President Moïse urges Haitians to stay home

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti (CMC) — President Jovenel Moïse has urged Haitians to remain indoors as the French-speaking Caribbean Community country recorded eight new cases of COVID-19 during a seven-day period.

Health authorities said that the number of positive cases as of March 31, is 16 and have called on Haitians to follow the guidelines being given in a bid to stop the virus from spreading.

In a radio and television broadcast, President Moise also urged the population to follow the principles of good hygiene.

Trinidad not following Caribbean countries and declaring SOE

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) — Trinidad and Tobago recorded its fifth death, the second within a 24-hour period, from COVID-19 but stopped short of announcing plans for a state of emergency (SOE) or a curfew to help curb the spread of the virus that has killed more than 43,000 people worldwide.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, speaking at the daily news conference put on by the Ministry of Health, said Trinidad and Tobago is also considering releasing prisoners in a bid to curb the spread of the virus but had no intention of following the methods being adopted by some Caribbean islands to implement the curfew and SOE.

He told reporters that if the situation “is deemed to be that we need to be more interventionist, and that intervention will put us in a better situation, then the Government has no difficulty in doing it”.

Guyana extends the closure of two international airports

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) — The Guyana Government says the Cheddi Jagan International Airport and the Eugene Correia International Airport, which were closed last month as part of the efforts to stem the spread of COVID-19, will remain closed to international flights until May 1.

The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), in a letter to Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson, noted that the original two-week period was “very effective and assisted tremendously with slowing the spread of COVID-19 by limiting international contacts”.

It said that the number of COVID-19 cases, both globally and regionally, have risen particularly in countries that have ports of origin for passengers to Guyana.

On March 19, the airports were officially closed to international flights, while domestic flights have proceeded.

Outgoing cargo flights, medivacs and technical stops for aircraft that require fuel have also received approvals by the GCAA.

As of March 31, Guyana has recorded 12 cases of COVID-19 with two deaths.