At least 227 people were killed in a massive 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Haiti on Saturday (14th August 2021), just days before Tropical Storm Grace is expected to make landfall. Reports indicate that 158 people in Southern Haiti were also injured or missing. Prime Minister Ariel Henry said he was mobilizing all available Government resources to help victims in the affected areas.

The epicenter of the quake was located about 125 Kilometers West of the capital of Port-au-Prince, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Widespread damage was reported. Videos posted to social media showed collapsed buildings near the epicenter and people running into the streets.

Prime Minister Henry said on Twitter that the “violent quake” had caused loss of life and damage in various parts of the country, and also appealed to Haitians to unify as they “confront this dramatic situation in which we’re living right now.” He declared a one-month State of Emergency for the whole country. At a Press Conference, he said he would not ask for international help until the extent of the damages is known.

This is a developing story - refresh this page for updates.

[Source: Fox News]

UPDATE: Jerry Chandler, Haiti's Director of Civil Protection, told the Associated Press that the official death toll by Midday stood at twenty-nine (29) and that teams will be sent to the area for search and rescue missions. The quake was felt in Cuba and Jamaica.

At 8:29am local time on Saturday morning (14th August 2021, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) reported a magnitude 7.2 earthquake occurred close to the city of Les Cayes in Haiti. The epicenter of the earthquake was about 12 Kilometers Northeast of Saint-Louis-du-Sud and 10 Kilometers deep, according to the (USGS).

“High casualties are probable and the disaster is likely widespread," according to the USGS. Haiti's Civil Protection told CNN there have been fatalities and damages to buildings and cars. A tsunami threat that had been issued for the region has passed, according to the U.S. Tsunami Warning System.

The major earthquake struck just over a month after Haiti's President, Jovenel Moïse, was assassinated by a team of gunmen at his home in Port-au-Prince. Meanwhile, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) has forecasted that Tropical Storm Grace will reach Haiti late Monday night (16th August 2021) or early Tuesday morning.

On 12th January 2010, a smaller 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, leaving between 220,000 and 300,000 people dead and injured hundreds of thousands more. That earthquake was 13 Kilometers deep.

​The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) in Trinidad issued a Public Advisory on Saturday staring that Trinidad and Tobago is NOT under a tsunami threat following the earthquake in Haiti. The ODPM said it has been monitoring the situation and has been collaborating with the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service (TTMS) and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) along with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC). “In light of this, the ODPM is advising persons that at this point in time, there is no threat of a tsunami impacting Trinidad and Tobago.”

However, the ODPM is reminding members of the public who may live or work in coastal communities to always be prepared for the possibility of a tsunami threat by practising the following tips:

• Know your Tsunami evacuation routes if you live in a coastal area.
• Create a family communication plan so that if separated you and your family know what to do and how to communicate.
• Practise your evacuation plan regularly and map the routes out of your home and place of work. Add evacuation shelters that are above sea level or at least one mile inland, to your plan.
• Ensure that you choose a safe place for reuniting inland.

To learn more on being prepared for tsunamis and other hazards please visit www.odpm.gov.tt.

This is a developing story - refresh this page for updates.

The U.S. Department of State has announced that the United States is donating a total of 5.5 Million Pfizer vaccine doses, along with ancillary kits, to the fifteen (15) member countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

A Press Statement issued on Thursday (12th August 2021) from Department Spokesperson, Ned Price, said as part of this donation, a shipment consisting of nearly 569,000 doses will be delivered to Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados. T&T received 305,370 doses on Thursday and Barbados is expected to receive its doses today (Friday 13th August 2021).

The Press Statement also said, “The United States is proud to partner with CARICOM and the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) to combat the COVID-19 Pandemic. This week’s deliveries are the first tranche of our 5.5 Million dose commitment to all fifteen (15) CARICOM member countries, and we will provide more information on our donations to other CARICOM countries in the coming days.”

Mr. Price concluded by saying, “Equitable global access to safe and effective vaccines is essential to ending the COVID-19 Pandemic. In order to save lives around the world, rebuild the global economy, and stop the threat of new variants, we must vaccinate as many people as possible, as quickly as possible.”

[Source: U.S. Department of State]

Close to 837,000 doses of Pfizer vaccines will be delivered to Caribbean islands, with more than 305,000 doses allocated to Trinidad and Tobago. This was announced by the U.S. Government on Wednesday (11th August 2021) and reported on by The Washington Post.

During a Press Conference on Wednesday, Minister of Health, Terrence Deyalsingh, was asked by a journalist about the report and the Minister stated that he also read the report by The Washington Post. He indicated that we should first wait for an official announcement from the Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs or from the White House itself for confirmation.

According to The Washington Post, the U.S. Government will deliver nearly 837,000 Pfizer vaccines to Caribbean nations, “as the region with limited resources struggles with a spike in COVID-19 cases amid violent anti-vaccine protests.”

The Bahamas will receive 397,000 doses followed by Trinidad and Tobago with more than 305,000 doses. Barbados will receive 70,200 doses, while 35,100 are slated for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, 17,550 for Antigua and 11,700 for St. Kitts and Nevis.

