CARIBBEAN ROUNDUP
Barbados
As the region’s tourism industry looks
to recover from the devastating impact
of COVID-19, the Caribbean Tourism
Organization (CTO) has teamed up with
one of its allied members to make available
practical tools and resources to
support tourism industry leaders as
they navigate the recovery.
The Barbados-based CTO has partnered
with the George Washington University
International
Institute of Tourism
and Studies (GW IITS)
to develop a recovery
toolkit to provide a
useful guide for small
and medium-sized tourism enterprises
as they plan for their reopening and
a dashboard for ministries and destination
management organizations to
capture and report on key recovery
metrics.
“The global pandemic has accelerated
the importance of sound digital
strategies for destinations and tourism
enterprises, consumers are increasingly
turning to digital channels, as they
have been more isolated and less mobile
over the past several months,” said GW
IITS Executive Director, Seleni Manus.
The collaboration between CTO and
GW IITS is an extension of an engagement
with CTWO member countries
Belize and Grenada, which saw GWU
Master of Tourism Administration and
MBA students working with the government
and private sector in both countries
to produce customized solutions
to support COVID recovery.
Cuba
The Pan American Health Organization
(PAHO) says work to develop a
COVID-19 vaccine in
Cuba has advanced to
the phase three clinical
trial stage.
Speaking during
a recent COVID-19 digital briefing,
PAHO’s Assistant Director, Dr. Jarbas
Barbosa said Cuban vaccine manufacturers
commenced phase three trial
activities three weeks ago.
This, he said, included pilot vaccinations
involving volunteers, and usually
precedes World Health Organization
(WHO) pre-qualification for wide-scale
distribution or emergency use.
Dr. Barbosa said the entity is facilitating
communication between the manufacturers
and the WHO on developments
relating to the pre-qualification
arrangements.
He advised that manufacturers are
aware of the criteria they must fulfill to
secure WHO pre-qualification.
“When they finish phase three clinical
trial engagements, based on the
results they will have about the vaccine’s
security and efficacy, they can
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A traveller has her temperature checked at the Jose Marti International Airport amid concerns about the spread of the coronavirus
disease (COVID-19), in Havana, Cuba, Nov. 15, 2020. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini, fi le
apply to receive pre-qualification or
emergency use listing,” Dr. Barbosa
said.
Guyana
A Guyanese journalist has become
the latest fatality of COVID-19 in the
South American CARICOM country
nation.
Namela Baynes-
Henry died of COVID-
19 recently, just over
two weeks after being
hospitalized with the virus.
Local media reported that the
63-year-old media worker passed away
in the Intensive Care Unit (IC) of the
Infectious Disease Hospital where she
had been admitted after testing positive
for the virus.
According to reports, she suffered a
heart attack and slipped into a coma.
She never regained consciousness.
The Guyana Press Association has
extended its sympathy to the Baynes-
Henry’s family and loved ones.
Guyana now has 225 deaths from
COVID-19 and is set to surpass 10,000
infections. Last week the country
recorded more than 237 cases of the
virus.
Henry was the founder of the First
Look Morning Show and First Look
News on Channel Nine. She was also
the former personal assistant public
relations officer at the Ministry of Legal
Affairs. She also worked at the Department
of Public Information and the
Guyana Chronicle.
The month of March saw the highest
number of new infections being
recorded since the pandemic was first
confirmed a year ago.
Over 1,600 new cases were recorded
in March and the death toll has now
surged to 237.
Grenada
A Jamaican man who entered Grenada
recently has been confirmed as
the island’s first case
of the United Kingdom
strain of COVID-19.
Acting Chief Medical
Officer, Dr. Shawn
Charles said that the
Jamaican man, who is in his 20s, arrived
on March 8 was tested positive after five
days in the country.
He said the man’s sample had a high
viral load and was therefore sent to the
Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA)
laboratory in Trinidad.
The Ministry of Health received confirmed
of the strain last week, B117
variant.
He said the person would continue to
be in isolation until medically cleared.
Various international studies have
established that the UK variant is up to
90 percent more transmissible.
Since the first COVID-19 case was
confirmed in Grenada in March 2020,
the island has recorded a total of 155
positive cases. There has been one
death so far.
Haiti
Four people, including a pastor and
a well-known pianist, were recently
kidnapped and it all
played out live on
social media.
The group, members
of the Seventhday
Adventist Gospel Kreyol Ministry
Church in Diquini on the outskirts of
metropolitan Port-au-Prince, were performing
live on Facebook and YouTube
Continued on Page 18
THE NEWS FROM BACK HOME
Cuba in phase 3 trial of COVID vaccine
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