The efforts of St. Kitts and Nevis to successfully contain the first wave of COVID-19 have been recognized internationally, as the United Kingdom has included the Federation on a list of 59 countries where passengers returning to or visiting England will no longer need to self-isolate upon arrival.
The exemption for the 59 countries to the mandatory 14-day self-isolation commences from July 10.
Information from the UK’s Department of Transport stated that, “The new measures will come into force from 10 July 2020, meaning that people arriving from selected destinations will be able to enter England without needing to self-isolate, unless they have been in or transited through non-exempt countries in the preceding 14 days.”
The decision to introduce the exemption list was made after the completion of a risk assessment conducted by the Joint Biosecurity Centre, in close consultation with Public Health England and the Chief Medical Officer. The assessment looked at a range of factors including the prevalence of coronavirus, the numbers of new cases and potential trajectory of the disease in the specified destinations.
To date, there has been a total of 16 positive cases of the coronavirus in St. Kitts and Nevis, 15 of which have since recovered. The 16th confirmed case on Saturday, July 4 came some 76 days after the country recorded its 15th case.
All 16 positive cases of COVID-19 in St. Kitts and Nevis were travel related.
