Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

Medical chief explains ‘community spread’

Medical chief explains ‘community spread’

Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ronald Georges wants the Virgin Islands to know what health officials mean when they talk about “community spread.”

And it’s not his definition: It’s the World Health Organisation’s.

“There are different categories when you’re looking at stages of an epidemic in a country,” he explained. “There can be one or two imported cases. And then you may have clusters of cases, and then you may have larger clusters, and then you have a case where the infection gets in the community and you cannot trace the origin. So when you get to that stage, that becomes community spread.”

According to the WHO, “Community transmission is evidenced by the inability to relate confirmed cases through chains of transmission for a large number of cases.”

Technical terms


In the midst of a pandemic, Dr. Georges said, technical terms surrounding transmission, testing and vaccines get thrown around, and it’s natural that the
public may be confused about what they mean. Knowing what does and doesn’t constitute “community spread” can help prevent panic the next time one or more cases arise, he added.

Last month, three cases were found in contacts of people who had attended a New Year’s Eve party on Virgin Gorda. But even though they became infected in the VI, the situation wouldn’t qualify as “community spread,” the CMO explained.

“If somebody got infected here in the BVI, it doesn’t mean you have community spread,” he said. “It means somebody got infected in the BVI. We’re definitely not in the same boat as the US. We’re not in the same boat
as St. Vincent and Barbados.”

Those Caribbean countries saw major spikes this month that sent active cases soaring from double digits to triple digits in St. Vincent and quadruple digits in Barbados.

“Even though in the last month you’ve had a large number of cases [in the VI], those cases are all contained. … And you didn’t hear anything exciting from the government; there was no shutdown. Every last one of them was traced and tracked and every one of them was put under control and they were of no risk
to anybody.”

‘We found nothing’


Furthermore, when health officials engage in mass testing, such as what occurred on Virgin Gorda and Tortola in the wakeof the New Year’s Eve cases, it doesn’t mean they expect to find massive numbers of cases.

It just means that because the VI is a small territory, officials are being cautious, according to Dr. Georges.

“We did not think there were any transmission links. But just to be overly cautious to make sure that nothing slipped out, we went and mopped up,” he said. “[We told] anybody who went to[those] parties to come and get tested, so that was kind of likea secondary thing we did. And we found nothing.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Political Dispute Escalates Between Trump and Musk
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
US Senate Votes to Remove AI Regulation Moratorium from Domestic Policy Bill
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
Jury Deliberations in Diddy Trial Yield Partial Verdict in Serious Criminal Charges
×