ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC) — Several Caribbean countries continue to register additional cases of the virus that has killed 1.3 million and infected nearly 54 million others worldwide since December last year.
In Suriname, the authorities in the Dutch-speaking Caribbean Community country said that five people had tested positive for the virus over the past 24 hours.
They said the number of active cases is now 37. Exactly eight months after the first positive case, Suriname has a total of 5,268 infections.
Five people were declared cured, bringing the total cured to 5,131. By Friday evening, there were 14 people in hospital, four patients in the intensive care unit, 19 positives in isolation, and 859 non-positives in quarantine.
A 14-year-old boy is among four new cases of the virus reported in St Lucia over the past 24 hours.
The Ministry of Health said this brings the total number of cases diagnosed in the country to date to 160 and that all the new cases have been placed in quarantine while awaiting their test results.
It said epidemiological links have been established for three of these cases and that arrangements have been made for the placement of these individuals into care. This brings the total number of active cases currently in the country to 112.
“As we have increased the volume of tests being conducted and the resulting cases being diagnosed, it is important that we are reminded that COVID-19 is a new virus to us all. As such, we all are vulnerable to it.
“To limit the impact of the virus on us, infection prevention measures are continually being promoted as the most effective approach to protect public health,” the ministry said in the statement.
Trinidad and Tobago recorded 50 new cases but no new deaths, according to the Ministry of Health in its latest bulletin.
It said that the last COVID-19 related death was recorded on November 5.
According to the update, there are 526 total active cases and an additional 26 people have recovered, raising the total number of recovered patients to 5,343.
Up to Friday, there were 33 patients in hospital, 29 in step-down facilities, and 158 in state quarantine facilities.
A total of 34,406 people have been tested to date.
