COVID-19 pandemic containment in the Caribbean Region: A review of case-management and public health strategies
Srikanth Umakanthana, Anuradha Chauhanb, Madan M. Guptac, Pradeep Kumar Sahud, Maryann Margaret Bukeloe, Vijay Kumar Chattua b c d e f g h✉
- aDepartment of Para-clinical sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences, St Augustine, The University of the West Indies, Trinidad & Tobago, WI
- bDepartment of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough Campus, Toronto, ON M1C 1A4, Canada
- cSchool of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago, WI
- dCentre for Medical Sciences Education, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago, WI
- eDepartment of Anatomical Pathology, Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, North Central Regional Health Authority, Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies
- fDepartment of Public Health, Saveetha Medical College and Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai-600077, India
- gDivision of Occupational Medicine, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A8, Canada
- hInstitute of International Relations, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago, WI
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Abstract
COVID-19 emerged initially from Wuhan, Hubei province, China, in late December 2019, and since then, it has spread globally to be declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The Caribbean region started reporting COVID-19 cases in early March 2020, triggering new regional public health crises. The initial suspects and confirmed cases across the Caribbean countries were mainly imported cases and from cruise ships. The clinical manifestations varied from fever, cough, and malaise in mild cases to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and shock in severe cases. The Caribbean Public Health Agency has provided frequent updates on the preventive strategies and quarantine measures across the Caribbean member states. COVID-19 has had a serious impact on the Caribbean region's health system, economy, and psychology. This review presents the Caribbean perspective of COVID-19, detailing the epidemiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, management, and preventive and surveillance measures. Vaccine hesitancy was found to be a major challenge that needs appropriate health education strategies to address the public. Strong leadership and regional collaboration among the Caribbean member states are necessary to provide optimal real-time data to the public and implement appropriate and effective guidelines in the island states.
TL;DRThis review presents the Caribbean perspective of COVID-19, detailing the epidemiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, management, and preventive and surveillance measures. (Semantic Scholar)