ANTIGUA& BARBUDA
COMMERCIAL FLIGHTS COULD RETURN WITHIN WEEKS (antiguaobserver.com) A spokesperson from the Ministry of Tourism has said that the authorities have been talks with airlines about the resumption of commercial flights to Antigua & Barbuda: ‘They say early to mid-June is when they are likely to start flying. We suspect we will see lots of people coming: there’s a pent up demand,’ adding that strict measures will be in place to ensure passengers are screened for Covid-19. At present, anyone arriving into Antigua & Barbuda must be quarantined for 14 days. Meanwhile Prime Minister Gaston Browne said that public sector workers would be paid at the end of the month. It is ‘imperative’, but given the dramatic fall in revenue, the only option is to borrow. A spokesman in the Prime Minister’s office said that the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have been approached but ‘have not responded in a concrete way.’ There are 11 active cases of Covid-19 in the twin-island state.
BAHAMAS
PMH TAKES A MAJOR HIT (thenassauguardian.com)
Health Minister Dr Duane Sands revealed on Thursday 23 April that more than 200 health care workers, including 96 doctors and 62 nurses from Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH), in the Bahamas capital Nassau, are in quarantine after possible exposure to COVID-19. He said that many of those now in quarantine are connected to an incident at the hospital in which a patient tested positive. Of the current 47 active cases in the Bahamas, 15 are health care workers.
BARBADOS
GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES PROGRAMS TO HELP LOCALS COPE WITH COVID-19 (loopnewsbarbados.com). Barbados Covid-19 ‘Czar’ Richard Carter has revealed that initiatives led by the Health Emergency Operations Centre will include a cyber-social well-being and mental health outreach programme, a creative arts competition for teenagers, and a community outreach programme for the elderly. Carter explained that due to the restrictions of the national shutdown, families and communities have been affected both mentally and psychologically. Barbados currently has 40 active cases of Covid-19.
BONAIRE, SABA, STATIA
CARE FOR CHILDREN IN UNSAFE HOME SITUATIONS (bes-reporter.com). Some 80 vulnerable children in Saba are being cared for at an emergency childcare facility during the day to relieve both parents and children. The professional team of carers coordinates emergency childcare for those employed in vital and critical professions. Saba has reported two active cases of Covid-19.
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
PREPARING FOR REOPENING (bvinews.com) Government employees are being trained for inspecting business premises to ensure that they comply with social distancing and other anti-Covid-19 measures as the lockdown comes to an end on Monday morning. Businesses will be inspected to ensure that measures, such as sanitisation stations and the mandatory wearing of masks, are in place. There is currently one active case of the virus in this British Overseas Territory.
CUBA
136 CHILDREN WITH THE COVID-19 (plenglish.com). National Director of Epidemiology of the Cuban Ministry of Public Health Francisco Durán has announced that, to date, a total of 136 children have been diagnosed with the Covid-19. Eight of the children are infants, younger than one year. He explained that incidents of Covid-19 is less complicated and dangerous than in adults. Cuba has so far reported 820 active cases of Covid-19.
CURACAO
FOOD CARDS FOR THE UNEMPLOYED (curacaochronicle.com). People who are on welfare and who are part of the long-term unemployed will receive a food card from the government, according to Minister of Social Development, Labour and Welfare Hensley Koeiman. With this card, people can buy products from a designated ‘makutu básiko’ (basic basket) of basic necessities. The food card is worth 300 guilders (US$170) per month for single unemployed people and 450 guilders (US$250) for unemployed couples. Curacao has recorded two active cases of Covid-19.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
OVER 49,000 COMPANIES SEEK TO LAY OFF 814,326 WORKERS (dominicantoday.com). To date, a total of 49,831 companies have made requests to the Labour Ministry for authorisation to lay off their employees. According to data from the Labour Ministry, 814,326 workers are affected. The Dominican Republic has recorded 4,719 active cases of Covid-19.
GRENADA
DECONTAMINATION PROCESS FOR ALL NEW PRISONERS (nowgrenada.com). All persons remanded to prison will go through a decontamination process before entering prison, while those who have served time and need to be released will be driven to their residence by prison officers, because there is no public transportation. John Mitchell, Commissioner of Prisons, said that the decontamination process is a mandatory health protocol adopted by the prison management as part of its strategy to keep the prison environment as a Covid-19 free area. Grenada has recorded eight active cases of Covid-19.
GUADELOUPE
FABRIC AND SEWING SHOPS TO REOPEN (la1ere.francetvinfo.fr). With the immediate reopening of shops selling fabrics and sewing materials, two young brothers from Capesterre Belle-Eau have embarked on an operation called ‘A mask for everyone in Guadeloupe’. The entrepreneurs provide both professional and amateur dressmakers with material to make the masks while the Red Cross will distribute them to the public. Guadeloupe has 55 current active cases of Covid-19.
