COVID-19 Situation Update, n. 149 (30 January 2022)

Abstract

The situation in some countries and territories (hitherto referred to as countries) follows the trend from last week of peaks in the current Omicron wave having been reached and declining cases & hospitalizations. This week, Antigua & Barbuda, Guadeloupe, Montserrat, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have joined British Virgin Islands, French Guiana, Grenada and St. Kitts and Nevis in showing a declining 7 day moving incidence rates as well as a decline in the 7 day average of test positivity. Both these indicators are converging in these nine countries. In St. Vincent & the Grenadines, information for total RDTs tested, albeit partial, has recently been published so estimates of test positivity aren't sufficiently reliable. Nonetheless including RDTs, the test positivity in last 3 days is around 16%, comparable to other countries who consider RDT results to be confirmatory and are showing declining trend (Grenada). In Barbados and Martinique, 7 day case incidence shows a slight dip in the last 2-3 days but it is too early to say that a peak has been reached. The new Minister of Health of Barbados mentioned that the country is at "...halfway point in Omicron surge" on Jan 29, 2022. Currently the rate of increase in total tests conducted in seven days in that country is higher than than the increase in cases, which shows that health authorities are prioritizing the right areas even when one of every four people tested in the last week in Barbados had Barbados. Anguilla, on the other hand, shows a clear decline in incidence but in the absence of testing information, a decline in COVID-19 is plausible for now.