Caribbean Countries Seeing New Uptick In COVID-19 Cases

News Americas, WASHINGTON, D.C., Thurs. Feb. 5, 2021: Over 2,500 reported cases of COVID-19 were reported in a 24-hour period across the Caribbean Wednesday, News Americas has found.

The spike in cases has sent Barbados into another lock down and St. Lucia in announcing another State of Emergency that includes a 10-hour nightly curfew and a reduction in the hours that businesses are allowed to operate.

The Dominican Republic reported 1,357 new cases Wednesday and 15 new deaths. Cuba has also seen a spike, reporting nearly 893 cases and 2 new deaths.

The new cases pushed the islands total to 217,277 and 29,529, respectively.

Jamaica also saw its new case load spike by 100 to 16,073 as it also reported two new deaths.

Tiny St. Vincent and the Grenadines added 51 cases to move its case total to 1,059.

Barbados added 25 new cases and one new death to increase its total to 1,611 as it reported new confirmed cases of the COVId-19 variant. The number of confirmed cases at Her Majesty’s Prison Dodds remains at 362.

St. Lucia reported another 77 new cases to push its tally to 1,470. This includes five reported cases of the new variant.

Meanwhile, Haiti reported another 57 new cases to increase its tally to 11,672 while Guyana, reported another 36 new cases Wednesday, to take its total confirmed cases recorded to date to 7,714.

Trinidad & Tobago reported 8 new cases as its infection total climbed to 7,586. T&T has also reported new cases of the COVID-19 variant.

The news comes as the Caribbean region is set to receive doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine by mid-month to begin vaccinations across the region. The vaccine is being touted as the only one to date that has shown signs of providing a cure.

And as PAHO Director, Carissa F. Etienne, on Wednesday warned that the health, social and economic effects of COVID-19 are disproportionately impacting women, as she called for heightened attention to the pandemic’s gender disparities. She also expressed concern over the new rising cases of the disease in islands such as the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico and Cuba, which continue to drive new infections.