COVID-19 Facts Via WhatsApp; Caribbean Cases
The World Health Organization (WHO) launched a messaging service through WhatsApp and Facebook to keep people worldwide safe from COVID-19.
This easy-to-use messaging service has the potential to reach 2 billion people and enables WHO to get information directly into the hands of the people that need it.
From government leaders to health workers and family and friends, this messaging service will provide the latest news and information on coronavirus including details on symptoms and how people can protect themselves and others. It also provides the latest situation reports and numbers in real-time to help government decision-makers protect the health of their populations.
The service can be accessed through a link that opens a conversation on WhatsApp. Users can simply type “hi” to activate the conversation, prompting a menu of options that can help answer their questions about COVID-19.
The WHO health alert was developed in collaboration with Praekelt.Org, using Turn machine learning technology.
COVID-19 in the Caribbean
The death toll for COVID-19 is on the rise, and so is the total number of cases. Currently, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across the globe stands at more than 284,000. The death toll is at 11,800.
Haiti is the latest country to confirm new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) within its borders. The total number of cases in the Caribbean region is now more than 200.
Belize, St Kitts and Nevis, Grenada and Dominica remain the only countries in the region yet to be affected by COVID-19 as of 9:13 AM (GMT-4).
Guadeloupe: 53 confirmed, 0 deaths, 0 recovered
Dominican Republic: 72 confirmed, 2 deaths, 0 recovered
Martinique: 32 confirmed, 1 death, 0 recovered
Cuba: 21 confirmed, 1 death, 0 recovered
Jamaica: 16 confirmed, 1 death, 2 recovered
French Guiana: 16 confirmed, 0 death, 0 recovered
Trinidad and Tobago: 9 confirmed, 0 death, 0 recovered
Puerto Rico: 14 confirmed, 0 death, 0 recovered
Guyana: 7 confirmed, 1 death, 0 recovered
Aruba:5 confirmed, 0 death, 0 recovered
Barbados: 6 confirmed, 0 death, 0 recovered
Suriname: 6 confirmed, 0 death, 0 recovered
Cayman Islands: 3 confirmed, 1 death, 0 recovered
Curaçao: 3 confirmed, 1 death, 0 recovered
The Bahamas: 4 confirmed, 0 death, 0 recovered
Saint-Barthélemy:1 confirmed, 0 death, 0 recovered
St Martin: 3 confirmed, 0 death, 0 recovered
US Virgin Islands: 6 confirmed, 0 death, 0 recovered
Bermuda: 3 confirmed, 0 death, 0 recovered
Haiti: 2 confirmed, 0 death, 0 recovered
St Lucia: 2 confirmed, 0 death, 0 recovered
Antigua and Barbuda: 1 confirmed, 0 death, 0 recovered
Monserrat:1 confirmed, 0 death, 0 recovered
St Vincent and the Grenadines: 1 confirmed, 0 death, 0 recovered