The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

A PAN American Health Organization official has warned countries against fully reopening economies while COVID-19 cases are rising.

“Balancing public health measures while reopening the economy has been a challenge for every country in the world, but countries should avoid thinking that they must make a choice between re-opening the economies and protecting the health and well-being of their people and we believe that this is a false choice,” said PAHO Director Dr Carissa Etienne.

“We have seen time and time again that full economic activity cannot resume unless we have the virus under control and to attempt otherwise places lives at risk and extends the uncertainty brought by the pandemic.”

She added: “We know that public health measures work to control the spread of the virus and each country needs to be responsive to their own national and local context and do the risk analysis that is necessary.”

On Tuesday, Minister of Health Renward Wells said the government is still planning to let the country’s state of emergency end in August.

This comes as cases, hospitalisations and deaths continue to rise in the country.

Yesterday, Dr Etienne also reported that cases spiked in Central America, the Caribbean and some South America countries last week as she warned against complacency to health measures.

“Cases rise when complacency sets in,” she said. “We are all tired, but after experiencing successive peaks of infections in the same locations, we must break this cycle by embracing public health measures early and consistently.”

PAHO said cases are increasing in Central American countries, including El Salvador and Guatemala, where COVID deaths have also surged.

New infections are spiking in the Caribbean, where Cuba has reported the highest number of weekly cases since the start of the pandemic. In the British Virgin Islands, cases have tripled in the weeks after reopening to cruise ships. And in Mexico and the United States, infections are rising.

Dr Etienne, in the weekly PAHO virtual press briefing, also urged countries in the region to allocate at least six percent of their GDP to national health systems and chart the path to recovery out of the pandemic.

She highlighted a new report released by the Economic Commission on Latin America and the Caribbean last week and said that the report shows how the pandemic continues to be “fuelled by inequality”.

“Unfortunately our region is the most unequal in the world. We urge countries to continue to prioritising health and social safety nets as part of their COVID response and as they turn their sights to COVID recovery. Social protection is key both to help people adhere to the public measures we know work and to rebuild more inclusive equitable societies,” she said.

“Across the region, we’re paying the price of chronic under investment of health. So now is the time for countries to break the cycle by applying a public expenditure in health of at least six percent of GDP to health systems and chart the path to recovery.”

Meanwhile PAHO Assistant Director Dr Jarbas Barbosa spoke on vaccine availability and noted one issue in getting supplies out is that the Indian government is not allowing the Institute of India to export the AstraZeneca vaccines at the moment.

“Pfizer started delivering vaccines in February but it’s a small amount,” he explained.

He assured the Bahamas will receive vaccines in July and August through the World Health Organization’s COVAX Facility.

This comes at a time when there are concerns about possible low vaccine supplies in the country. The Bahamian government has maintained its appeal to the public to get vaccinated, however, saying it is the only way out of the pandemic.

There are also concerns about Haiti, whose president was assassinated last week.

Dr Etienne said “thousands of people” there have been displaced by violence and instability and “crowded shelters could become active hot spots for COVID transmission.”

“PAHO, along with other partners, is committed to supporting the Haitian people in these uncertain times and urges other international organisations to join us in supporting the COVID response,” she said.

PAHO has delivered personal protective equipment to Haiti, helped expand care for COVID-19 patients, and provided thousands of tests and laboratory materials, officials said. PAHO has also helped train community health workers and supported the Ministry of Health in preparing for vaccine introduction and setting up new systems to dispel rumours.

In total, the Americas has reported nearly 74 million cases and 1.9 million deaths from COVID-19, accounting for more than a third of COVID cases and more than 40 percent of deaths reported worldwide.