News

Acting Director of Primary Healthcare and Deputy Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eryka Simmons today issued a weekly video update from the Public Health Department on trends observed in COVID-19 data over the prior week.

The weekly trends data is being reported by “epidemiological week” which runs from Sunday to the following Saturday and is commonly referred to as an epi week or a CDC week. It is a standardised method of counting weeks to allow for the comparison of data.

Dr. Simmons said that for the week of 7 to 13 November there was an average of 202 new COVID-19 cases per day and a weekly total of 1,413 new cases.

Overall, 51 percent of the cases were female, and 49 percent male. The ages of positive cases ranged from two months to 96 years, with an average age of 31 years.

Dr. Simmons said, “One was under one year of age, 354 were under the age of 18, and 17 over the age of 70. Most of the cases are in the workforce.”

Of the week’s new positives, Dr. Simmons said, 31 percent were fully vaccinated, three percent had one shot, and 67 percent were unvaccinated.

Dr. Simmons urged residents to continue with personal prevention measures. She said, “In the context of wide community transmission, Public Health is advising enhanced vigilance in prevention strategies. If you are isolated or quarantined, you may still prevent ongoing transmission if you adhere to the recommendations. Wear your masks, use hand sanitiser and practice physical distance where possible.”

She also noted that COVID-19 vaccination clinics continue at the Lions’ Center and Camana Bay locations, as well as district events as advertised on the HSA and government websites and social media platforms.

Dr. Simmons’ full video may be viewed at https://youtu.be/RErlarF3iGg