The Government Administration Building in The Bottom, Saba.
SABA--With two positive coronavirus COVID-19 cases now in Saba and the mandatory lockdown which went into effect per midnight on Sunday, April 12, the public entity Saba is making sure that vital services continue. For this purpose, the government has been working together with the island’s businesses owners.
Island Governor Jonathan Johnson informed residents on Monday evening, April 13, that a second person had tested positive for the coronavirus. During the contact tracing by authorities, an additional test was done on Sunday evening which came back as positive on Monday. Johnson said this person had been in close contact with the first positive case.
The Public Health Department immediately initiated contact tracing in relation to the new positive case. This means that more people will have to go into quarantine, Johnson explained.
Up to Monday night, there were 70 persons in quarantine, mostly people who had close contact with the two positive patients and their households. This number might increase in the coming days.
Delivery system
Johnson announced Monday that there will be a delivery system for groceries and for prescription medication from the pharmacy. He emphasised that grocery services will remain open and that there is no need for panic or overbuying. He clarified that for certain products, such as fresh produce, there will be some limits to ensure even distribution among the people.
Bakeries will be supplying their products only to the grocery stores. The Meals on Wheels programme will continue, and its participants will be contacted with further information.
Farmers, animal owners, fishermen and boat owners have received permission letters so they can tend to their daily duties. People in these categories who have not received a letter can apply for one by sending an email to
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Other persons with certain high-necessity tasks or persons who have cargo coming in today, Wednesday, including business owners, can send an application to the same email address.
The gas station will only be open between 8:00am and 12:00pm for persons within the essential services and those who have permission letters with a specific task. For cooking gas, appointments can be made for pick-up and delivery.
Saba Electric Company (SEC) and telephone company Satel are altering their processes. This is being communicated with their clients. The RBC Royal Bank will remain closed, but people can contact the bank if they have questions or an urgent need for services. Restaurants are no longer allowed to deliver food.
Governor Johnson said that while this is an “unprecedented situation,” the government is working to cover all bases for essential services. He reminded everyone that a lockdown means that persons without special permission to be on the road at specific times of the day need to stay home.
Additions and changes can be expected in the coming days to fine-tune these processes. People are welcome to send questions and suggestions to the Government Information Services (GIS) at
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Local transmission
Saba went into a mandatory lockdown on April 12, soon after its first positive case was detected. Johnson informed the people during an audio address on Saturday evening, April 11, that despite all the precautionary measures that had been taken with the aim of preventing COVID-19 from being introduced to Saba, one of the tests that had been taken had returned as positive. The positive test was taken from a person on the island and considered a local transmission, as this person had no travel history in the past weeks.
Persons in quarantine will be closely monitored by authorities and tested if they display any symptoms during the 14-day quarantine period. In total, 22 persons have been tested. Two persons tested positive, 18 negative, while the test results of two persons were being awaited.
The mandatory lockdown, which will be in place for at least the next two weeks, was implemented to ensure people’s safety and the health of the community.
“We know that this may be inconvenient, but it is necessary that we take these measures to ensure that we contain the spread of this virus,” said Johnson.
He reminded people that it was “very important” to stick to the measures. The police will play a central role in enforcing the mandatory lockdown. Instructions from the police must be followed immediately. Persons who do not adhere to the lockdown will be fined.
