Tourism Minister Denise Charles said 4o percent of the adult population is vaccinated against COVID 19.
She told a special program on DBS on Tuesday, Dominica needs many more people to be vaccinated.
Her comments came as Dominica introduced a nightly curfew for the next seven days to curb the spread of COVID 19.
The minister said to have herd immunity, we need to be at 70 percent.
She further stated that unless we are at 70 percent anytime there is a situation, a cluster, or any type of spread we have to take stringent measures as a government.
She is encouraging those who are unvaccinated to get vaccinated.
“If you get exposed to covid-19 the vaccine is a fighting chance of survival based on the science it is expected that you will not get severely ill and you will not have to be hospitalized and there is the efficacy that the rate of transmission is lower.”
She added citizens have to use all mechanisms to protect themselves besides wearing masks, sanitization getting vaccinated does that for you.
Charles said the decision to implement the curfew will have implications for the cruise ship season.
“We just reopen our borders, we received the first ship last week, the ship is expected to visit the county every other Friday so if we have a potential outbreak in the country there may be some implications.
She added due to the nightly curfew, it may have implications for jobs, visitors who were planning to come here for the summer, or planning a trip to Dominica that they may have to reconsider their travel option.
“We can return to normal life if we all decide to get vaccinated.”
