 The Ministry of Health, Wellness and Early Affairs has been responding to the surge in COVID-19 cases associated with the fourth wave, which commenced on July 25, 2021. Principal nursing officer Julieta Frederick-Cassius says the routine services continue to be delivered. The current COVID-19 situation has placed severe pressure on the already limited staff compliments. Additionally, facilities have been severely impacted, given that some staff members have periodically been placed in quarantine or isolation. In response to this situation, and to improve efficiency in the delivery of care, the Ministry of Health shall temporarily close the following community wellness centres. Lager-Babuno, Tirochet-Castries, Delser-Souffre and Forsenjak-Souffre. Friends of these wellness centres are asked to access care at another wellness centre within the district. During the closure of these wellness centres, the health aids will continue to provide screening services within the communities. Additionally, the Ministry has taken the decision to scale down the services offered at select wellness centres. This will allow for the reassignment of staff to facilities and sites with higher service demand, including vaccination sites and respiratory clinics. Core health services will still be provided at these wellness centres, which include the continuation of diabetes, hypertension and other chronic care services, as well as maternal and child health services. The clinic days for these wellness centres are as follows. Conrace Wellness Centre, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Vana Wellness Centre, Mondays and Tuesdays. Itang's Wellness Centre, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Saltybus Wellness Centre, Tuesdays. The Grace Wellness Centre on Wednesdays. The Tirochet-Miku Wellness Centre on Mondays and Thursdays. And the Moguja Wellness Centre on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. All scheduled doctors clinics will remain as per schedule. This scale down will be for a period of two weeks in the first instance, commencing Monday, September 20th, 2021, and at the end of the period, an assessment will be done to determine the need for its continuity. The Ministry of Health recognizes that these changes may be inconvenient for some members of the public, but request patience and cooperation as we attempt to meet the health care service needs to respond to the COVID-19 situation in St. Lucia. Principal Nursing Officer, Juneta-Fedric Cassius.