BROOKLYN, NY – St. Lucia recorded 12 deaths from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries also registered deaths and positive cases linked to the virus.
The Ministry of Health, Wellness, and Elderly Affairs said 109 new cases from a total of 454 samples were reported on Thursday, pushing the total number of patients diagnosed in the country to date to 10 961.
The 12 deaths have now pushed the COVID-19 deaths in the country to 138 since the first case was registered in March last year. The ministry said that those who had succumbed to the virus ranged in areas from 35 to 94 years old, with the majority of the cases coming from the southern town of Vieux Fort.
“Confirmation was also received of the recovery of 159 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19, and this brings the number of active cases in the country to date to 2178. Three of these active cases are currently critical, and nine of them are severely ill at the Respiratory Hospital,” the ministry added.
In Suriname, three deaths and 371 infections in the past 24 hours pushed the country’s totals to 828 corona deaths and 39,140 positive cases.
The authorities said that the number of COVID-19 patients who died in the past 30 days is 124. There are 97 people in the hospitals and 19 patients in intensive care units, while 21 people have overcome the virus pushed the total number of recoveries to 26,838.
Guyana health authorities report four more deaths, including three men, taking the total number of fatalities since March last year to 744. The sources said 119 people had died here si far this month from the virus.
Two of the men were unvaccinated, while the other was fully vaccinated and the woman partially vaccinated. The four were between the ages of 58 to 81 years –old.
Meanwhile, 258 new infections were recorded from 2 062 tests, taking the total number of confirmed cases to date to 30 444.
There are 37 patients in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU); 171 patients are in institutional isolation and 3, 644 patients are in home isolation. To date, 25 848 persons have recovered from the virus.
Barbados recorded 161 new cases of COVID-19 from 2,205 tests conducted on Wednesday.
The new cases comprise 67 males and 94 females. Forty-three of these individuals are under 18, and 118 are in the 18 and older age category. There are 896 patients in isolation.
The death toll from the virus now stands at 63. The latest casualty is a 53-year-old man who had comorbidities and was unvaccinated.
Barbados has recorded 7,065 cases of viral illness (3,499 males and 3,566 females) since March 2020. The public health laboratory has performed 302,684 tests.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Barbados Private Sector Association (BPSA), Edward Clarke, has warned that the potential for crippling economic fallout was now a “severe national issue” with severe implications for both the business class and working masses.
“We could have a very devastating impact on Barbados for a long time if we don’t heed warnings and the people don’t go and get vaccinated,” Clarke told the online publication Barbados TODAY.
“I have agreed with the Prime Minister as the head of the Private Sector and she as the head of the Social Partnership that we would not mandate enforcement or encourage our people to enforce, but there is going to come a time when this country has to make a decision…because if we don’t achieve the targets that we have to accomplish as a country, what is the next step?
“It is time that people understand the seriousness of the situation and the danger to society and themselves by not being vaccinated,” the private sector chairman declared, adding, “If hard ears don’t hear, hard ears is going to feel.”
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