Nearly 4,000 contacts of COVID-19 cases identified

The Ministry of Health has identified nearly 4,000 COVID-19 contacts so far, health officials advised yesterday.

“In response to the second wave, 62 volunteers were recruited and 76 health staff re-assigned to carry out contact tracing on New Providence, Grand Bahama and the Family Islands,” Dr. Merceline Dahl-Regis, health consultant in the Office of the Prime Minister, said.

“To date, public health experts working out of the contact tracing command center at the Melia hotel have engaged and followed up with close to 4,000 contacts of confirmed cases.

“We will not be able to bring this second wave under control until we identify all cases and contacts of cases.”

Data from the Ministry of Health indicated that 840 contacts were exposed to the virus by family.

“It is noteworthy that once again we have clusters of transmission, not community spread,” Dahl-Regis said.

“Today, we illustrate the spread of COVID-19 in some specific settings. The spread of COVID-19 in The Bahamas will continue to be dependent on behavior patterns of its residents and adherence to the pubic health measures.”

The ministry said 937 contacts have already been discharged from quarantine.

It said 1,083 remained quarantined at home as of yesterday.

Only six were quarantined at a government facility, according to the ministry.

The Bahamas has reported 1,798 cases so far.

Nearly 1,700 of those cases were reported after July 1 when The Bahamas reopened its borders.

Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis said last night that less than one percent of The Bahamas’ cases came from visitors.

Data from the ministry indicates that 91 percent of cases are Bahamians or residents.

Individuals in their 40s, 50s and 60s accounted for the majority of COVID-19 cases during The Bahamas’ first wave of the pandemic, which spanned from March to June.

During that period, 23 percent of cases were individuals in their 50s, 17 percent in their 60s and 17 percent in their 40s.

Individuals in their 20s, 30s and 40s account for the majority of cases during the second wave, which started in July. 

Twenty-five percent of cases are individuals in their 30s, 23 percent in their 40s and 19 percent in their 20s. 

Fifty-three percent of the 357 individuals in their 30s, who tested positive for the virus, are men.

Fifty-four percent of the 329 individuals in their 40s are also men.

source https://thenassauguardian.com/nearly-4000-contacts-of-covid-19-cases-identified/