Saint Lucia’s New Isolation Strategy
Written by Radio Caribbean International on February 10, 2021
Saint Lucia’s new isolation strategy
The Ministry of Health and Wellness continues our focused efforts to manage the current surge in COVID-19 cases being diagnosed in Saint Lucia. The Ministry has utilized a mixed model of care which allowed for the management of mild cases to take place within communities. They have been monitored by a dedicated medical team overseeing cases being managed at home. This approach had been taken given that approximately 80% of people diagnosed with the virus experience fairly mild disease. As a result, a large number of our cases remain at home to isolate and receive care until they recover.
However, in undertaking routine reviews of the national plan to manage the COVID-19 outbreak which includes the treatment and care component, the Ministry of Health recognizes the need to adjust this model of care. There have recently been a large number of people currently being managed in community. This combined with inadequacy of some homes to give the required isolation as well as breaches has resulted in recent changes to the isolation strategy for our confirmed cases. Home isolation is now being transitioned to state-based isolation facilities. Effective immediately, this change now means that mild cases are being placed within hotel sites and the moderate to severe cases continue to be cared for within the national respiratory hospital. This allows for a greater degree of vigilance in the management of the milder COVID-19 cases, given home isolation cannot be effectively conducted for some individuals who are in care.
These changes have been made primarily to protect the health and safety of all, not only people diagnosed with the virus. It is expected that this new model will support efforts to contain the virus and will allow for more focused care being delivered to all our patients as their period of infection is being managed.
The Ministry of Health would like to thank the public for the support and cooperation in observing this policy.
For more information please contact the Office of the Chief Medical Officer or the Epidemiology Unit, at 468-5309/468-5317 respectively
