By FARRAH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

DESPITE a “slight decline” in coronavirus cases recently, health officials believe it is still “a little too early” to say whether the nation is emerging from the third wave of the virus.

This is according to Dr Nikkiah Forbes, the country’s top infectious disease expert.

“We have seen a slight decline in cases over the last three weeks, but there’s only been a slight decline in the weekly average of cases between this week that we are in and the week before,” she said yesterday. “So we still have to watch, and we can’t say (we are emerging from the third wave) definitively at this point.”

This comes as the country recorded 151 new COVID-19 infections last week, bringing the total number of cases reported to 12,327.

Dr Forbes added the health system is not at full bed capacity, although “the number of patients compared to healthcare workers” still poses a challenge for medical facilities.

Dr Forbes said at this point, it is difficult to determine the likelihood of the country experiencing a fourth wave and what a surge like that would look like.

“There’s vaccinations now and that can help to reduce the number of cases if you were to have a robust effective vaccination programme,” she explained. “But we also have to consider emerging new variants like the delta variant which is more contagious. And all of those things would play into what subsequent waves or outbreaks would look like, or even what the current outbreak would look like and so it’s hard to predict that given those factors.”

She added: “COVID is not going away so we’ve got to learn and do the things we know to protect against getting it and spreading it and that is the public health measures and vaccinations at this time. Of course, there are also public health remedies (such as) testing, identifying cases, isolation, contact tracing and quarantine and other measures.”

On Sunday June 13, health officials reported 11 newly confirmed COVID cases, which were all in New Providence. On June 14, the country recorded another 15 confirmed COVID cases; 11 of those were from New Providence, another two were from Grand Bahama, while there was one each from Abaco and Exuma.

Seventeen additional new cases were reported on June 15, 14 of which came out of New Providence. Grand Bahama, Bimini & Cat Cay and Andros also reported one new case each.

June 16 saw last week’s highest report of newly confirmed cases, with the ministry recording 53 cases in one day. Of this figure, 37 were said to have come out of New Providence, 13 from Grand Bahama, two from Abaco and one from Eleuthera. However health officials said the 13 cases from Grand Bahama and the one case from Eleuthera were reported during the period of November 3, 2020 and March 30.

Another 27 cases were recorded on June 17, with 21 coming out of the capital while six arose from Grand Bahama.

Last Friday, health officials reported five more cases which all came out of New Providence.

On Saturday, June 19, 23 more cases were reported: 19 of them from New Providence, one from Grand Bahama and three from Bimini and Cat Cay.

According to the Health Ministry’s latest report, 42 patients are in hospital.

The death toll currently stands at 243 after a 72-year-old woman from Inagua died on June 16 and a 46-year-old New Providence woman passed away on June 17.

According to the latest data from officials, nearly 80,000 vaccines have been administered as of June 19.

Officials report that 79,246 total doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine have been given; 54,199 people have received one dose of the vaccine while 25,047 are fully vaccinated.

In its latest health bulletin, the Ministry of Health also urged the public to adhere to the necessary restrictions and guidelines to mitigate the spread of the virus.

“If you have symptoms of COVID-19, do not wait, first contact your health provider,” officials said. “While home remedies may work for a period, it is important to get tested and receive proper care before symptoms become too difficult to manage. If you have been asked by the Surveillance Unit to get tested for COVID-19, please follow the advice and take the gold standard RT-PCR test. employees are encouraged to work from home.”