ANGUILLA
NEW HEALTH REGULATIONS (theanguillan.net). From 27 March, for two weeks, Anguillans are confined to their homes except for essential visits to a doctor, pharmacy, grocery store, wholesale food and drink suppliers, restaurant, banks or money services, or a gas station; or for outdoor exercise for periods not exceeding an hour and a half per day in daylight hours. Key workers are exempt. Public gatherings have also been banned for more than five people or for 12 persons attending a wedding or a funeral. Two active cases have been confirmed.
ARUBA
ARUBA AND THE WORLD FACING COVID-19 (arubatoday.com). Aruba has tested over 560 people with 49 positive cases and, so far, no fatalities. The island is under partial lockdown. People are asked to go out only for essential shopping items or visits to the doctor, and to be in groups of no more than three people. A curfew is in place from 9pm to 6am.
ANTIGUA & BARBUDA
PASTOR TO BE CHARGED FOR VIOLATING SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES (antiguaobserver.com) Following the announcement of a state of emergency declared on Friday 27 March, a Jamaican pastor was charged with holding a service at Bolans New Testament Church of God with more than 25 people, thus violating social distancing rules; a man in the congregation was also charged with the battery of a police officer when police were sent to the church to disperse the congregation. Churchgoers remonstrated with police calling their action “satanic and ungodly”. There are seven active cases.
BAHAMAS
PM’S DECISION TO CLOSE BORDERS WAS ESSENTIAL (thenassauguardian.com) Prime Minister Dr Hubert Innis said that although it was ‘unfortunate’ Bahamians had been stranded abroad, it had been essential to close the borders to minimise the impact of the COVID-19 virus. The government is also seeking to extend a night-time curfew, first made two weeks ago. The total number of active cases stands at 13.
BARBADOS
ALL NON-ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES TO CLOSE DURING 14-DAY CURFEW (loopnewsbarbados.com). A curfew commenced on Saturday 28 March from 8pm to 6am, with Bajans being urged to stop panic-buying. Supermarkets, groceries, corner shops and bakeries will all remain open outside of curfew hours. Barbados has reported 33 active cases.
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
(virginislandsnewsonline.com) Help from the UK government for those made unemployed as a result of Covid-19 has been requested. There are two active cases.
CUBA
FOOD SHORTAGES, A DECREPIT ECONOMY, AND NOW THE CORONAVIRUS: HARDER TIMES AHEAD FOR CUBA (miamiherald.com). The government closed hotels, schools, and halted local transportation services between provinces to slow the spread of the virus. Large gatherings have been prohibited, and people have been told to stay at home as much as possible. Social distancing measures look very different in countries such as Cuba, with little Internet service in homes. Cuba has reported 162 active cases.
CURACAO
CURACAO IMMEDIATELY ON LOCKDOWN (curacaochronicle.com). On Sunday 29 March, Prime Minister Eugene Rhuggenaath locked down the island for two weeks. People are only allowed to go outside in case of a medical need or to visit pharmacies, petrol stations, supermarkets, mini markets, bakeries and hardware stores. These shops can remain open until 7 pm. Curacao has reported eight active cases.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
WORLD BANK $150 MILLION TO MEET DOMINICANS’ NEEDS IN CRISIS (dominicantoday.com). The Dominican Government will use US$150 million previously allocated for reconstruction and development to meet the needs of the Dominican population affected by coronavirus. The Dominican Republic is under a state of emergency and has reported 855 active cases.
GRENADA
POSTPONEMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLE INSPECTION (nowgrenada.com). As of Monday 30 March 2020, all motor vehicle inspection is suspended until further notice along with theoretical and practical driving tests. Grenada is under a limited state of emergency with citizens only allowed out between 5am and 7pm for essentials. The tri-island state has reported nine active cases.
GUADELOUPE
ONE NEW DEATH (la1ere.francetvinfo.fr/guadeloupe). One new death, a 67-year-old man with underlying health problems, was announced on Monday 30 March, bringing the total of deaths to five. Free bottles of alcohol-based solutions were due to be delivered Monday to help safeguard health and safety personnel (guadeloupe.france-antilles.com). There are 85 active cases.
