Last Updated on June 18, 2020, 9:02 AM AST by Anthony Morris
The health officials of Haiti said on Monday that the COVID-19 infections had peaked and the number of cases which are being detected in the country is now going down, which leads them to voice a cautious hope that the epidemic might not be as bad as some of the predictions.
The director of epidemiology at the National Laboratory, Dr Patrick Dely said that they did not have as many deaths or serious cases as were expected.
He added that he thinks that the virus, which has caused a lot of damage in other countries, has not behaved in the same way in Haiti.
Since the very first cases of the virus were detected in Haiti on March 19, the country has only had 4,309 positive cases for the COVID-19 coronavirus, of whom 73 persons died, according to the latest figures which were published on Sunday.
However, the authorities admit that the statistics do not show the full scope of the disease, given the low number of tests which were conducted.
Dr Dely added that they had expected to reach the peak of the COVID-19 cases during the 27th week of the coronavirus epidemic, which would be the last week of June.
However, on the basis of the observations, from the 22nd week of the epidemic, at the end of May, a downward tendency in the number of cases was seen.
He said that they could not be complacent because they do not know what changes may arise in the future.
Haiti is a country of 11.2 million people, and scientists had predicted a best-case scenario of around 2,000 deaths due to the pandemic, while the gloomier predictions put the final death toll in the country, closer to 20,000.
Many Haitians have dismissed the seriousness of COVID-19, shrugging it off as a “small fever” and refusing to get tested, especially in the capital Port-au-Prince.
Even as the airports, schools and the border with the Dominican Republic have been closed since March 19, most day-to-day activities have carried on across the country.
Staying at their homes is not an option for the vast majority of Haitians, who depend on the informal economy for their survival.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
