BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The Barbados government says policies to remove industrially produced trans fatty acids from local foods should be in place by December next year.

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti – The Government of Japan has provided Haiti emergency aid of US$3-million in response to its ongoing cholera outbreak.

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaican health authorities Tuesday dismissed as fake news, reports being circulated on social media here of a new variant of the COVID-19 pandemic.

WASHINGTON, DC – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) says it has developed a digital platform to bring telehealth services to remote populations in Latin American and Caribbean countries, making telemedicine the “new normal” for healthcare workers and patients managing chronic diseases.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and the Martinique Cancer Registry have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOU) to work together to strengthen cancer surveillance and cancer control in the region.

WASHINGTON, DC – An institution in Haiti is among six that will receive research grants for topics related to Tuberculosis and other opportunistic infections in advanced HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and Human T cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV-1) that may cause a type of cancer.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley on Thursday assured there was no need to change COVID-19 protocols, impose new restrictions, cancel Carnival or close the country’s borders despite an increase in cases and hospitalizations.

ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada – The Executive Director of the Trinidad-based Caribbean Public Health Agency (CAPHA), Dr. Joy St. John, Thursday said that several COVID-19 variants that are causing surges in the United States, the United Kingdom and China have “been circulating in the Caribbean since last year”.

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Members of the local entertainment and cultural industries will soon have a dedicated health insurance scheme, according to Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange.

GENEVA – The United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME) says three countries from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) will fall short of meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) target for under-five mortality.

NASSAU, Bahamas – The Bahamas government says it has no plans to impose COVID-19 testing requirements for travelers coming from China, which has in recent months recorded a surge.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The few remaining COVID-19 protocols which included mandatory mask wearing in schools and on public transportation have been discontinued.