 Meanwhile, despite a reduction in COVID-19 cases on Ireland, health officials remain concerned that the introduction of COVID-19 variants may prompt a more difficult to manage surge in cases. Jesse Leos reports on the surveillance of the Ministry of Health and Wellness in this regard and increased efforts at vaccinating more of the population. The Department of Health indicates that in the 7-day period, 29th June to 5th July 2021, St. Lucia registered a daily COVID-19 infection rate of 2.2 per 100,000 of the population. This confirms a reduction compared to the period 22nd to 28th June 2021, during which a daily infection rate of 4.9 per 100,000 of the population was registered. Despite this reduction in the local infection rate, officials remain concerned about the introduction of more resilient strains of the virus to the island. In addition to the original virus, St. Lucia has been subject to 41 cases of the Alpha variant commonly referred to as the UK variant. This variant is 24-70% more transmissible than the original. While still at bay, other variants including the Beta or South African variant, the Gamma or Brazilian variant and the Delta or Indian variant are too close for comfort. During a live update on NTN Tuesday 6th July, national epidemiologist Dr. Michelle Fossoir says they continue to monitor regional trends to avoid variants that are likely to undermine the ability of the country to control the pandemic. We are cognizant of the fact that we may experience a larger outbreak. The different variants have been proven to be more transmissible and so we are very wary that we have neighboring countries with the different variants. And so although our numbers have gone down, we are still monitoring what is happening on the ground in order to avoid an overwhelming surge of cases on our public health system. Currently, 10 cases of the Beta or South African variant have been registered in the region. It is 20-30% more transmissible than the original and has been shown to decrease the virus' susceptibility to antibodies and thus vaccine efficacy. Vaccines are only 50-60% effective at preventing mild to moderate disease. And meantime, 14 cases of the Gamma or Brazilian variant have been registered in the Caribbean. It is 29-48% more transmissible than the original, however, vaccines are still effective in reducing its transmission. The Delta or Indian variant is causing the most alarm globally as its level of infectivity is highest among the strains. To date, there are 8 cases in the Caribbean. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sharon Belmar George explains that the Indian variant is not likely to be a problem for a vaccinated population as compared to others. This is the one which is most feared at this point because it's a level of infectivity, is the highest as compared to all of the others. It's over 55% more transmissible than the Alpha variant, which we noted here in January and February. It causes more severe disease, hospitalization and deaths in the countries. The good news is that the AstraZeneca vaccine is very effective against the Delta variant after taking your two doses. So the variant which we have the most concern for introduction in terms of the effectivity of our vaccine is the South African variant. In addition to the mobile pop-up sites, visits to the homebound and the regular vaccination sites, partnerships with the private sector are now being forged for new vaccination locations. Immunization Manager Tech Legev-A-Tist welcomes this development. We have also added one other component. Last week, a public-private partnership initiative was launched. The People's Discount Pharmacy has partnered with the Ministry of Health offering COVID-19 vaccines. This is the first of this kind in St. Lucia where persons can access vaccines at their local pharmacy. We hope that other that we could extend this sort of service to other health providers in the near future. As of news time, 30,902 individuals in St. Lucia have received their first dose of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine and 22,019 have received their second. For the Government Information Service, I am Jesse-Léonce reporting.