Haiti has warned citizens to follow international guidelines for preventing the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) as the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country on Tuesday announced yet another positive case of the virus.

Director-General of the Ministry of Health, Dr Lauré Adrien, said the number of people now infected with the virus stands at six.

“With the speed of propagation of the COVID-19 pandemic, we will unfortunately reach Phase 2 where we will no longer be able to assert with confidence, the number of confirmed cases and ensure that the situation will not change,” he said.

“We need the active participation of the population in the fight against the COVID-19. The population must follow universal measures, including handwashing, respect for social distancing, avoid touching the face,” he said, urging the population to only adhere to official information by the authorities.

He said social media posts were indicating that more than 80 per cent of people with COVID-19 have the virus in a mild form and are not in critical situations requiring hospitalisation or emergency breathing assistance.

He reminded the population that ‘diabetics and people with cardiovascular disease are more vulnerable.

Latest figures by the Laboratory and Research Epidemiology Directorate, show that 104 people are currently in quarantine in five regions on the island with 52 patients hospitalised.