2020 coronavirus pandemic in the Turks and Caicos Islands

2020 coronavirus pandemic in the Turks and Caicos Islands
Disease	COVID-19
Virus strain	SARS-CoV-2
Location	Turks and Caicos Islands
First outbreak	Wuhan, Hubei, China
Arrival date	23 March 2020 (1 month, 1 week and 2 days)
Confirmed cases	12 [1] (2020-05-01)
Recovered	6
Deaths	1
Official website
gov.tc

The 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Turks and Caicos Islands is part of the ongoing global viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which was confirmed to have reached the British Overseas Territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands on 23 March 2020, ^[2] and the first death occurred on 5 April 2020. ^[3]

Background

On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019. ^{[4] [5]}

The case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003, ^{[6] [7]} but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll. ^{[8] [6]} From 19 March, Public Health England no longer classified COVID-19 as a "High consequence infectious disease". ^[7]

Timeline

COVID-19 cases in Turks and Caicos Islands  ( v t e )      Deaths        Recoveries        Active cases MarMarAprAprMayMayLast 15 daysLast 15 days
Date			# of cases
2020-03-23		​	1
⋮		​	1(=)
2020-03-25		​	1(=)
2020-03-26		​	2(+100%)
2020-03-27		​	2(=)
2020-03-28		​	4(+100%)
2020-03-29		​	5(+25%)
⋮		​	5(=)
2020-04-04		​	5(=)
2020-04-05		​ ​	5(=)
2020-04-06		​ ​	8(+60%)
⋮		​ ​	8(=)
2020-04-10		​ ​	8(=)
2020-04-11		​ ​	9(+13%)
2020-04-12		​ ​	9(=)
2020-04-13		​ ​	10(+11%)
2020-04-14		​ ​	10(=)
2020-04-15		​ ​	11(+10%)
⋮		​ ​	11(=)
2020-04-20		​ ​	11(=)
2020-04-21		​ ​ ​	11(=)
⋮		​ ​ ​	11(=)
2020-04-26		​ ​ ​	12(+9%)
⋮		​ ​ ​	12(=)
2020-04-30		​ ​ ​	12(=)
2020-05-01		​ ​ ​	12(=)
Data sourced from TCI COVID-19 dashboard

March 2020

On 23 March, the first case in the Turks and Caicos Islands was confirmed. ^[2]

On 27 March, The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force issued a mandatory stay at home order and curfew. Violators of the order were subject to fines, imprisonment and confiscation of vehicles. ^[9]

April 2020

On 5 April, the first death due to Covid-19 had been announced. It was a middle-aged man who had recently travelled to the United States. ^[3]

On 17 April, the United Kingdom send medical supplies to the Turk and Caicos Islands in three batches. ^[10]

On 18 April, a patient transferred from the Turks and Caicos Islands to Jamaica for advanced critical care tested positive for Covid-19. ^[11]

On 24 April, it was announced that the Turks and Caicos Islands now have the ability to test for Covid-19 locally and will commence widespread testing. Up to now the samples were forwarded to the Caribbean Public Health Agency. ^[12]

May 2020

On 1 May, residents which are struggling to make ends meet will receive $200 food vouchers for a period of three months. ^[13]

Prevention measures

• All schools have been shut for a month. ^[14]

• The Ministry of Health also enacted section 18 of the Emergency Powers (COVID-19) Regulations 2020, making it a criminal offence to spread or disseminate unverified or false information about the virus, whether the direct source of the information or not. ^[15]

• Cruise ships have been banned with the only port on the island of Grand Turk shut down until 30 June. ^[16]

• All airports, seaports, beaches, schools, restaurants and other businesses are closed until May 4. ^[16]

• Wearing of face masks is mandatory. ^[17]

• From March 27 the Turks and Caicos Islands will be under full lock down for three weeks. ^[18] The lock down will end on 4 May and a phased reopening will commence. ^[17]

Statistics

Chronology of the number of active cases

See also

• Caribbean Public Health Agency

References

1. "TCI COVID-19 DASHBOARD MAY 1, 2000". gov.tc. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
2. "CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) UPDATE". Visit Turks and Caicos Islands.
3. "First death from COVID-19 in Turks and Caicos". Barbados Today. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
4. Elsevier. "Novel Coronavirus Information Center". Elsevier Connect. Archived from the original on 30 January 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
5. Reynolds, Matt (4 March 2020). "What is coronavirus and how close is it to becoming a pandemic?". Wired UK. ISSN   1357-0978. Archived from the original on 5 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
6. "Crunching the numbers for coronavirus". Imperial News. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
7. "High consequence infectious diseases (HCID); Guidance and information about high consequence infectious diseases and their management in England". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
8. "World Federation Of Societies of Anaesthesiologists – Coronavirus". www.wfsahq.org. Archived from the original on 12 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
9. "Evening Curfews are going well, despite... - Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force". Facebook. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
10. "Critical medical supplies coming for Turk and Caicos Islands". The Turks & Caicos Sun. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
11. "Patient transferred to Jamaica tests positive to Covid-19". Turks and Caicos Weekly News. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
12. "Local Covid-19 testing to begin". Turks and Caicos Weekly News. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
13. "$200 food vouchers for vulnerable citizens". Turks & Caicos Weekly News. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
14. "Turks and Caicos Islands, all schools to be closed". Loop. 16 March 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
15. "MINISTRY OF HEALTH'S COVID-19 UPDATE #18b". Gov.tc. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
16. Broomhall, Elizabeth. "Paradise Lockdown: Will Coronavirus Curfew Be A Boon For The Environment Of The Turks And Caicos?". Forbes. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
17. "Lockdown over on Monday". Turks and Caicos Weekly News. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
18. "TCI under complete lockdown from Saturday". Turks and Caicos Weekly News. Retrieved 28 April 2020.