Outbreak at Caribbean Resort Spawns 26 Cases So Far

Previously, Grenada had only seen 45 COVID cases in total
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 16, 2020 4:40 AM CST
Caribbean Island Locked Down After 26 Cases Linked to Resort
St. George's, Grenada, where the Sandals resort is located.   (Getty Images / NAPA74)

Before this past weekend, Grenada had only recorded 45 coronavirus cases since March. Then, more than half that number was added all at once when an outbreak occurred at a resort on the Caribbean island, the Washington Post reports. So far, 26 cases of COVID-19 have been linked to Sandals Grenada, leading to a partial lockdown of the island. Meanwhile, the resort is closed to new guests, testing and contact tracing are being carried out for all guests and employees, and the case count is expected to rise. "The discovery was made following proactive testing of employees and guests on Friday and Saturday, as part of the Ministry’s continuous testing of front-line staff in sectors directly related to tourism, travel and health," the island's health ministry says in a statement.

The positive cases were discovered among guests and resort workers, as well as their contacts; 13 of the infected people live in the household of a Sandals employee. Across the island now, gatherings are limited to no more than 10 people, businesses must close by 10pm, and restaurants and bars can be open only for takeout. The 133-square-mile island was already requiring that all visitors show a negative coronavirus test result from the 72 hours prior to their arrival, and, as Conde Nast Traveler recently reported, it requires new arrivals to quarantine for five days, at the end of which they are tested again before being allowed to leave isolation. The island has so far not reported any COVID deaths. (More coronavirus stories.)

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