SABA—As of Saturday, August 1, Saba has two new positive cases of COVID-19, Island Governor Jonathan Johnson announced in a special audio bulletin.
Both concerned imported cases, meaning that the persons contracted the disease abroad before travelling to Saba, who went directly into quarantine upon arrival and now are in isolation. A protocol was in place upon the arrival of these persons to ensure that minimum interaction occurred. Because there has been uncertainty concerning the latter, authorities are checking whether further steps need to be taken.
Saba moved to alert level two last week and will remain in this phase for now. As the two persons who contracted COVID-19 abroad concerned imported cases, and therefore not local transmissions, authorities decided not to upscale to a higher alert level.
However, as this development shows, the measures that must be followed in alert level two, such as the banning of events, physical distancing measures, strict hand hygiene and gatherings of no more than 25 people must be adhered to, Island Governor Johnson stated. “These measures are preventative and an important part in ensuring the safety of our community,” he said, thanking people for remaining vigilant and continuing to adhere to the local measures. Johnson promised to update the community on further developments.
The two additional COVID-19 infected persons bring the total number of positive cases on Saba to five since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The other three persons who contracted the virus much earlier in the pandemic have since recovered, and Saba had been COVID-19-free for several months. Testing continues and persons returning from abroad, except for St. Eustatius, Bonaire and Curaçao, must go into quarantine for two weeks.
