One Year since Covid-19 Hit The Caribbean, There’s Still Hope for Better Days In the Future

#TurksandCaicos, March 17, 2021 – As the Caribbean territories marked one year of Coronavirus pandemic in the region on Monday, March 1, 2021, the past year has been one of the most uncertain years ever in all aspects. The pandemic has had a tremendous social, economic, and cultural impact in the Caribbean region.

Even though many businesses have been lost within the one year of terror, employments shrank, and many lost their lives, there is still hope for a better tomorrow.

But it’s not all lost as there have been incredible stories of human creativity, ingenuity, and resilience, as the grim anniversary hit the dot on March 1, 2021. This was precisely the same date in 2020 when the first Covid-19 case was reported in the region.  Ten days later, on March 11, WHO declared Covid-19 a global pandemic.

The controlled movements of people into Caribbean countries were imposed 27 days before the first case was reported. And controlled movement within the countries imposed 9 days after the first case was reported, with controls of gatherings set, 1 day after the first case was confirmed.

The highest number of Covid-19 cases and deaths have been reported in the Dominican Republic, with the lowest number of infections reported in Dominica, St. Kitts, and Nevis, where the cases are still below 100 since the first case was reported, with no recorded Covid-19 related deaths so far.

The overall recovery rate in the Caribbean is also on a rising trend, and the efforts to get everyone vaccinated are gaining traction. In the Turks and Caicos Islands, the first confirmed case was reported on March 23, 2020; eight days after The Bahamas.

Since the first Covid-19 case was reported in TCI, the Islands have recorded 2,233 cases, with 15 death cases. The country recorded the highest daily infections on January 28, reaching a record 81newly reported cases.

The number of confirmed cases is currently dropping, with a daily average of 8 new cases reported in the past week.  And with the new regime’s efforts, there is a renewed hope for zero new infections in the future.

Since the Caribbean countries depend on the blue economy and tourism, travel restriction, lockdowns, and social distancing rules crumbled most of the unstable economies, with many countries plunging into more external debts. 

While the Coronavirus spread in most Island countries remained low for quite some days, even months before the pandemic started having effects on the Islands economies, the number of new infections gradually increased, with a drop in the daily average the stringent measures put in place.

And with the availability of Covid-19 vaccines, the situation is expected to improve tremendously in the coming days.