COVID-19 pandemic containment in the Caribbean Region: A review of case-management and public health strategies

Srikanth Umakanthan; Anuradha Chauhan; Madan Mohan Gupta; Pradeep Kumar Sahu; Maryann M Bukelo; Vijay Kumar Chattu; Srikanth Umakanthan; Anuradha Chauhan; Madan Mohan Gupta; Pradeep Kumar Sahu; Maryann M Bukelo; Vijay Kumar Chattu

doi:10.3934/publichealth.2021053

AIMS Public Health

2021, Volume 8, Issue 4: 665-681. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2021053

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Review

COVID-19 pandemic containment in the Caribbean Region: A review of case-management and public health strategies

1.
Department of Para-clinical sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences, St Augustine, The University of the West Indies, Trinidad & Tobago, WI
2.
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough Campus, Toronto, ON M1C 1A4, Canada
3.
School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago, WI
4.
Centre for Medical Sciences Education, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago, WI
5.
Department of Anatomical Pathology, Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, North Central Regional Health Authority, Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies
6.
Division of Occupational Medicine, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A8, Canada
7.
Department of Public Health, Saveetha Medical College and Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai-600077, India
8.
Institute of International Relations, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago, WI

Received: 17 August 2021 Accepted: 23 September 2021 Published: 27 September 2021

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.
- 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

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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.

Author contributions

Conceptualization, review of the literature, and initial draft preparation by SU, AC, MMG, PKS, and MB. Critical review, resource provision, editing, and final draft preparation by VKC. All the authors have approved the final draft before submission.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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