St. George: August 27, 2021: The Ministry of Health has confirmed community spread of COVID-19 in Grenada.

Acting Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Shawn Charles said Friday that the patterns emerging from the current spike in COVID-19 cases point to community spread.

He explained, “We are unable to link many of the cases to any defined cluster or traveller, hence the determination that we now have community spread.”

Prior to this, Grenada recorded specific clusters of positive cases which were either directly linked to an imported case or a traced contact of a confirmed case.

Statistics from the Ministry of Health show that a further twenty-one persons tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday. The total number of active cases in Grenada now stands at 126. Of this amount, eight are imported, while for the remaining cases, the virus was transmitted locally.

Infected persons range in age from four to seventy-one and at present, there are more female positive cases than male.

Additionally, the vast majority of positive cases are unvaccinated persons, many of whom are exhibiting mild symptoms. The common symptoms being reported by Grenadians are muscle and body aches, runny nose, sore throat and congestion. Some are also reporting upset stomach, nausea and diarrhea. 

Dr. Charles explained that infected persons usually develop symptoms within two to fourteen days of exposure, therefore there should be no rush to test immediately after exposure as this could lead to a false negative.

He further stated that based on the incubation period of the virus, testing is typically done between five and seven days after exposure.  The public is reminded that there is no cost for COVID-19 testing conducted as part of measures to manage the public health crisis. Persons who have been exposed to the virus, should call the COVID-19 hotline at 538-4787 or 458-4787 or contact their nearest health centre.