By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Tribune Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

HEALTH Minister Dr Duane Sands said officials have managed to “flatten the curve” by having a maximum of six COVID-19 cases on any given day, but this does not mean the nation is out of the woods.

While giving local statistics on the disease, he said women account for 60 percent of the cases, but only represent 36 percent of the COVID-19 deaths.

“While we continue to have cases, and the unfortunate deaths, we have managed to flatten the curve by having a maximum of six cases diagnosed on any one day and our acute care institutions have not been overwhelmed with assessment and management of COVID cases,” Dr Sands said. “We are not out of the woods by any stretch. We must continue the public health and social measures implemented. It is our best chance for us to make the best outcome of this unfortunate situation for all.”

To ensure the country remains on this path, Dr Sands said detection will “very soon” include testing for any person wishing to know their COVID-19 status. These people will be able to have tests done at approved private labs. However, the minister did not announce a timeline for this portion of test expansion.

However, the government has tested around 200 high-risk healthcare workers at Princess Margaret Margaret Hospital. While tests are still being conducted, preliminary findings, he said, were that 25 percent of the tests yielded negative results. Fifteen confirmed cases and one death has come from this vulnerable group.

Previously, officials said other vulnerable groups including eldercare homes and the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services would also be the focus of priority testing, but Dr Sands told Parliament yesterday the focus has shifted to people who may have come into contact with at-risk medical workers.

Apart from this, Dr Sands said officials now have data to understand more about how the virus has spread throughout communities. He said most recently it has been found that Bimini is emerging as a COVID-19 hotspot, while New Providence accounts for 80 percent of the cases. The Bahamas’ case fatality ratio stands at 13.8 percent, he said.

As of April 26, there have been 80 confirmed cases, with 11 deaths. Twenty-one days prior, there had been 29 cases. Eight of 80 confirmed cases are hospitalised in serious or critical condition at Doctors Hospital West.

“The total number of 80 cases represents a 121 percent increase over the last report,” Dr Sands told Parliament yesterday. “Of the total cases, 22 have recovered and 47 remain active. As may be expected, most of the cases 64 are in New Providence accounting for 80 percent of all cases.

“Grand Bahama, Bimini and Cat Cay account for the remainder of cases with seven and nine cases, respectively.

“Females account for 60 percent of all cases although only thirty-six 36 percent of deaths. Most cases, both sexes, fall in the age group 40-59 years. The case fatality ratio now stands at 13.8 percent. What is extremely notable is that Bimini has emerged as a hot spot for the COVID-19 virus in The Bahamas.”

He continued: “Current data in my ministry on this outbreak, supports the view that spread of COVID in The Bahamas is occurring mostly through community transmission, recording just one imported case early in the outbreak and four import-related cases. The remaining 75 cases have all been determined to have occurred through spread of the virus within the country.”

Of these cases there have been 48 women and 32 men.

There have also been successes, Dr Sands said.

“Moreover, what is our unsung success, Mr Speaker, is that we now have a total of 22 persons who have recovered from COVID-19. This simply means that they are no longer shedding the virus and infecting others.”

However the deaths, 11 in total, have affected those most vulnerable. Their ages range from 50 to 91.

“All these cases remain in the category of the most vulnerable. There are seven males and four females; and one of the deceased is from Bimini, eight from New Providence and two from Grand Bahama.

“The case fatality ratio of The Bahamas stands at 13.8 percent. Now the case fatality ratio is a measure of severity of a disease. It is calculated by comparing the number of cases that have died from COVID-19 to the number of cases of the disease. Notwithstanding the significant level of co- morbid illnesses that have contributed to this level of lethality, we expect the case fatality rate to fall as we liberalise the criteria for testing. More tests...more positive cases.”

Case confirmation, Dr Sands said, is tied to laboratory testing capacity. Significant strides continue to be made in this area.

The Bahamas has accepted 1,000 donated RT PCR test kits as well as more than 700 RNA extractor kits and other reagents required for testing.

Despite an inventory of at least 4,000 RT PCR kits, he said officials remain challenged to expand testing to reach the elusive goal of testing-on-demand because of international supply chain limitations.

He said currently, the country’s swab inventory stands at 1,100 swabs remaining and the government’s lab is currently exploring multiple avenues for enhanced capacity. On order are 3D printed swabs, validation of samples such as sputum instead of nasopharyngeal swabs and locally produced viral transport media, he said.