As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic spirals in St Lucia, Prime Minister Allen Chastanet has declared a state of emergency late Wednesday (February 3).

Chastanet, in a Tuesday address to the nation, argued that the state of emergency will initially last for a week, ending on Wednesday, February 10. He assured St Lucians there was no need for panic buying.

“Over the past ten days, to reduce the spread of COVID-19, we once again scaled back on activities. Our first wave of COVID-19 was a major test for us, and we succeeded in keeping those numbers down. In working together as a people, we were also able to manage the second wave of COVID-19 in October-November,” stated Prime Minister Chastanet.

“Now, we are experiencing our third wave, as January saw new COVID cases were three times what they were in December. The rapid increase in this short space of time has put additional strain on our health systems as has happened all over the world,” he continued.

In addressing the worrying the rise in cases, the St Lucian PM announced a list of protocols which include “the return to a state of emergency effective Wednesday, February 3, for an initial period of seven days. This will allow us to further restrict movement with a curfew from 7:00 pm to 5:00 am.”

Chastanet also announced changes to the COVID-19 Act to reduce operating hours for business operations to coincide with the curfew.

“Visitors to St Lucia will require a negative PCR test within five days, not seven. Supermarkets and pharmacies will remain open. Essential services will also be allowed to operate,” he indicated.

St Lucia confirmed 77 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the national total to 1,556. With two new fatalities in the last 24 hours, the St Lucia death toll has risen to 18, while 779 patients have recovered from the infectious disease.

As the Caribbean island continues to deny community spread of the coronavirus, health officials are managing 759 active cases.