Press Release

Ministry of Health & Social Development
Release Date:
Wednesday, 15 April 2020 - 12:40pm

Deputy Premier and Minister for Health and Social Development Honourable Carvin Malone has announced that two of the three persons in the British Virgin Islands who tested positive for COVID-19 have recovered.

Honourable Malone said the Territory now has one confirmed positive case of COVID-19 which is currently being re-tested. He said there is still no sign of local person-to-person transmission while health surveillance teams continue to conduct screening and monitoring in order to detect any active cases of the COVID-19 virus in the Territory.

The Ministry of Health and Social Development determines recovered cases in accordance with the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) guidance. The CARPHA guidance outlines that a re-test is carried out 15 to 20 days after a patient is diagnosed as positive.

If the results of the first re-test are negative, a second re-rest is undertaken 24 hours later. Once both re-test results are negative, a patient is then discharged and considered recovered from COVID-19. However, if the results of the first re-test of a positive patient remains positive, the patient is re-tested every seven days until the results are negative and then re-tested 24 hours after the first negative result to be considered recovered and discharged. 

Persons who are experiencing a fever with cough or difficulty breathing are encouraged to contact the Health Hotline at 852-7650 for medical assessment and guidance. There is no known vaccine and no specific antiviral treatment against the virus. Therefore, prevention is critical to avoid being exposed to COVID-19. 

Persons should practice everyday preventive actions to help reduce the risk of respiratory viruses by frequent hand-washing, cough and sneeze etiquette, avoiding contact with visibly sick people, staying home when feeling ill and practicing social distancing.

 

Author

Adrianna J. Soverall

Ministry of Health and Social Development
Tortola, British Virgin Islands
Email: ministryofhealth@gov.vg
Telephone: 1(284)468-2272 or 2174