CARIBBEAN ROUNDUP
Barbados
Barbados has recorded its first two
COVID-19 deaths since April 2020,
bringing the total to nine.
This was revealed by Minister of
Health and Wellness, Lieutenant Colonel
Jeffrey Bostic at a news conference
last week in which he gave an update
on the country’s COVID-19 virus situation,
declaring the deaths were two
elderly men.
He said the latest
victim was 85 years
old where an attempt
was made to have him
booked into a small
nursing home in the south of the country,
where he would have spent about
an hour and a half before he was taken
to the Accident and Emergency Department,
where he passed away.
The health minister also gave an
update of the number of tests conducted
by the Best-dos-Santos Public
Health Laboratory, since the emergence
of the virus in Barbados.
According to him, 93,070 tests had
been conducted overall, of which 1,156
were positive.
Colonel Bostic also made a fresh
appeal for Barbadians to take precautions
to reduce their risk of contracting
COVID-19, as he expressed concern
about the number of positive cases
connected to the various clusters that
have been identified by public health
officials.
Bahamas
The Bahamas government will be
easing some of the restrictions that
have been implemented to halt the
spread of the COVID-19 virus.
In a statement last
week, the Office of the
Prime Minister said
as of Sunday pharmacies,
gas station and
laundromats will now be permitted to
operate between the hours of 6 am and
9 pm on the islands of New Providence
and Abaco.
Outdoor dining at restaurants will
also be permitted on Sundays between
6 am and 9 pm, on New Providence
Islands and Abaco.
Funerals and wedding receptions
remain prohibited on the islands of New
Providence, Abaco, mainland Eleuthera
and mainland Exuma.
Recently Minister of Health, Renward
Wells suggested that Prime Minister,
Dr. Hubert Minnis, in his capacity
as the competent authority, would relax
COVID-19 restrictions amid a continued
downward trend of new COVID-19
cases.
As of last week, 8,075 cases have been
confirmed, a majority of those cases
were confirmed between July and October.
Between Jan. 1 and Jan. 19, 176
Caribbean L 4 ife, JAN. 29-FEB. 4, 2021
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Prime Minister of The Bahamas Hubert Minnis addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters
in New York, U.S., Sept. 27, 2019. REUTERS / Lucas Jackson, File
cases were confirmed.
To date, there have been 1,128 active
cases and 6,720 recovered cases. A total
of 175 people died of COVID-19 in The
Bahamas.
Caribbean
The Caribbean Community Implementation
Agency for Crime and Security
(CARICOM Impacs) and the Small
Arms Survey (SAS) have signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
that will support the region’s efforts
to improve its capacity to prevent the
illicit circulation of small arms and
light weapons.
The MoU was
recently signed to formalize
existing cooperation
between the
two entities, also seeks
to enhance CARICOM member states’
implementation of commitments under
international and regional arms control
instruments, with a particular focus on
advancing more evidence-based policy
to reduce armed violence in the region.
The Trinidad-based Impacs is an
institution of CARICOM with primary
responsibility for the implementation
of the CARICOM Crime and Security
Agenda.
Under this MoU, the partners agree
to assist each other in realizing their
respective strategic objectives in general.
The nature of the collaboration
will be both consultative and substantive,
with partners working together on
common policy issues.
CARICOM Impacs and the SAS
can also develop and implement joint
programs, or initiatives along agreed
lines.
Jamaica
The Jamaica government says
J$3billion is being spent to vaccinate
16 percent of the population, giving
early signals that the medicine could be
introduced into the regular inoculation
schedule for the population.
Jamaica is among
six Caribbean Public
Health Agency members
that have been
provided with the full
down payment required for the COVAX
Facility.
It was announced that just under
300,000 doses are scheduled to arrive in
the island on April 21 by air transport.
That will be enough for five percent of
the population, health officials said.
Those are to be used to start phase
one of the national vaccination campaign.
Health care workers, police, soldiers,
correctional officers, customs and
immigration officers, parliamentarians,
persons in infirmaries, and the elderly
are at the top of the list to receive their
first vaccine.
Vaccines sites will be set up at the
University Hospital of the West Indies,
the Bustamante Children’s Hospital, the
National Chest Hospital, Spanish Town
Hospital, the Manderville Regional Hospital
and the St. Ann’s Bay Regional
Hospital.
Health centers are also being contemplated
to be used as vaccination
centers as well.
Other doses of the vaccine are scheduled
to arrive in the island on July 21
and Dec. 21. By the end of the period,
16 percent of the population should be
vaccinated through COVAX, completing
phase one.
Guyana
Guyana Health Authorities across
the country have announced that the
Takutu River Bridge which links the
town of Lethem to Bonfim in Brazil,
will remain closed as part of precautions
to guard against the spread of
the new highly transmissible COVID-19
variant, which was detected in Brazil
recently.
With the United
Kingdom already banning
flights from several
South American
countries, including
Guyana, over the developments in Brazil,
Guyanese Minister of Health, Dr.
Frank Anthony said Guyana will put its
own protective measures in place.
He said Guyana, like other countries,
were particularly concerned that
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THE NEWS FROM BACK HOME
The Bahamas eases COVID restrictions
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