Caribbean records 1,241 COVID-19 cases

Dominican Republic struggles with rising number of COVID-19 patients

The Caribbean region began its March with the dreaded arrival of the novel coronavirus to its pristine shores.

On March 2, a touring visitor from Italy tested positive for COVID-19 while on vacation in the Dominican Republic. Authorities in the island immediately shut down all flights from Milan for 30 days.

Since then—and in just a month—the region has grappled with 1,241 coronavirus patients. Some are in recovery, but most are still battling the illness. A total number of 33 individuals in the whole region have succumbed from the COVID-19, mostly due to complications.

Almost half of the cases in the Carribean is from the Dominican Republic with 581, according to the data from the World Health Organization (WHO). 20 of the recorded deaths in the region are from the Dominican Republic as well.

With more than 10 million people living within its border, the Dominican Republic is determined to tighten its measures to contain the virus.

Last March 27, it has already imposed nightly curfews and has arrested a thousand of violators as per reports.

Countries with high cases

Cuba, known for its healthcare prowess in epidemics, recorded 119 cases with three deaths. Recently, its government have dispatched a number of medical teams to various countries to help in the fight against the novel coronavirus.

Following Cuba in the growing number of COVID-19 cases are Guadeloupe and Martinique. Each recorded an almost a hundred cases, with 96 and 93 patients, respectively. Both countries have recorded a death or two due to COVID-19 or complications.

Numbers from Trinidad and Tobago have become unsettling, too, with 74 confirmed cases and two deaths.

Meanwhile, here is the tally of the total confirmed cases and deaths per country in the Caribbean region as of March 29, 2020.