Noone entering the federation has been quarantined in connection to the novel coronavirus in St. Kitts and Nevis.
That’s according to Junior Minister of Health Senator Wendy Phipps. She said health workers have been stationed at ports of entry including the cruise port and the ministry has two quarantine sites ready should they be required.
“Based on information from our Immigration Department and all of the other stakeholder agencies there has been no one who has come in for whom we have indicated any type of suspicious medical condition or who may have answered question #17 on the immigration form in a manner that would have required quarantining, health checks or further investigation.
“In terms of the quarantine sites, the two sites in St. Kitts and Nevis is not a matter for public disclosure at the moment. What will I tell you is that the sites are ready. What we do not want, given the amount of international misinformation, and in some case hysteria, that has surrounded the reporting on the coronavirus evolution, is for us to have a situation where people, depending on where you say a site is, might suddenly become anxious and figure ‘well why would you put it in my community and not any place else’.
“These are issues that could become unnecessarily volatile for our citizens and residents and we would prefer to deal with those emergencies when they come forward and at that point we will inform the public.”
Meanwhile officials with the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) are warning persons to be wary of an unprecedented amount of misinformation and fake news circulating about the virus, especially on social media sites.
Frank Comito, CEO and Director General of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) said “We have seen several false reports posted online in recent days alleging contamination at a hotel. This is irresponsible. People making such false accusations should be held liable for their actions. Any such reports should be scrutinized by CARPHA or the local health authorities before one even considers sharing.”
The novel coronavirus has infected more than 71,000 people globally, mostly in mainland China. The death toll has climbed to 1,775.