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Bridgetown, Barbados, April 3rd, 2020 (CDEMA) - As the COVID-19 crisis continues to unfold in the region, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and the United Nations Resident Coordinators’ Offices in the Caribbean convened the 2nd meeting of the Caribbean Partner Donor Group on Thursday April 2, 2020. The virtual meeting had representatives from 18 regional and international agencies including the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), the technical lead for health in the region.

According to the Caribbean Public Health Agency ( Situation Report No 29 (issued on March 31 2020 up to 32 countries in the Caribbean region have reported the importation of at least one confirmed case of COVID 19 The risk of further importation of cases to the Caribbean Region remains Very High The aim for all countries now, is to stop transmission and prevent the spread of the virus Based on the Draft CARPHA Health Sector Response Guidelines for COVID 19 circulated to Member States, most countries are encouraged to implement actions in keeping with the Initial or Targeted Action in the Response Phase

SITUATION

According to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) Situation Report No. 27 (issued on March 25, 2020), up to 29 countries in the Caribbean region have reported the importation of at least one confirmed case of COVID-19. The risk of further importation of cases to the Caribbean Region remains Very High. The aim for all countries now, is to stop transmission and prevent the spread of the virus. Based on the Draft CARPHA Health Sector Response Guidelines for COVID-19 circulated to Member States, most countries are encouraged to implement actions in keeping with the Initial or Targeted Action in the Response Phase.

SITUATION

According to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) Situation Report No. 24 (issued on March 18, 2020), in a statement on 11 March, the WHO declared the COVID-19 outbreak to be a pandemic. Since then, more than 16 countries in the Caribbean region have reported the importation of at least one confirmed case of COVID-19. The risk of further importation of cases to the Caribbean Region remains Very High. Overall, 91% of all cases reported globally so far are from just nine countries.

SITUATION
According to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) Situation Report No. 22 (issued on March 13, 2020), the WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the COVID-19 viral outbreak as a pandemic in a statement on 11 March 2020. This declaration came as a result of the 13-fold increase in COVID-19 cases outside of China with a tripling of the number of affected countries within the past two weeks. This has caused deep concern of not only its rapid spread and severity but also the disturbing lack of action observed in some countries. WHO expects an increase in the number of cases, deaths and affected countries.

On Tuesday February 18, 2020, CDEMA and the Caribbean Agricultural Research & Development Institute (CARDI) signed the Regional Early Warning Systems Consortium (REWSC) Memorandum of Understanding. The signing took place at the CDEMA Coordinating Unit with Mr. Ronald Jackson, Executive Director, CDEMA and Mr. Barton Clarke, Executive Director, CARDI.

CDEMA welcomed the Hon. Member of Parliament Emmanuel Dubourg, Government of Canada, on his courtesy visit to the CDEMA Coordinating Unit facilities on Tuesday February 18, 2020. His visit focused on the value added, which the support from the Government of Canada has brought to the operations within the CDEMA System. Canada has been providing financial and technical support to CARICOM Member States through the CDEMA CU in areas of building resilience to disasters and emergencies in the region and capacity building of CDEMA Participating States. He was provided with a briefing on the ongoing support provided by the Government of Canada and a tour of the facilities of the CDEMA Coordinating Unit. The Hon. Dubourg is attending the 31st Intercessional Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), from 18-19 February 2020.

Bridgetown, Barbados, February 18th, 2020 (CDEMA) - The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) conducted its annual ‘Exercise Region Rap’ with its Participating States and Regional Response Mechanism (RRM) partners on Tuesday February 18, 2020.

The Exercise was dubbed a success with 14 Participating States and 16 regional and international partners taking part, including development partners, CARICOM institutions and UN Agencies. In an effort to integrate youth participation and promote their involvement in Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM), the exercise was executed with the support of student volunteers from the Queens College in Barbados.

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