KINGSTON, Jamaica – Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr. Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie, is reporting that the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) is now in 75 percent of communities across the island, with 828 hospital admissions.

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.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – The Ministry of Health says that it will consult with the relevant stakeholders before rolling out Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines for 5 to 11-year-olds.

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.

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton has hinted at the possibility of Jamaica not achieving the target of having 65 percent of the population vaccinated against the coronavirus (COVID-19) by the end of March this year.

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.

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent – Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has announced his government will begin bonding locally-trained nurses to work in the country, against the background of a significant number of those health care employees opting to work overseas.

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.