SABA--Saba has two new positive cases of COVID-19 as of Saturday, August 1, Island Governor Jonathan Johnson announced in a special audio bulletin.
Both concerned imported cases, meaning that the persons contracted the disease abroad before travelling to Saba. They went directly into quarantine on arrival and are in isolation now.
A protocol was put in place on the arrival of these persons in Saba to ensure that minimum interaction occurred. Because there has been uncertainty concerning the latter, authorities are checking whether further steps need to be taken.
Saba moved to Alert Level Two last week and will remain in this phase for now. As the two persons who contracted COVID-19 abroad concerned imported cases, and are, therefore, not local transmissions, authorities decided not to scale-up to a higher alert level.
However, as this development shows, the measures that must be followed in Alert Level Two, such as the banning of events, physical-distancing measures, strict hand hygiene and gatherings of no more than 25 people, must be adhered to, Johnson stated.
“These measures are preventative and an important part in ensuring the safety of our community,” he said, thanking people for remaining vigilant and continuing to adhere to the local measures.
Johnson promised to update the community on further developments.
The two additional COVID-19-infected persons bring the total number of positive cases in Saba to five since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The other three persons who contracted the virus much earlier in the pandemic have since recovered, and Saba had been COVID-19-free for several months
Testing continues and persons returning from abroad, except from St. Eustatius, Bonaire and Curaçao, must go into quarantine for two weeks.
