Reading Time: 5 minutes

While many Caribbean countries see a spike in coronavirus (COVID-19) cases, the region continues to hold the line against a disastrous fourth wave of the pandemic. 

The region enters its 49th consecutive week of maintaining mostly closed cases, however, gains are slowing being chipped away as a white-hot outbreak rages across the Caribbean this week, fuelled by the highly transmissible and deadlier Delta variant. 

The list of countries and territories confirming the Delta variant grows larger. So far, its presence in Cuba, Barbados, Curaçao, Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe, Martinique, St Vincent and the Grenadines as well as the US Virgin Islands is a major cause for concern.

Still, over the last 19 days, closed cases (229,597) have done well to keep new regional infections (220,723) in check.

Analysis of regional data by Our Today finds 29 of the 32 affected countries and territories have reported new cases within the last 48 hours.

Cuba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago still rank as the five worst-hit territories in the region, while Martinique and Guadeloupe are experiencing a drastic spike in cases.

As at 3:59 pm Greenwich Meridian Time (GMT) on Tuesday, August 10, collated data from respective health departments across the region has indicated a combined total of 1,311,969 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Of that number, some 1,010,508 cases, or roughly 77 per cent, have officially been declared closed. There are an estimated 301,461 active cases regionally.

The statistics were largely the result of patients across the Caribbean reporting a full recovery from the infectious disease (993,428 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 17,080.

Only Montserrat stands as the Caribbean’s lone territory without active cases at this time.

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

Confirmed cases to date: 1,311,969
Deaths: 17,080
Recoveries: 993,428*
Active cases: 301,461*

*—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)

Cuba: 8,936 new cases; 475,105 confirmed. 3,608 patients have died. (427,387 recoveries)

Dominican Republic: 211 new cases; 344,836 confirmed. 3,975 patients have died. (330,506 patients have recovered)

Puerto Rico: 453 new cases; 152,796 confirmed. 2,620 patients have died. (*No information available on recoveries)

Jamaica: 316 new cases; 55,456 confirmed. 1,241 patients have died. (47,305 recoveries)

Trinidad and Tobago: 128 new cases; 40,361 confirmed. 1,139 patients have died. (33,329 recoveries)

French Guiana: 177 new cases; 31,276 confirmed. 195 patients have died. (9,995 recoveries)

Martinique: 563 new cases; 27,310 confirmed. 178 patients have died. (124 recoveries)

Suriname: 44 new cases; 26,046 confirmed. 667 patients have died. (22,275 recoveries)

Guadeloupe: 3,300 new cases; 23,821 confirmed. 247 patients have died. (2,242 recoveries)

Guyana: 12 new cases; 22,992 confirmed. 561 patients have died. (21,637 recoveries)

Haiti: 44 new cases; 20,433 confirmed. 572 patients have died. (15,424 recoveries)

The Bahamas: 121 new cases; 15,915 confirmed. 308 patients have died. (12,942 recoveries)

Belize: 61 new cases; 14,499 confirmed. 340 patients have died. (13,684 recoveries)

Curaçao: 17 new cases;  14,137 confirmed. 132 patients have died. (13,443 recoveries)

Aruba: 74 new cases; 12,529 confirmed. 111 patients have died. (11,615 recoveries)

St Lucia: 76 new cases; 5,913 confirmed. 92 patients have died. (5,468 recoveries)

Barbados: Five new cases; 4,485 confirmed. 47 patients have died. (4,327 recoveries)

US Virgin Islands: 71 new cases; 5,033 confirmed. 40 patients have died. (4,647 recoveries)

Sint Maarten: 51 new cases; 3,001 confirmed. 37 patients have died. (2,706 recoveries)

St Martin: 138 new cases; 2,713 confirmed. 39 patients have died. (1,399 recoveries)

Bermuda: 25 new cases; 2,614 confirmed. 33 patients have died. (2,510 recoveries)

British Virgin Islands: 32 new cases; 2,532 confirmed. 37 patients have died. (2,343 recoveries)

Turks & Caicos Islands: No new cases; 2,523 confirmed. 18 patients have died. (2,455 recoveries)

St Vincent and the Grenadines: Two new cases; 2,301 confirmed. 12 patients have died. (2,242 recoveries)

Antigua and Barbuda: 10 new cases; 1,348 confirmed. 43 patients have died. (1,246 recoveries)

Saint-Barthélemy: 167 new cases; 1,336 confirmed. Two patients have died. (462 recoveries)

Cayman Islands: Two new cases; 648 confirmed. Two patients have died. (640 recoveries)

St Kitts and Nevis: Six new cases; 620 confirmed. Three patients have died. (568 recoveries)

Dominica: 24 new cases; 412 confirmed. (209 recoveries)

Grenada: Two new cases; 180 confirmed. One patient has died. (167 recoveries)

Anguilla: No new cases; 113 confirmed. (111 recoveries)

Countries without active cases

Montserrat: No active cases. (Previously confirmed 21 cases, one patient died)