The report noted that the National Security Council’s Senior Director for the Western Hemisphere, Juan González, said “The Biden-Harris administration’s highest priority in the Americas today is managing and ending the COVID Pandemic and contributing to equitable recovery.”

Thousands of specialized syringes required for the Pfizer vaccine will also be donated by the U.S. Government. Officials noted that the donations involved “significant legal and logistic complexity.”

A White House Official said that in addition to the donation, USAID, which has provided more than $28 Million to help fourteen (14) Caribbean nations fight COVID-19, expects to announce additional funding soon.

The Washington Post report said that the Caribbean region has reported more than 1.29 Million cases and more than 16,000 deaths, with some 10.7 Million people vaccinated so far, according to the Trinidad-based Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA).

“Among the hardest hit Caribbean nations is Haiti, which on July 14 received its first vaccine shipment since the Pandemic began — 500,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine donated by the U.S. via the United Nations’ COVAX program for low-income countries. The country of more than 11 Million people has reported 20,400 confirmed cases and 575 deaths, although experts believe those numbers are severely underreported given a widespread lack of testing.”

A National Security Council Spokeswoman told The Associated Press that the U.S. “will send a signification amount of additional doses to Haiti soon,” but further details were not immediately available.

The Washington Post highlighted the fact that the announcement by the U.S. Government comes amid recent anti-vaccine protests in Guyana, Antigua and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, whose Prime Minister was “hit in the head with a rock last week and was briefly hospitalized.”

The report concluded by stating, “Among the islands most struggling with a spike in COVID-19 cases are the Bahamas, Curacao, Martinique, Guadeloupe and Trinidad and Tobago.”

[Source: The Washington Post]

The Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) was informed on Friday (6th August 2021) by CARPHA that a Variant of Concern (VOC), the Delta variant (B.1.617.2), was detected in a recent sample.

A Press Release from the National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO) noted that the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment was informed on Friday of the COVID-19 sequencing results of samples received at CARPHA on 27th July 2021.

The sample in which the Delta variant was detected, was collected during entry screening at the Argyle International Airport (AIA) in SVG from a fully vaccinated traveler who arrived from England with a negative PCR result on 21st July 2021. The Molecular Lab Unit (MLU) of the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment reported on 22nd July 2021 that the traveler had tested positive. The adult then transitioned from forty-eight (48) hours of hotel quarantine to approved isolation accommodation, and has since tested negative for COVID-19.

The adult remained asymptomatic throughout this period of isolation and never required admission for care.

Routine Contact Tracing detected two (2) other COVID-19 positive cases associated with this traveler. These positive cases are unvaccinated travelers to SVG and displayed symptoms of COVID-19. One of these two persons has since tested negative for COVID-19. They all remain in strict isolation.

The Delta variant is described by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as:

• World Health Organization (WHO) Label: Delta
• First Identified: India

Attributes of the Delta variant include:

• Increased transmissibility.
• Reduction in neutralization by post-vaccination sera (reduced effectiveness of vaccines).

The Delta variant currently accounts for 93% of new COVID-19 cases in the United States and the associated illness and deaths.

The Press Release from NEMO states, “In view of the detection of this highly contagious variant of the COVID-19 causing virus in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment asks the public to increase their compliance with the basic public health measures of correct mask use, physical distancing and hand sanitizing. The Ministry once again urges all eligible members of the Vincentian public to get vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus now.”

Speaking at a Press Conference this morning (Friday 23rd July 2021), Chief Med­ical Of­fi­cer Dr. Roshan Paras­ram said he be­lieves it is on­ly a mat­ter of time be­fore Trinidad and Tobago records its first case of the dangerous Delta vari­ant, first identified in India. This possibility has been greatly ramped up now that our borders have been opened on 17th July 2021.

Dr. Parasram was providing an update on the pub­lic-pri­vate vac­ci­na­tion part­ner­ship at the Na­tion­al Acad­e­my for the Per­form­ing Arts (NAPA) on Friday. He said the Delta variant is “a high­ly trans­mis­si­ble vari­ant” and it is al­ready present in the Caribbean and noted that the same way it en­tered those shores, it can and will, some time or the oth­er, en­ter ours. However, he pointed to the “se­cret weapon” at our disposal—the vaccine.

Dr. Paras­ram shared that both WHO-ap­proved vac­cines (Sinopharm and As­traZeneca) which have been ad­min­is­tered to cit­i­zens, have been shown to be ef­fec­tive against the Delta vari­ant, and that is why it is im­por­tant to get vac­ci­nat­ed.

Meanwhile, Min­is­ter of Health, Ter­rence Deyalsingh, said that the Government is actively preparing for the arrival of the Delta variant. "We are prepar­ing for Delta and our on­ly way out of it is to get vac­ci­nat­ed as much as we can," he said.

The Minister noted that he chaired a meet­ing with PA­HO, CARPHA and five (5) RHAs yes­ter­day, to plan for its ar­rival. Ac­cord­ing to Min­is­ter Deyalsingh, additional health­care work­ers will be vaccinated from next Fri­day. The Min­is­ter said T&T would be in trou­ble if the Delta vari­ant spreads like the Gam­ma (P1) vari­ant, first identified in Brazil, and suspected to be the cause of the recent local spike in cases.

[Source: T&T Guardian]