The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reduced Saint Lucia’s COVID-19 rating to the lowest, Level 1, as one of only eight countries globally.

For the period of July to August 2020 to date, Saint Lucia has welcomed 5,897 travelers through the approved ports of entry, of which 4,413 are visitors. Strictly enforced protocols have been put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19, which include pretesting within seven days of arrival in the destination, mandatory screening on arrival, use of certified taxis and hotels, a 14-day quarantine period for non-bubble countries, the wearing of masks in public and observing physical distancing.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Sharon Belmar-George, noted that these measures have been effective in keeping the spread of the virus at bay.

Dr. Belmar- George also explained the criteria used by the CDC to determine the status of a country.

“They use the level of disease burden of COVID-19 within the country, and they also look at how many cases a country has. They also look at a country’s healthcare capacity and public health infrastructure. Usually for you to fall within level three you would have to have more than 10 cases within the last 28 days. Saint Lucia had only three in the last 28 days and also our number of cases were decreasing, so clearly we fit into Level 1,” she explained.

The Chief Medical Officer also expressed gratitude for the endorsement by a Caribbean analytics consultancy firm encouraging visitors to come to Saint Lucia.

“We were quite pleased to see from an international point of view, the ratings of all the islands, when they looked at our ratings per 100,000 population. Such news coming from an objective international agency augurs well for us.”

Visitors are reminded to follow all travel and on-island protocols as measures to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 transmission into local communities continue. Residents are reminded to be vigilant and report any known infringements to the 311 hotline or the nearest police station.

To access Saint Lucia’s COVID-19 Management Protocol and for prefilling of the Mandatory Travel Registration Form, please visit; www.stlucia.org/covid-19

Watch Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Sharon Belmar-George discuss the CDC rating and other COVID-19 protocols, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPqsxhxlgcM