Suriname Thursday announced a complete lockdown on Sundays and holidays until July 5, as the Dutch-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country and other member states recorded deaths linked to COVID-19.
The number of COVID-19 deaths in Suriname has risen to 427 after nine people died from the virus, pushing the total for this month to 125.
The country recorded 283 new cases pushing the total number of infections to 19,108. The authorities said that 245 people have been admitted to hospitals and 34 people are in intensive care units, while 149 civilians have been cured in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 14,572.
The government said that the total lockdown during the week has been lifted and that from Friday, the full lockdown will only apply to Sundays and July 1, which is a holiday here.
It said that on the other days, the curfew goes into effect at 6:00pm and runs until 6:00am. Schools will remain closed.
During the curfew, only the essential services and persons who have registered through the Ministry of Justice and Police may use the public road.
The authorities said that domestic flights are only allowed for cargo, repatriation of stranded passengers and for medical emergencies. Commercial domestic flights for regular passenger traffic are not allowed.
They said borders via land, water and air will remain closed to persons unless authorized by the COVID-19 Crisis Management Team for urgent reasons.
“The Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation will continue to discuss the manner of cooperation at the borders with neighbouring countries,” the statement said.
The authorities said that it will be against the law to participate in a group of more than five people and that meetings for mourning sessions and funerals are only allowed if and insofar as no more than 10 people are present at the same time.
In Trinidad and Tobago, the Ministry of Health reported four deaths, the lowest in recent days, with 350 additional positive cases.
It said that the four people – two men and two female- who succumbed to the virus, all had co-morbidities and that the death toll now stands at 699. There are also 29, 956 positive cases 8, 803 being active cases. The cases are for the period June 13-16.
There are 465 people in hospitals across the island, 210 in state-sanctioned quarantine facilities and 7, 864 in home isolation.
Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, who is also the CARICOM chairman, Thursday held talks with South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa described as the African Union Champion for COVID-19 vaccine strategy and acquisition.
He is also the Chairman of the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT) the funding mechanism through which vaccines will be made available for purchase from the African Medical Supplies Platform (AMSP),” according to a statement from the Office of the Prime Minister.
It said that Trinidad and Tobago have entered into an agreement with and already made a payment to AVAT for vaccines.
“The Prime Minister’s discussions with the South African President focused on the acquisition of COVID-19 vaccines for Trinidad and Tobago and the wider region. President Ramaphosa made a commitment that he will work with other African leaders to ensure that the orders placed by Trinidad and Tobago and other Caribbean nations through the AMSP are expedited,” the statement added.
Guyana on Thursday recorded three more COVID-19 deaths taking the total number of fatalities recorded since the pandemic was discovered here in March last year to 441.
The Ministry of Public Health said that 43 deaths have so far been recorded for the month of June. It said the latest fatalities are a 70-year-old man from Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice); an 83-year-old man from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) and a 44-year-old woman from Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).
They all died on June 15 at a medical facility. Meanwhile, another 75 people were tested positive, taking the total number of known cases in the country to 18,733.
These new infections were recorded from 716 tests. There are also 22 patients in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU); 109 are in institutional isolation and 1,521 are in home isolation.
Jamaica recorded an additional 74 positive COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours and 11 deaths, bringing total infections to 49,503, and the death toll to 1,023.
According to the Ministry of Health and Wellness, the new cases comprise 36 females and 38 males within the ages of seven years old and 95-years-old.
It said nine of the additional fatalities were people in St James, whose deaths were previously under investigation. The youngest was a 20-year-old female.
Jamaica also had 128 recoveries, increasing the total to 28,182. There are 19,928 active cases remaining.
In Barbados, the Best-dos Santos Public Health Laboratory identified one new positive case of COVID-19, a male, out of the 521 tests conducted on Wednesday. The number of people in isolation is 12.
Barbados has recorded 4,039 confirmed cases of COVID-19 (1,952 females and 2,087 males) since March 2020. Forty-seven persons have died from the virus.