HAMILTON, Bermuda – The Bermuda government lifted a night-time curfew imposed just before Christmas on Thursday, but a US watchdog has advised travelers to steer clear of the island because of COVID-19 risks.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – A new study on vaccine hesitancy in six Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries has found that out of formal work and educated to secondary level is the typical profile of the person refusing the vaccine to combat the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

GENEVA – The current coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines may need to be updated to ensure their continued effectiveness against Omicron and future variants, an expert group appointed by the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Dr. Carissa Etienne Wednesday called on countries to prioritize rapid antigen tests for those with the COVID-19 symptoms and who are most at risk of spreading the disease.

BELMOPAN, Belize – Belize is implementing a new travel insurance for all visitors entering the country even as it acknowledged that it cannot afford another lockdown given the record increase in cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) said it is taking “very seriously” threats made against staff members after a video began circulating here in which staff of the Pediatric Department are being threatened with grievous bodily harm.

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaican health authorities said that all public hospitals will from Wednesday be restricted to conducting emergency care services only blaming the increased cases of patients suffering from the coronavirus (COVID-19) for the situation.

ROSEAU, Dominica – The Dominica government says it does not anticipate having to lock down the island in the foreseeable future to deal with a new wave of coronavirus (COVID-19) infections and has also indicated that it is holding discussions with various stakeholders on whether the country should stage its annual Carnival celebrations in March.

NASSAU, Bahamas – The Bahamas government says it will make available, 1,000 free tests to the population daily, even as it warned that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus (COVID-19) will seriously affect unvaccinated people in the coming months.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana – The Guyana government Tuesday announced the immediate end to the issuing of discharge certificates to people in home isolation, saying that the significant increase in the number of people contracting the coronavirus (COVID-19) had led to a  “clogging up of the system”.

KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Jamaica government says the current coronavirus (COVID-19) containment measures have been extended for a further two weeks until January 27 as the island seeks to deal with the impact of the virus that has killed 2, 502 and infected 105,172 others since March 2020.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana –Guyana Friday reported 847 new cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pushing the country’s active cases to 4,295 and worrying health officials that most of the new cases were among young people.