Region Six REO: no new COVID cases, cluster was not an outbreak

Region Six did not experience a COVID-19 outbreak, despite recording cases roughly six weeks ago, Regional Executive Officer (REO) Ronald Harsawack has said, crediting a swift response from health and education officials for containing the spread.

Speaking at the Regional Democratic Council's monthly statutory meeting on Thursday, Harsawack said the first cluster was detected at the Port Mourant Training Facility, where 27 students tested positive.

"We didn't have an outbreak of COVID in the region. We need to make that clear," he told councillors, adding that the facility was immediately quarantined and affected students kept in mandatory isolation before being sent home.

Guysuco Training School and Port Mourant Primary were subsequently among the schools that reported suspected cases. Contact tracing linked one case to a sibling connection between the training facility and the primary school, Harsawack said.

The Regional Education Department worked with the Ministry of Health and the Regional Health Office to activate a rapid response team, testing symptomatic students and extending contact tracing to their households. Some schools were closed for two to three days as a precaution.

Harsawack acknowledged difficulty enforcing physical distancing among young children, and said misinformation among parents and school administrators had caused unnecessary panic. He reminded councillors that reporting positive cases remains mandatory under Ministry of Health regulations.

"For the past couple of days, going into weeks, we have had no positive cases reported of COVID throughout the region," he said, adding that authorities remained vigilant despite the improvement.