On Wednesday, March 11th 2020, the World Health Organization announced that the coronavirus originally discovered in Wuhan, China last December is now a pandemic. At that time, there were 118,000 coronavirus cases in 114 countries and territories, and 4,291 people had lost their lives. Today, there are over 1.6+ million confirmed coronavirus cases in over 200 countries and territories, which has sadly resulted in over 100,000 death. Known officially as SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, or 2019-nCoV the majority of cases and death have been in the United States and European countries, including Italy, Spain, and France.
As COVID-19 is highly contagious, most countries have instituted partial or a full lockdown to contain the spread of the virus. International travel has also come to a standstill as most borders, including those in the Caribbean are closed. Thus, not only is COVID-19 a health crisis, but it is also becoming an economic crisis since tourism makes up a larger percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP) in most Caribbean countries.
Of course, before we can really begin to consider the economic challenges and roadmap for rebounding, the health crisis has to be contained. Thus, I’ve put together the Caribbean Coronavirus Tracker below to help focus the mind and provide insight on what is happening in the region. Note: Not all Caribbean countries are reporting on the number of people tested or recovered, and this is indicated with three question marks (???). Also, recognizing that these government figures are constantly changing, the source of the data is provided for each Caribbean country listed.
A summary of the results is as follows:
* 199,158 of the 45.29 million people living across the Caribbean region have been infected with the COVID-19 virus.
* Of the 199,158 confirmed cases, 3,948 have died and 220,365 are reported as recovered.
* The Dominican Republican has the highest number of cases (116,872) and deaths (2,163) in the Caribbean.
* Six other Caribbean countries have more than 5,000 cases. This includes Puerto Rico (22,697), Haiti (8,854), Jamaica (7,253), Guadeloupe (6,319), Cuba (5,943), and Suriname (5,004).
Caribbean Coronavirus Tracker
Last updated: Tuesday, October 9th, 2020
| Country | Population | Tested | Positive | Deaths | Death Rate | Recovered | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anguilla | 14,974 | 1,329 | 3 | 0 | 0.00% | 3 | source |
| Antigua & Barbuda | 96,286 | 3,035 | 111 | 3 | 2.70% | 97 | source |
| Aruba | 105,845 | 33,736 | 4,150 | 31 | 0.75% | 3,718 | source |
| The Bahamas | 385,640 | 23,039 | 4,713 | 102 | 2.16% | 2,607 | source |
| Barbados | 286,641 | 25,968 | 203 | 7 | 3.45% | 182 | source |
| Belize | 383,071 | 16,812 | 2,373 | 34 | 1.43% | 1,459 | source |
| Bermuda | 63,968 | 69,671 | 184 | 9 | 4.89% | 170 | source |
| Bonaire | 20,104 | 2,193 | 130 | 2 | 1.54% | 63 | source |
| British Virgin Islands | 29,802 | 5,193 | 71 | 1 | 1.41% | 70 | source |
| Cayman Islands | 64,174 | 40,565 | 214 | 1 | 0.47% | 211 | source |
| Cuba | 11,328,063 | 621,180 | 5,943 | 123 | 2.07% | 5,398 | source |
| Curacao | 159,849 | 7,553 | 549 | 1 | 0.18% | 291 | source |
| Dominica | 71,625 | 3,444 | 31 | 0 | 0.00% | 24 | source |
| Dominican Republic | 10,824,494 | 506,418 | 116,872 | 2,163 | 1.85% | 92,567 | source |
| Grenada | 111,454 | 6,252 | 24 | 0 | 0.00% | 24 | source |
| Guadeloupe | 400,109 | 59,202 | 6,319 | 77 | 1.22% | 2,199 | source |
| Guyana | 785,715 | 15,450 | 3,329 | 98 | 2.94% | 2,165 | source |
| Haiti | 11,372,056 | 29,545 | 8,854 | 230 | 2.60% | 7,013 | source |
| Jamaica | 2,958,320 | 82,958 | 7,253 | 128 | 1.76% | 2,732 | source |
| Martinique | 376,480 | 36,331 | 1,851 | 25 | 1.35% | 246 | source |
| Montserrat | 4,991 | 434 | 13 | 1 | 7.69% | 11 | source |
| Puerto Rico | 2,876,246 | 481,002 | 22,697 | 644 | 2.93% | 88,205 | source |
| Saba | 1,915 | 231 | 5 | 0 | 0.00% | 5 | source |
| Saint Vincent & The Grenadines | 110,865 | 5,386 | 64 | 0 | 0.00% | 64 | source |
| Saint Barthelemy | 9,871 | 2,983 | 54 | 0 | 0.00% | 37 | source |
| Saint Kitts & Nevis | 53,118 | 2,586 | 19 | 0 | 0.00% | 18 | source |
| Saint Lucia | 183,447 | 8,655 | 28 | 0 | 0.00% | 27 | source |
| Saint Martin | 38,520 | 5,170 | 403 | 8 | 1.99% | 309 | source |
| Sint Eustatius | 4,020 | 433 | 13 | 0 | 0.00% | 10 | source |
| Sint Maarten | 42,770 | 4,674 | 699 | 22 | 3.15% | 620 | source |
| Suriname | 585,489 | 14,303 | 5,004 | 106 | 2.12% | 4,794 | source |
| Trinidad & Tobago | 1,398,517 | 30,032 | 4963 | 86 | 1.73% | 3,076 | source |
| Turks & Caicos Islands | 38,603 | 3,571 | 695 | 6 | 0.86% | 664 | source |
| United States Virgin Islands | 104,458 | 21,792 | 1,324 | 20 | 1.51% | 1,286 | source |
| Caribbean Total | 45.29 Million | 2.17 Million | 199,158 | 3,948 | 1.98% | 220,365 | source |
| Global Total | 7.594 Billion | ??? | 36.36 Million | 1.05 Million | 2.9% | ??? | source |
| Country | Population | Tested | Positive | Deaths | Death Rate | Recovered | Source |
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Beyond the individual government websites and social media pages listed as the source for the data presented above, check out these additional resources for insight on the Caribbean response to COVID-19.
Caribbean Public Health Agency – The regional public health agency for the Caribbean.
Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) – The regional inter-governmental agency for disaster management in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
Caribbean Tourism Organization – The Caribbean’s tourism development agency with 27 country members and dozens of private sector members.
Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association – The backbone of the Caribbean hospitality industry with membership including, 1,000 hotels and 33 National Hotel Associations.
University of the West Indies -The leading university within the Caribbean region who have set up a COVID-19 Task Force.
