impact on healthcare systems.
Anguilla’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Andrewin, reported that the high rate of infectivity of the Omicron variant is fueling the aggressive push for persons to get vaccinated. She noted that since the onset of the pandemic, certain groups and populations were identified with “risk factors” – age, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, etc., and were most vulnerable to the virus infection.
She observed that: “We are seeing hospitalisation and death among the vulnerable and unvaccinated. These are being seen as preventable deaths, and that’s tragic.”
Mr. Foster Rogers, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, also implored persons to follow the health protocols – wear a mask when appropriate, practise social-distancing when necessary, stay at home if you are symptomatic, and get vaccinated, especially persons with underlying medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and cancer.
“We are seeing here that most, if not all of the [COVID] deaths are persons who have had underlying [health] conditions and were unvaccinated. Most of the persons with really hard COVID are unvaccinated as well. Those persons who say, ‘I have hypertension’, ‘I have diabetes’, ‘I have cancer’, are the ones who should be getting vaccinated,” he said.
COVID-19 January 17 Statistics for Anguilla
Total cases: 2,187
Total Recovered: 1,997
Active cases: 183 (including 12 school children)
Hospitalisations: 5 (including 1 minor with underlying medical issues)
Deaths: 1 death over the weekend (7 deaths total)
Vaccination January 17 Statistics for Anguilla
1st dose: 10,182
2nd dose: 9,318
