Persons who are suffering from COVID-19 may be barred from voting in the General Election on September 3.

Director of Elections, Glaspole Brown, had previously announced that persons can’t be legally barred from voting, even if they have the contagious coronavirus.

But, in a virtual media conference last evening, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton says allowing them to vote would pose too great a risk.

He says there will be additional consultations on the issue.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr Jacquiline Bisasor Mckenzie, says discussions have already started about allowing persons in quarantine to vote and how quarantined communities can be facilitated.

But on COVID-19 positive persons, the CMO had this to say.

Dr Jacquiline Bisasor Mckenzie, Chief Medical Officer.

In the meantime, Dr Tufton says six additional persons tested positive for the coronavirus yesterday, bringing the island’s total number of confirmed cases to 1071.

Dr Christopher Tufton, Health and Wellness Minister.

Clearing the Testing Backlog

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry says it will clear the backlog of COVID-19 tests soon, as its acquiring a machine that will facilitate rapid results for samples.

The Ministry has been grappling with delivering results for thousands of tests and has missed an end of July deadline to have them all cleared.

Dr Michelle Hamilton is Director of Lab Services in the Health Ministry.

She also says no private lab has been approved to conduct tests, despite a number of labs advertising that they are able to conduct the tests.

Dr Hamilton says such labs may face sanctions.

Dr Michelle Hamilton, Director of Lab Services in the Health Ministry.

And, Chief Medical Officer, CMO, Dr Jacquiline Bisasor McKenzie, is again warning persons with pre-existing health conditions to take the necessary precautions to avoid being infected.

She says all four of the latest persons to die after being infected with COVID-19, including a 37-year old, had co-morbidities.

Dr Jacquiline Bisasor McKenzie, Chief Medical Officer.

They were speaking last evening during a digital media conference.