COVID-19 pandemic containment in the Caribbean Region: A review of case-management and public health strategies
Date
2021
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
AIMS Public Health
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
Description
Table of Contents
Keywords
COVID-19, Caribbean, Pandemic, Transmission, Quarantine, Vaccine
Citation
Srikanth Umakanthan, Anuradha Chauhan, Madan Mohan Gupta, Pradeep Kumar Sahu, Maryann M Bukelo, Vijay Kumar Chattu. COVID-19 pandemic containment in the Caribbean Region: A review of case-management and public health strategies[J]. AIMS Public Health, 2021, 8(4): 665-681. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2021053