PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Friday March 27, 2020 – A second Trinidadian has died from the new Coronavirus (COVID-19) that has been responsible for more than 25,000 deaths worldwide.

The Ministry of Health announced today that, “despite the best efforts of the health care professionals, a second national of Trinidad and Tobago who tested positive for COVID-19 has died”. The deceased was an elderly man with pre-existing medical complications. A 77-year-old man with underlying medical issues died on Wednesday.

“The Ministry of Health offers its condolences to the family who is, understandably, grieving this loss at this time. Members of the public are urged to respect patient confidentiality and to allow the family the space to cope with the death of their loved one,” it said in a statement.

As of this morning, of the 453 samples submitted to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) for testing for COVID-19, 66 tested positive.

Only one COVID-19 patient has so far been discharged, the Ministry said.

Of the 66 cases, 47 came from the group of nationals who recently returned from a cruise.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley urged residents to stay in their homes as the country seeks to stem the spread of COVID-19.

“We have not declared a state of emergency or any lock down…. From Sunday midnight we will deepen our separation by having non-essential activities forbidden,” he said, though stressing that people would be able to go out for essential food and medicine.

As of this morning, the number of COVID-19 cases in the Caribbean had surpassed 900, with more than half of them in the Dominican Republic.

The 927 cases were recorded in: Dominican Republic (488 – including 10 deaths), Venezuela (107 – including 1 death), Cuba (67 – including 2 deaths), Trinidad and Tobago (66 – including 2 deaths), Aruba (28), Jamaica (26 – including 1 death), Barbados (24), United States Virgin Islands (17), Bermuda (15), Dominica (11), Bahamas (9), Haiti (8), Suriname (8), Antigua and Barbuda (7), Curaçao (7 – including 1 death), Grenada (7), Cayman Islands (6 – including 1 death), Guyana (5 – including 1 death), Montserrat (5), St Lucia (3), Anguilla (2), Belize (2), British Virgin Islands (2), St Kitts and Nevis (2), Sint Maarten (2), Turks and Caicos Islands (2) and St Vincent and the Grenadines (1).

Globally, there were 566,064 cases, including 25,422 deaths. So far, 129,353 people who tested positive have recovered.

Read more: http://www.caribbean360.com/news/trinidad-and-tobago-records-second-covid-19-death-total-number-of-caribbean-cases-surpass-900#ixzz6HvGqSfi2