COVID-19 testing increased countrywide

The Ministry of Health has ramped up COVID-19 testing around the country yet again which accounts for the increase in new cases in recent weeks.

During today’s COVID-19 update, Minister, Hon Dr. Frank Anthony said they have noted the upward trend. He stated that as of today there are close to 834 active cases and the Ministry has seen 46 new cases which has been detected over the last 24 hours.

“We have seen an overall increase in cases over the last two weeks and we have attributed it to a number of factors. One, an increase testing that we are doing when that 120 cases were recorded, we had more than a thousand test that was done because they more you test the more cases you would find.”

Minister Anthony said that to date there are over 9,600 cases while some 81,000 COVID-19 tests have been conducted. He noted that more cases would be detected once more testing is done.

In terms of hotspots, the Minister said most of the places are generally quiet but the Ministry has seen an increase in Region Four cases.

“Right now, we have close to 420 active cases in Region Four and we have seen a cluster of cases in Diamond and Kitty. These are two areas that we are monitoring”, Minister Anthony said

Region Three is also being monitored. The Health Minister noted that while the cases are diffused, “one and two cases in different areas, we have seen quite a number of cases in Region Three.”

Dr. Anthony said the Ministry is working to identify people who are positive for COVID-19 so they can be isolated and reduce their contact with the population.