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When the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) first infiltrated the Caribbean in March 2020, the infectious disease was imported into the region thanks to Italian, British and French nationals. 

Now, well over a year into its regional battle against the pandemic, the virulent Kent variant from the United Kingdom is dominating, as countries race against the clock to prevent this new wave of COVID-19 from overwhelming fragile health sectors.

Even as the Caribbean marches into an enviable 35th week keeping mostly closed cases, those gains again come under threat amid the fevered rate of spread.

Of particular concern, countries across the region have recorded twice as many new infections (33,690) as closed cases (13,270) in the last six days.

Analysis of regional data by Our Today has indicated that 20 of the 32 affected countries and territories reported new cases within the last 24 hours.

As at 2:59 pm Greenwich Meridian Time (GMT) on Monday, April 19, collated data from respective health departments across the region has indicated a combined total of 676,554 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Of that number, some 451,147 cases, or roughly 66.7 per cent, have officially been declared closed. There are currently 225,407 active cases regionally.

The statistics were largely the result of patients across the Caribbean reporting a full recovery from the infectious disease (441,444 recoveries to date, barring insufficient data from Puerto Rico, French Guiana, Guadeloupe and Martinique).

In the meantime, the total number of patients who succumbed to coronavirus-related complications spiked to 9,703.

Across the Caribbean, St Kitts and Nevis and Montserrat stand as the only territories without active cases.

See Our Today’s latest situational analysis on COVID-19 in the Caribbean below:

Confirmed cases to date: 676,554
Deaths: 9,703
Recoveries: 441,444*
Active cases: 225,407*

*—Data from Health Departments and Agencies across the Caribbean. (Full or partial recovery statistics have not been forthcoming from Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe, French Guiana and Martinique)

Dominican Republic: 402 new cases; 261,531 confirmed. 3,422 patients have died. (218,988 patients have recovered)

Puerto Rico: 1,348 new cases; 123,049 confirmed. 2,207 patients have died. (*No information available on recoveries)

Cuba: 1,060 new cases; 94,571 confirmed. 531 patients have died. (89,073 recoveries)

Jamaica: 246 new cases; 44,136 confirmed. 727 patients have died. (19,832 recoveries)

French Guiana: 116 new cases; 18,081 confirmed. 95 patients have died. (9,995 recoveries)

Haiti: 13 new cases; 12,918 confirmed. 251 patients have died. (11,791 recoveries)

Guadeloupe: 577 new cases; 12,717 confirmed. 176 patients have died. (2,242 recoveries)

Belize: No new cases; 12,538 confirmed. 318 patients have died. (12,143 recoveries)

Curaçao: 46 new cases;  11,882 confirmed. 89 patients have died. (9,277 recoveries)

Guyana: 101 new cases; 11,863 confirmed. 271 patients have died. (10,180 recoveries)

Aruba: 19 new cases; 10,324 confirmed. 92 patients have died. (9,781 recoveries)

Martinique: 862 new cases; 9,890 confirmed. 64 patients have died. (124 recoveries)

The Bahamas: 55 new cases; 9,791 confirmed. 194 patients have died. (9,059 recoveries)

Suriname: 36 new cases; 9,581 confirmed. 187 patients have died. (8,829 recoveries)

Trinidad and Tobago: 134 new cases; 8,940 confirmed. 153 patients have died. (7,940 recoveries)

St Lucia: 16 new cases; 4,417 confirmed. 67 patients have died. (4,246 recoveries)

Barbados: Three new cases; 3,784 confirmed. 44 patients have died. (3,681 recoveries)

US Virgin Islands: Two new cases; 3,041 confirmed. 26 patients have died. (2,963 recoveries)

Turks & Caicos Islands: No new cases; 2,369 confirmed. 17 patients have died. (2,291 recoveries)

Sint Maarten: No new cases; 2,205 confirmed. 27 patients have died. (2,144 recoveries)

Bermuda: No new cases; 2,123 confirmed. 18 patients have died. (1,237 recoveries)

St Vincent and the Grenadines: No new cases; 1,819 confirmed. 10 patients have died. (1,686 recoveries)

St Martin: Nine new cases; 1,702 confirmed. 12 patients have died. (1,399 recoveries)

Antigua and Barbuda: One new case; 1,217 confirmed. 31 patients have died. (995 recoveries)

Saint-Barthélemy: 27 new cases; 934 confirmed. One patient has died. (462 recoveries)

Cayman Islands: No new cases; 525 confirmed. Two patients have died. (499 recoveries)

British Virgin Islands: No new cases; 187 confirmed. One patient has died. (182 recoveries)

Dominica: No new cases; 169 confirmed. (163 recoveries)

Grenada: Two new cases; 157 confirmed. One patient has died. (154 recoveries)

Anguilla: No new cases; 29 confirmed. (25 recoveries)

Countries without active cases

St Kitts and Nevis: No active cases. (Previously confirmed 44 cases)

Montserrat: No active cases. (Previously confirmed 20 cases, one patient died)