 The Ministry of Health and Wellness is reporting a reduction in the total number of diagnosed COVID-19 cases over the last few weeks. There was also a reduction in the number of persons with respiratory illness, reduced admissions at the respiratory hospital, and reduced numbers accessing care at the clinics. The daily infection rate for the past week was 3.2 per 100,000 per day and an average of 6 cases per day. The majority of the cases continue to be seen in the southern region of the island and Bamondo and Grosile in the north. Health officials continue to manage outbreaks emanating from social activities. Chief Medical Officer Dr Sharon Belmar George says the Ministry is continuing surveillance and testing on a daily basis. While the Ministry notes the reduction in cases, there has been an increase in the cases of the British variant of COVID-19 on island. The Ministry of Health and Wellness has recently received new results from the Caribbean Public Health Agency in relation to gene sequencing for variants of concern. We have noted 19 more cases of the British variant in country, bringing the total number of British variants diagnosed in country 241. All of the new cases are nationals. The majority of the variants are from Bamondo, Grosile and Castries. The samples sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency are sequenced to detect all of the possible variants, but the British variant is the only one which has been detected in St Lucia thus far. We would like to continue to alert the public that we are still in a very vulnerable position based on the high risk of introduction of COVID-19 and the other variants of concern from developed countries and neighboring Martinique and transmission in country due to poor compliance to protocols. We note the increase in social activities across the island, especially on weekends and the general relaxation of the public health measures. We continue to advise the public to remain vigilant and adhere to the protocols at a putting place to keep us safe. Dr. Belmar George urges the public to continue regular hand washing, wear face masks in public places, avoid crowds and persons with respiratory symptoms and keep frequently touched so this is clean. The CMO also encourages nationals to get vaccinated. Vaccination remains the most effective public health measure in managing infectious diseases. The AstraZeneca vaccine has been proven to be safe and effective in protecting persons from developing COVID-19 in severe forms, complications, hospitalizations and death. We continue to urge the public to access the various sites to get immunized at the soonest. The vaccine is available free of charge to the public at many venues on a daily basis. As of yesterday, June 13, 2021, a total of 29,655 persons have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 20,589 have received the second dose. Please encourage your family and friends to get immunized so we can all be protected. Over the last 14 days, 91 new cases were recorded and at news time today there were 97 active cases in country.