KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent (AP) — Officials in St. Vincent say they are extremely worried about a COVID-19 outbreak given the lack of water and more positive cases being reported as thousands of evacuees fleeing the erupting volcano crowd into shelters and private homes. Dr. Simone Keizer-Beache, St. Vincent’s chief medical officer, said Thursday that about a dozen cases have been reported in recent days. She said at least five evacuees staying in two homes and one shelter tested positive, exposing at least 20 people to the virus. Officials are preparing to do massive testing as part of contact tracing, a complicated undertaking given that between 16,000 to 20,000 people were evacuated before La Soufriere’s explosive eruptions started on Friday.
