Antigua & Barbuda will return to a lock down of the country “if at all there is community spread” of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Gaston Browne has said.
” If at all we end up in any form of community spread, then clearly we have to lock down the country, there is no doubt about that.”
He made the remarks while responding to a listener to his weekly radio show who asked what would happen if more cases of the coronavirus were imported.
The prime minister said the number of cases is not the only factor “unless we have an overwhelming amount.”
He said it was more of an issue about our “capacity.” He added that before the country had put measures in place, 12 cases would be enough to close down the country. But Browne said “we may find ourselves in a situation right now in which we can manage 12 cases, we’re able to manage 25 cases.”
“So it is based on the capacity to manage the cases and whether or not there is any community spread,” he added.
“So what I am saying is it’s not exclusively a function of the numbers but the capacity of the country to manage the number of imported cases and to avoid local spread and ultimately community spread.”
Browne told Pointe FM that such a decision would not be taken easily and urged residents to continue to be cautious.
To date Antigua & Barbuda has recorded 26 cases with only one active case.