HAITI
‘THIS MONSTER IS COMING OUR WAY’ (nytimes.com). As laid-off Haitians return from hard-hit areas, such as the Dominican Republic, doctors are preparing furiously for an outbreak they fear will strain the nation’s threadbare healthcare system. On the surface, at least, the coronavirus has been slow to impact Haiti, partly because protests and political violence virtually shut down tourism and kept away foreigners who could have brought the disease to the country. But with an influx of workers returning from the Dominican Republic, where there are currently 4,719 cases and 267 deaths from Covid-19, the odds are stacked against Haiti and its weak health system, warned Dr Jean William Pape, a widely respected doctor who is racing to set up centres to treat Covid-19 patients. ‘This monster is coming our way,’ said Dr Pape. ‘If a place like New York can be so overwhelmed, how is Haiti going to deal with this?’ Haiti has so far recorded 65 active cases of Covid-19.
JAMAICA
COVID-PANICKED PASSENGERS JUMP FROM BUS AS MAN DIES (jamaica-gleaner.com) Passengers leapt from a bus on Wednesday fearing that an elderly passenger, who was dying from a seizure, might have had Covid-19. Some passengers jumped through windows to escape. Little help was reportedly given to the man. A vendor who witnessed the incident said, ‘The bus stopped right in front my stall. Before they took him to the health centre, they were saying, “Him dead! Him dead!”. People run up and down. Some all jumped through the window. They were scared.’ Jamaica has 223 recorded active cases of Covid-19.
PUERTO RICO
PUERTO RICO LAGS BEHIND IN VIRUS TESTING (nytimes.com). Hobbled by government scandal and dysfunction at the start of the pandemic, Puerto Rico has carried out tests to diagnose the coronavirus at a far lower rate than anywhere else in the United States. Public health experts fear that this situation could leave the island vulnerable once it attempts to reopen. Puerto Rico has performed an average of 15 coronavirus tests a day for every 100,000 people, according to the Covid Tracking Project, a rate that is lower than any state and a tenth of the testing rate in New York. ‘Everything has been delay and disorganisation,’ said Dr Carlos Mellado, a physician in San Juan, the capital, who has been treating patients with the virus. ‘We’re still under a complete lockdown. People are starting to get desperate.’ Puerto Rico has reported 956 active cases of Covid-19.
ST KITTS-NEVIS
BUSINESS OPERATORS SELLING LIQUOR RETAIL COULD FACE FINE, IMPRISONMENT (sknis.kn) The police have reported that they have evidence of businesses selling liquor illegally in contravention of the Emergency Powers Act. A police spokesman told the radio programme, Policing With You’: ‘So the doors are closed, the shops are closed, but persons would go and give a special knock on a window. Yes! They have their secret codes [and] passwords. You give a special knock on the door or on the window and the door opens and you go in and the door locks back and persons are inside drinking.’ St Kitts-Nevis has 13 active cases of Covid-19.
ST LUCIA
100 PERCENT RECOVERY OF COVID-19 CASES (stlucianewsonline.com) To date, all the positive cases of Covid-19 in St Lucia have recovered. There have been no fatalities. Among the 15 cases recorded were individuals who fell within the category of high risk by virtue of some being elderly as well as living with chronic illness. All recovered with no complications or need for critical care.
ST VINCENT
E-LEARNING FOR STUDENTS (news784.com). The Ministry of Education, National Reconciliation and Information will continue to strengthen its eLearning modalities to provide home-based learning for thousands of students throughout St Vincent and the Grenadines. The Ministry of Education also stated that it will continue to be guided by the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment with regard to when schools can be reopened. SVG has recorded nine active cases of Covid-19.
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
SAN FERNANDO DOCTORS GIVEN CLOTH MASKS (newsday.co.tt) Doctors at San Fernando General Hospital have criticised the administration which has provided them with reusable cloth masks as opposed to surgical masks, which have been reserved for doctors treating Covid-19 patients. Staff refusing to accept the cloth masks have written ‘Refused’ on the distribution sheet. An unnamed doctor said: ‘These cloth masks don’t protect us…there is a greater risk of infection and they should not be recommended for health care workers.’ There are 59 cases of the Covid-19 virus recorded for Trinidad & Tobago.
TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS
FLIGHTS AVAILABLE FOR NON-RESIDENTS TO RETURN HOME (tcweeklynews.com) Non-residents, work permit holders and temporary visitors who wish to leave the Turks & Caicos can apply to do so as plans for airlifts are being put in place. A one-off British Airways flights for UK citizens is also due to leave the Cayman Islands on 29 April, and stop in the TCI before heading for London. There are six recorded cases of the Covid-19 virus in this British Overseas Territory.
UNITED STATES VIRGIN ISLANDS
GOVERNOR BRYAN UPDATES RESIDENTS (vi.gov). While Governor Albert Bryan said that he welcomed the fact that there now is only one active case of the Covid-19 virus on the USVI, he said his administration was continuing to stockpile resources and supplies to fight the virus. ‘We’ve done a good job mitigating the spread,’ he said, ‘but unlike a hurricane we do not know whether we are at the front, in the eye or at the tail of the storm.’
NOTE ON THE CHART
The number of active cases in Puerto Rico dropped dramatically today. The likely (but unconfirmed) reason for this may be related to the problems the country has had counting cases. It has been suspected for some time that some cases may have been double-counted.
The number of reported active cases in Cuba fell, albeit marginally, for the first time today.
The number of active cases in the smaller islands (The Rest) continues to fall. Both St Barts and St Lucia now report zero active cases.
Why is Dominica never featured?
ADMIN: These updates are for the region. Local updates are handles separately there is currently a live update from ministry of health going on now.