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The V.I. Dept. of Health reported a significant reduction in active Covid-19 cases in the territory Tuesday, though the probability of interacting with an infected person remains high, a senior health official said.
Providing an update on the Covid-19 pandemic situation during a news conference on Tuesday, Territorial Epidemiologist Dr. Esther Ellis said that notwithstanding the seven-day positivity rate of 17.88 percent, becoming infected is a real possibility.
Meanwhile, D.O.H. reported three additional Covid-19-related deaths, bringing the territory's total since the pandemic started to 94. "After further investigating cause of death and ensuring notification of next of kin, the Virgin Islands Department of Health is saddened to confirm the territory’s ninety-second, ninety-third and ninety-fourth deaths related to COVID-19. The deceased are a 70-year-old male on St. Croix, an 89-year-old male on St. Thomas and an 80-year-old male also on St. Thomas," the health department said.
“This number is very high and the likelihood of you talking to someone or hugging someone who may be sick or positive for COVID-19 is high,” said Dr. Ellis, who revealed that there were 1,422 active cases in the territory as of Tuesday.
From the total cases, there were 789 on St. Croix, 568 on St. Thomas, and 65 on St John. Since the start of the pandemic, Dr. Ellis said 12,386 people have recovered from the disease. There were 25 individuals hospitalized, including 14 at the Schneider Regional Medical Center in St. Thomas where two patients were vented, and 11 at the Juan F. Luis Hospital on St. Croix, where one patient was on a ventilator.
The latest spike in Covid-19 is fueled by the Omicron variant which began affecting the territory in mid-December, leading to thousands of infections. However, thousands of people are now declared recovered, causing a dip in cases with approximately 1,039 recoveries being reported in the latest data provided by D.O.H.
