BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, July 06, 2020 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – The efforts of St. Kitts and Nevis to successfully contain the first wave of COVID-19 have been recognized internationally, as the United Kingdom has included the Federation on a list of 59 countries where passengers returning to or visiting England will no longer need to self-isolate upon arrival.
The exemption for the 59 countries to the mandatory 14-day self-isolation commences from July 10, 2020.
Information from the UK’s Department of Transport stated that “The new measures will come into force from 10 July 2020, meaning that people arriving from selected destinations will be able to enter England without needing to self-isolate unless they have been in or transited through non-exempt countries in the preceding 14 days.”
The decision to introduce the exemption list was made after the completion of a risk assessment conducted by the Joint Biosecurity Centre, in close consultation with Public Health England and the Chief Medical Officer. The assessment looked at a range of factors including the prevalence of coronavirus, the numbers of new cases, and the potential trajectory of the disease in the specified destinations.
To date, there has been a total of 16 positive cases of the coronavirus in St. Kitts and Nevis, 15 of which have since recovered. The 16th confirmed case on Saturday, July 4 came some 76 days after the country recorded its 15th case.
Addressing a service of Praise and Thanksgiving hosted by the People’s Action Movement (PAM) on Sunday, July 05, Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris said the twin-island Federation is blessed to have been spared the worst of the COVID-19 crisis.
“Our Team Unity Government had put plans in place since early this year to help counter and contain the COVID-19. We are seeing the results of that early planning today with no deaths, no admissions to the hospital and we want to keep it that way,” Dr Harris added while commending the nation’s health professionals for their excellent performance and sacrifice during this time.
Notably, all 16 positive cases of COVID-19 in St. Kitts and Nevis were travel related.
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