PARAMARIBO, Suriname (CMC) — Suriname Thursday announced a complete lockdown on Sundays and holidays until July 5, as the Dutch-speaking Caribbean Community (Caricom) country and other member states recorded deaths linked to the coronavirus (COVID-19) over the past 24 hours.

The number of COVID-19 deaths in Suriname climbed to 427 after nine people died from the virus, pushing the total for this month to 125.

The country recorded 283 new cases pushing the total number of positives to 19,108. The authorities said that 245 people have been admitted to hospitals and 34 people are in intensive care units, while 149 civilians have been cured in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 14,572.

The government said that the total lockdown during the week has been lifted and that from Friday, the full lockdown will only apply to Sundays and July 1, which is a holiday in the country.

It said that on the other days, the curfew goes into effect at 6:00 pm and runs until 6:00 am (local time). Schools will remain closed.

During the curfew, only the essential services and people in possession of a dispensation or who have registered through the Ministry of Justice and Police may use the public road.

The authorities said that domestic flights are only allowed for cargo, repatriation of stranded passengers and for medical emergencies. Commercial domestic flights for regular passenger traffic are not allowed.

They said borders via land, water and air will remain closed to people unless authorised by the COVID-19 Crisis Management Team for urgent reasons.

“The Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation will continue to discuss the manner of cooperation at the borders with neighbouring countries,” the statement said.

The authorities said that it will be against the law to participate in a group of more than five people and that meetings for mourning sessions and funerals are only allowed if and insofar as no more than 10 people are present at the same time.

Prime Minister Dr Timothy Harris Thursday expressed condolences to the family and loved ones of St Kitts-Nevis as the Federation recorded its first death from the coronavirus.

Health Minister Akilah Byron-Nisbett during a news conference confirmed the death of the child.

“It is indeed a sad day for all of us here in St Kitts and Nevis after learning that the dreaded coronavirus has claimed the life of one of our citizens. As prime minister, I express my profound condolences to the family and loved ones. I also wish to assure the family that my thoughts and prayers are with them at this very difficult time,” Prime Minister Harris said.

Harris reminded citizens and residents of the importance of being “vaccinated against this deadly disease, noting that the vaccines are our best weapon in this fight”.

He is also urging individuals to fully adhere to the established non-pharmaceutical measures as well as the additional measures recently announced to contain the rapid community spread of the COVID-19 disease.

In Trinidad and Tobago, the Ministry of Health reported four deaths, the lowest in recent days, with 350 additional positive cases.

It said that the four people — two men and two women — who succumbed from the virus, all had comorbidities and that the death toll now stands at 699. There are also 29, 956 positive cases with 8,803 being active cases. The cases are for the period June 13-16.

There are 465 people in hospitals across the island, 210 in state sanctioned quarantine facilities and 7,864 in home isolation.

Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, who is also the Caricom chairman, Thursday held talks with South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa.

Ramaphosa is the Chairman of the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT), the funding mechanism through which vaccines will be made available for purchase from the African Medical Supplies Platform (AMSP),” according to a statement from the Office of the Prime Minister.

It said that Trinidad and Tobago has entered into an agreement with and already made a payment to AVAT for vaccines.

“The prime minister’s discussions with the South African president focused on the acquisition of COVID-19 vaccines for Trinidad and Tobago and the wider region. President Ramaphosa made a commitment that he will work with other African leaders to ensure that the orders placed by Trinidad and Tobago and other Caribbean nations through the AMSP are expedited,” the statement added.

Guyana on Thursday recorded three more COVID-19 deaths taking the total number of fatalities to 441.

The Ministry of Public Health said that 43 deaths have so far been recorded for the month of June. It said the latest fatalities are a 70-year-old man from Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice); an 83-year-old man from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) and a 44-year-old woman from Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).

They all died on June 15 at a medical facility.

Meanwhile, another 75 people tested positive, taking the total number of known cases in the country to 18,733.

These new infections were recorded from 716 tests. There are also 22 patients in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU); 109 are in institutional isolation and 1,521 are in home isolation.