Deputy Premier and Minister for Health and Social Development Honourable Carvin Malone has announced that two of the three persons in the British Virgin Islands who tested positive for COVID-19 have recovered.

Honourable Malone said the Territory now has one confirmed positive case of COVID-19 which is currently being re-tested. He said there is still no sign of local person-to-person transmission while health surveillance teams continue to conduct screening and monitoring in order to detect any active cases of the COVID-19 virus in the Territory.

The Ministry of Health and Social Development determines recovered cases in accordance with the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) guidance. The CARPHA guidance outlines that a re-test is carried out 15 to 20 days after a patient is diagnosed as positive.

If the results of the first re-test are negative, a second re-rest is undertaken 24 hours later. Once both re-test results are negative, a patient is then discharged and considered recovered from COVID-19. However, if the results of the first re-test of a positive patient remains positive, the patient is re-tested every seven days until the results are negative and then re-tested 24 hours after the first negative result to be considered recovered and discharged. 

Persons who are experiencing a fever with cough or difficulty breathing are encouraged to contact the Health Hotline at 852-7650 for medical assessment and guidance. There is no known vaccine and no specific antiviral treatment against the virus. Therefore, prevention is critical to avoid being exposed to COVID-19. 

Persons should practice everyday preventive actions to help reduce the risk of respiratory viruses by frequent hand-washing, cough and sneeze etiquette, avoiding contact with visibly sick people, staying home when feeling ill and practicing social distancing.