Key points

Guadeloupe, Saint Martin

For the past three weeks, monitoring indicators and epidemic pressure metrics have shown active viral circulation across all our territories:

• Incidence rates are now above the alert threshold (50 per 100,000 inhabitants) in Saint Martin and Guadeloupe; Saint Martin has a very high incidence rate (153.9 per 100,000 inhabitants).

• Positivity rates are rising; last week, this rate exceeded the vigilance threshold in Guadeloupe (5.9%) and exceeded the alert threshold in Saint Martin (12.6%).

• Visits to general practitioners for acute respiratory infections (ARI) have been increasing for the past three weeks, with a more pronounced rise in Saint Martin.

• The number of positive cases identified through contact tracing of individuals who tested positive has been rising for several weeks. Secondary transmission chains and new clusters (groups of cases) have been identified in Guadeloupe and Saint Martin. The clusters are partly linked to gatherings of people at private events or in the workplace. Nearly all cases from these clusters were infected locally (autochthonous cases).

• The 25-35 age group is currently the most affected by this resurgence of viral transmission in Guadeloupe.

• The intensive care unit at Guadeloupe University Hospital is under strain, with 10 patients hospitalized as of August 27, 2020.

Saint-Barthélemy

• In Saint-Barthélemy, surveillance indicators show low viral circulation in the territory.

Local transmission is now established in Guadeloupe and Saint Martin. Contact tracing around confirmed cases continues and is enabling the detection of more and more clusters. These clusters are being closely monitored to assess potential transmission chains as much as possible. The level of vulnerability to COVID-19 in Guadeloupe and Saint Martin is high. Guadeloupe, Saint Martin, and Saint Barthélemy, like Martinique, have been classified as “areas of active viral circulation.”