HAITI
PRISONERS TO BE RELEASED UNDER STATE OF EMERGENCY (haitiantimes.com). Minister of Justice, Lucmane Delille, instructed the Public Prosecutor’s Office on Friday to launch legal procedures for the release of detainees accused of minor crimes such as shoplifting and brawls. Haiti is under a state of emergency, its borders are closed, and a curfew from 8pm to 5am has been imposed. So far, this country of 11 million has reported 14 active cases.
JAMAICA
‘DECLARE A STATE OF EMERGENCY IN THE NATION’S INTEREST’ — PNP (jamaica-gleaner.com/news) The opposition People’s National Party (PNP) has called for a declaration of a State of National Emergency to counter the COVID-19 virus. Currently, the government is managing the crisis under the Disaster Risk Management Act. There are 33 active cases.
PUERTO RICO
4.2 QUAKE HITS SOUTHERN PUERTO RICO AMID CORONAVIRUS CURFEW (abcnews.go.com). On Monday 30 March, a magnitude 4.2 earthquake hit Puerto Rico at a depth of 5km near the southwest coastal town of Guanica and was felt across the U.S. territory. The quake hit during a monthlong curfew aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus and came three months after a series of strong quakes near southwest Puerto Rico killed one person and damaged hundreds of homes. Puerto Rico has recorded 168 active cases of Covid-19.
ST KITTS-NEVIS
‘WE ARE IN AN UNPRECEDENTED TIME’ (sknis.gov.kn) Prime Minister Dr Timothy Harris declared a 14-day state of emergency on 29 March. Under these powers regulations provide for ‘every person to remain confined to their place of residence…except in stipulated circumstances for example essential travel to the doctor, grocery store, bank, credit union, money services, business, pharmacy or to refuel vehicles.’ A team of 30 nurses and four doctors from Cuba has arrived on St Kitts. St Kitts-Nevis now has seven active cases.
ST LUCIA
PRIME MINISTER EXTENDS QUARANTINE, INCREASES CURFEW (stlucianewsonline.com) Responding to a lack of adherence to previous rules, PM Chastanet announced that the curfew would be extended and be in effect from 8pm to 5pm, the quarantine period that was due to end on 5 April will be extended to 14 April, and all of the country’s liquor licenses are henceforth suspended so anyone operating a restaurant other than a drive through or takeout will be in breach of the law. St. Lucia has reported eight active cases.
ST MARTIN/SINT MAARTEN
EDITORIAL: HOW LIFE CONTINUES (stmaarten.com) An editorial in the local online newspaper comments that it is ‘amazing how disciplined almost all residents of our island are…. It is hoped that the rapidly implemented and strict regulations on both sides [French and Dutch] of the island worked as hoped for and the spread of the virus has been blocked.’ St Martin has 12 cases and Sint Maarten has six.
ST VINCENT
ST VINCENT & THE GRENADINES NOW CORONAVIRUS FREE (news784.com) Following the full recovery of its only recorded victim, Minister of Health Luke Browne says that there are no longer any confirmed active cases of Covid-19 in SVG.
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
TRINIDAD RECORDS THIRD DEATH; PM SAYS COUNTRY IS AT WAR (caribbean360.com) A third death from the Covid-19 virus was announced yesterday (Monday). Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said that the country was at “war” and that “every one has to be a soldier because the enemy could come from any one of us, so therefore we should be extra careful’. There are 78 active cases on the twin island state.
TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS
TCI UNDER COMPLETE LOCKDOWN FROM SATURDAY (tcweekly.news.comThe government declared a three-week lockdown from Saturday 28 March while its borders are closed to all non-essential travel. The Overseas British Territory has five cases.
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Thank you Polly Pattullo and Paul Crask
This very helpful for a number of reasons. The on-going COVID-19 Pandemic is a fast-moving story, with many moving parts. I suggested very early on in this Coronavirus outbreak, that media houses should appoint, or better still, reporters volunteer, to become specialists in the coverage of this story.
This story is so huge, that all media organizations are focusing exclusively on coverage of the disruption and misery that COVID-19 is causing worldwide. From lockdowns to curfews; to personal protective equipment to ventilators; to collapse of industries and redundances, to victims dying in the thousands.
These days, are one of those dark periods in human history, and efforts like yours, in its own small way, are big contributions towards getting a grip of the real situation.
I wish more Caribbean media houses and journalists would increase and diversify their reporting on this awful pandemic.