Dr. Tufton Hails St. Thomas An Example Of Best Practice In Covid-19 Response

St. Thomas, which is seeing a major decline in active cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19), after experiencing an outbreak earlier this year, is being hailed by Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton,  as an example of a possible best practice in the national COVID-19 response.

The parish, which has a population of just over 100,000 persons, has had some 400 cases, with many stemming from an outbreak in the Church Corner community and surrounding areas.

Dr. Tufton said that through a range of interventions, including community quarantine, the parish now has only four active cases and there were four deaths related to the virus.

“How did we do it? We were deliberate. We were consistent. We collaborated. We ensured that the people knew their health was our priority and the people cooperated in their own interest,” he noted.

“I think St. Thomas deserves recognition and commendation for the efforts of all those on the ground, and, indeed, all in the parish, because we needed the participation and support of the citizens,” he added.

The Minister was addressing the weekly virtual COVID-19 Conversations press briefing on Thursday, November 5.

Among the other interventions were the establishment of the Emergency Operations Centre with dynamic roles and functions responsive to the emergent needs of the parish; timely identification and removal of cases from their homes and communities, as appropriate, to slow transmission; and screening at health centres, with persons suspected of COVID-19 seen separately and their samples taken for testing.

Positive cases were identified through contact tracing, house-to-house surveillance, fever surveillance in quarantine areas and parish curfew. There was also extensive health promotion and education on the ground.

Dr. Tufton said that St. Thomas has successfully demonstrated that community quarantine is an effective intervention in reducing transmission of the virus.

“Quarantine works. It allows us to go in and to engage in a targeted way the various community stakeholders and to do what it takes to slow transmission,” he noted.

“Not only do we have the opportunity to detect positive cases early but it also provides us the chance to ensure that infected persons receive the appropriate clinical intervention for the best possible health outcome,” he added.

The Minister expressed gratitude to the health team in St. Thomas for their work and commended the citizens for their cooperation.

“They may be a relatively small parish by population, but they are now showing an example by virtue of the fact they were significantly threatened and they are now in a zone where one could consider St. Thomas a relatively safe space,” the Minister noted.

He, however, encouraged the citizens to remain vigilant.

“The success doesn’t mean that we should be complacent and I urge the citizens to continue to observe the protocols,” Dr. Tufton said.