(ZIZ News) — 30 nurses and four intensive care specialists from Cuba are in the Federation to help the country tackle the spread of the Novel Coronavirus.
The group was brought in as part of the government’s larger plan to recruit the assistance of health workers from partner countries.
The team arrived on Saturday afternoon and were met by Health Ministry officials including the Medical Chief of Staff at the Joseph N France General Hospital, Dr Cameron Wilkinson.
He said as a physician he understands the risk that health workers take by being in the frontline when tackling this virus so he was very grateful for the assistance from Cuba.
“For these persons to leave their foreign country to come and fight this vicious disease knowing that they may pay that sacrifice for us, we all should be grateful,” he said. “So I want every Kittitian and Nevisian to be very thankful for what we are experiencing here today.”
Meanwhile, Minister of State Responsible for Health, the Hon Wendy Phipps said while the visiting team will be boosting the health sector it’s still up to individuals to do their part and that means following guidelines set out by the ministry and staying at home if quarantined.
“It is not a light undertaking,” she said. “It is a request for your safety and the safety of your families and the general public. It is something we are asking you to do as we go through the process of assessing whether or not you have Covid-19 symptoms. If it’s a case where you have a confirmed diagnosis it means that you should be in isolation which is far more stringent than quarantine. Anyone could tell you that.”
Twenty-five nurses and three doctors will be deployed in St. Kitts and 5 nurses and one doctor will be deployed to Nevis.
This initiative to reach out to partner countries such as Cuba, Taiwan and the United States for assistance was announced by Prime Minister Harris during his press conference on Tuesday.