Canada donates PPE kits to St Kitts and Nevis

On November 13, St Kitts and Nevis received a donation of PPE kits (personal protective equipment) from the Government of Canada.

The PPE would help with the efforts to keep healthcare workers safe from COVID-19 in the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis.

The Government of Canada through the PAHO gave St Kitts and Nevis, 10,500 isolation gowns, 35,200 respiratory masks and 3,600 goggles.

The donations were handed over at a brief ceremony organised at the Joseph N. France General Hospital.

Minister of Health of the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis, the Honourable Akilah Byron-Nisbett, accepted the donation from the Canadian Government on behalf of the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis.

The Minister stated that the successful management of COVID-19 needs substantial financial investments and as St Kitts and Nevis is a small, service-oriented and developing state along with the fact that because of the closure of the borders, there is a significant adverse impact on the tourism sector.

She said that states like St Kitts and Nevis are challenged to generate the required funding to implement the appropriate infrastructure, needed to combat the virus.

Minister Byron-Nisbett lauded the local health professionals as well as the officials of the National COVID-19 Task Force for their excellent job of containing the first wave of the novel coronavirus in St Kitts and Nevis.

It is noteworthy that St Kitts and Nevis has registered 19 confirmed cases of COVID-19 coronavirus and a 100 per cent recovery rate.

The Minister also thanked the Canadian Government for the donation of PPEs and said that it is a testament to the strong and excellent relations between Canada and St Kitts and Nevis.

The Minister also said that PAHO would assist St Kitts and Nevis in acquiring a vaccine to treat COVID-19 after the vaccine is approved by medical authorities and available for worldwide distribution.