MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands confirms second Covid 19 case; patient is in isolation at the MPC

An overview of the Mount Pleasant Complex which included the commercial international airport of the Falklands

The Falkland Islands government announced on Sunday of a second case of Covid 19, although the patient remains under isolation conditions at the Mount Pleasant Complex, the UK defense outpost of the Islands.

Falklands Chief Medical Officer Dr. Rebecca Edwards and lawmaker Leona Roberts, the current spokesperson for the elected Legislative Assembly made the announcement on Sunday evening.

The official release follows:

“Following the receipt of tests results from the UK on Friday, April 3, which confirmed a case of Covid 19, who was a patient in isolation at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, KEMH, in Stanley, further results were received on Saturday 4 April which identified a second positive case.

”This individual is at the Mount Pleasant Complex, MPC, and has been resident there for some time. More recently the individual has been in isolation there as part of the ongoing arrangements for dealing with possible cases.

“The Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Rebecca Edwards has liaised with officials at the BFSAI to ensure all the necessary isolation precautions remain in place. The confirmed case in the Stanley hospital who is not on ventilation remains in isolation and is in a stable condition..

”Dr. Edwards stated that there is no requirement to change existing guidance to the public, and advised that the published service on hand washing, self isolation and social distancing should continue to be adhered to and she thanked members of the public for their support.

“As of Saturday, 137 samples have been taken and we have received 116 results, 114 have been negative and two have been positive. 1 was not tested as it was one of the patients that we already had a positive result for. The remaining twenty are on transit to the UK on the South Atlantic Airbridge”

It must be added that the Falklands, which so far has no coronavirus testing facilities, and depends on the UK for that, was working and was organized on the assumption that the virus already was in the Islands, --sanitary emergency--, since many people in the Islands were complying with the 14-day isolation, recently returned from overseas or because they had come in contact with tourists from cruise vessels suspected of having positive cases on board.

This means the cases did not come as a surprise and KEHM has been provided with the necessary equipment, medicines, beds and staff for such an emergency. The Falklands population, based on projections from the last census are estimated at some 3.500, while personnel at the MPC according to the British media is around 1,300.