They say, “Whenever Haiti sneezes, Miami catches a cold.” But, in the weeks before Haiti had any reported COVID-19 cases, our fragility seemed greater than theirs. The New Yorker, By Edwidge Danticat, April 6, 2020 I suspected that things might be getting serious when, at a memorial for an elderly friend, who’d died long before covid-19 was … Read more
France 24, 05/04/2020 Port-au-Prince (AFP) Haiti on Sunday reported its first novel coronavirus death, a 55-year-old man who had underlying health conditions. The health ministry said the man suffered from diabetes and hypertension. He was one of only 21 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus in Haiti, a demographically young country where over half those … Read more
World Bank press release, April 1, 2020 WASHINGTON – April 2, 2020 – The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved a US$20 million grant for the Haiti COVID-19 Response Project. This project aims to respond to the threat posed by COVID-19 through testing and improved treatment in Haiti. “The rapidly evolving COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic … Read more
By U.S. Mission Haiti | 31 March, 2020 We are honored to welcome USAID Haiti’s newest Mission Director, Christopher Cushing to the U.S. Embassy in Haiti. Mr. Cushing was sworn in yesterday by USAID Administrator Mark Green at a critical time when USAID Haiti, CDC Haiti, and our local partners are working with Haitians to … Read more
Washington Post, By Reuters, March 24, 2020 In Haiti, where access to clean water is tricky and education is lacking, Scouts are taking to the streets with portable sinks to let passersby wash their hands and to teach the importance of doing so to protect themselves from the novel coronavirus. Haitians are anxious that their … Read more
Miami Herald, By Jacqueline Charles, March 27, 2020 Haiti and Venezuela are among 51 countries the United Nations is seeking to help through a $2 billion global humanitarian plan launched this week to respond to the coronavirus. Globally, there were 566,269 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the flu-like virus, as of Friday, … Read more
Reuters, by Andre Paultre, Robenson Sanon, March 27, 2020 PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) – The director of one of Haiti’s top hospitals was kidnapped on Friday, prompting staff to refuse to take in new patients in protest as the impoverished country battles an outbreak of the novel coronavirus amid a spike in gang violence. Dr. Jerry Bitar, … Read more
Haitian Times, 3/21/20 PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Haitians rushed to buy food, gas, soap and face masks Friday after the announcement of two imported cases of the coronavirus sparked worries that the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation could be overwhelmed by the illness. President Jovenel Moise said Thursday that two patients had been quarantined after testing positive … Read more
The poorest country in the Americas is under lockdown, with airports, seaports, schools and factories closed. Aljazeera, 3/21/20 Haiti has announced its first two cases of coronavirus. The president declared a state of emergency in a country with an already fragile healthcare system. Al Jazeera’s Leah Harding reports. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/haiti-president-declares-state-emergency-coronavirus-200321102722636.html
France 24, 20/03/2020 Port-au-Prince (AFP). President Jovenel Moise announced Haiti’s first two cases of novel coronavirus on Thursday as his government adopted extraordinary measures to contain its spread. “We have found the two first cases of coronavirus in our national territory,” Moise said during an address televised on state media. Haiti is the Caribbean’s poorest and … Read more