Today Friday April 30, 2021 the Ministry of Health and Wellness received confirmation of 18 new cases of COVID-19 from the Ezra Long Laboratory. This is from a total of 174 samples taken on April 27, 2021 and April 28, 2021. These samples were processed on April 29, 2021.

All of these cases were seen at various community respiratory clinics where they were assessed and tested for COVID-19. These individuals were placed in home quarantine by healthcare practitioners while awaiting the return of their test results, in-keeping with the national COVID-19 testing protocol. Arrangements have since been made to place these newly diagnosed individuals in isolation. The contact tracing for these new cases is underway.

Confirmation was also received of the recovery of 6 individuals bringing the total number of active cases in country to date to 110. At present, two of the active cases are requiring critical care at the Respiratory Hospital. The new cases bring the total number of cases diagnosed in country to date to 4552.

As of April 29, 2021 a total of 24, 266 individuals have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 2,232 individuals have received the second dose. Next week, the COVID-19 vaccination drive will cater to the general population for the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and individuals receiving the second dose. The health team will be administering the COVID-19 vaccine at the various vaccination sites based on a schedule. Everyone interested in getting vaccinated are encouraged to pre-register ahead of time via the online platform https://hmi.govt.lc/ or at the Community Wellness Centre nearest to you.