CARIBBEAN ROUNDUP
Bahamas
The Bahamas government is moving
to implement two additional weekend
lockdowns as the country continues to
record increases in the number of cases
of the coronavirus (COVID-19).
The Ministry of Health said 65 new
cases had been confirmed, bringing
the total number of COVID-19 cases
to 447.
It said there were
now 211 cases in Grand
Bahama, 180 cases in
New Providence, 21 in
Bimini and the other
five islands had between one and four
cases.
A statement from the Office of the
Prime Minister said with the rise in
covid-19 cases and after consultation
with local health officials and a review
of the response of the other jurisdictions
due to the current global rise in
cases, it has decided to implement two
additional weekend lockdowns.
The statement said these measures
are being implemented to protect the
lives and health of Bahamians and residents
and the Hubert Minnis administration
will undertake a “careful review
of the health data after these two lockdowns.”
The authorities said during the lockdown,
exercise is permitted within the
confines of an individual’s yard only.
Guyana
The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority
(GCAA) has warned that persons could
face a fine up to Guy$1 million and
five years in jail if they fail to comply
with the stipulated regulations for preventing
the spread of the coronavirus
(COVID-19) when the international airport
opens this month.
GCAA has also issues
a number of rigid public
health guidelines
and regulations to airlines,
ground handlers
and airport authorities under the heading
“Health-Safety Measures and Practices
at Airports and on Aircraft during
a Public Health Pandemic.”
The document stipulates that all passengers
are required to wear a mask
at the airports and throughout their
flights except for identification by law
enforcement officials. They are also
required to replace masks which have
become wet or soiled and those who do
not adhere to safety requirements will
be refused access to the airport or aircraft
or be removed therefrom.
Passengers who do not comply will
be fined Guy$50,000 with the GCCA
recommending KN95 and FFP2 masks
when flying.
The authorities said a system will
remain in place where all passengers
traveling to Guyana will be required
Caribbean L 4 ife, August 7, 2020
Updated daily at www.caribbeanlifenews.com
Priests, wearing face masks, walk as Catholic faithful attend to a mass on the fi rst day of the reopening of
temples and worship places, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at the Cathedral of Port-au-
Prince, Haiti, July 12, 2020. REUTERS / Andres Martinez Casares
to present a negative result from a
PCR COVID-19 test seven days prior to
travel except children under 12 years
old accompanied by an adult who tested
negative.
Grenada
The Grenada government has canceled
the annual carnival celebrations,
“Spicemas,” this year because of the
coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and
also the cancellation of the two days
being observed as public holidays.
Prime Minister Dr.
Keith Mitchell said
that August 10 and 11,
were no longer public
holidays as gazette at
the start of 2020.
“We better safe than sorry,” he said
as he justified the cancellation. Grenada
has recorded 23 cases of the virus.
“We have seen enough holidays, we
have had to lock down this country for
almost three months. we have to get
back to business, get back to some form
of serious economic life in the country,”
Dr. Mitchell said.
He said the country had lost a significant
amount of revenue during the
lockdown period between March and
mid-May.
On May 5, Grenada officially
announced the cancellation of 2020
carnival celebrations.
”Grenada, like the rest of the world,
is dealing with the wide-ranging effects
of COVID-19, not only on public health
and the local economy but also our way
of life,” Spicemas Corporation”, said in
a statement..
Grenada, which reopened its international
airport on July 15 to passengers
from Caribbean, will on Aug. 1 allow
entry to international passengers.
All international visitors will be
quarantine for 14-days whether there
is proof that the person has a negative
COVID-19 certificate within seven days
before arrival in the country.
Haiti
Haiti continues to record the highest
number of COVID-19 cases in the
Caribbean region after recording three
more deaths and 46 new cases associated
with the coronavirus (COVID-19)
pandemic.
Latest figures
released by the Ministry
of Public Health
said the French-speaking
CARICOM country
now has 7,468 cases of the virus since
the first cases was tested on March 19.
It said the 46 new cases were one
less than what had been recorded over
the previous 24 hours and three new
deaths, bringing the total to 165 as of
last week.
Haitian authorities said that there
are 17,012 suspected cases of the virus
under investigation.
In Jamaica, where 19 new cases had
been recorded, the total number of confirmed
positives has reach 809, while
recovers had moved to 706.
The authorities said the newly-confirmed
cases include 11 females and
eight males, ranging from ages three
to 70.
Jamaica
The Jamaican government says it has
no intention of following its Caribbean
Community (CARICOM) partner, the
Bahamas and placing a ban on tourists
coming out of the United States following
an upsurge of cases of the coronavirus
(COVID-19).
Recently Bahamas
Prime Minister,
Dr. Hubert Minnis
announced a series of
new measures to curb
the spread of the virus after acknowledging
that the decision to reopen its
borders on July 1 has led to a deterioration
of the health situation in the
island.
Jamaica Minister of Tourism, Edmund
Bartlett, reacting to the position taken by
the Bahamas said the closure of Jamaica’s
borders to travelers from the United States
due to the surge in the virus there shut
down the country’s tourism industry.
He said if Jamaica were to go this route,
the economy would grind to a halt and that
the island has been managing the cases of
COVID-19 so there is no need to consider a
ban on US travelers at this time.
THE NEWS FROM BACK HOME
COVID-19 cases rise in Haiti
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