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

BELMOPAN, Belize – Belize health authorities are raising the alarm of yet another wave of COVID-19 that has so far killed 688 people and infected 69, 376 others since the first case was detected two years ago.

KINGSTON, Jamaica – The first batch of nurses from the United States who will be participating in the Code Care Project recently arrived in the island.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana – The Ministry of Health is in the process of developing legislation for electronic medical records (EMR) which could be piloted next year, according to Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony.

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) says it has provided 1.17 million doses of oral cholera vaccines to Haiti as cases continue to rise across the country.

WASHINGTON, DC – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has called for countries in the region to address inequalities that prevent progress towards ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, as it marked World AIDS Day.

ST GEORGE’S, Grenada – By December next year, Government intends to present legislation to Parliament to legalize cannabis for medicinal purposes, Minister for Agriculture and Lands Senator Adrian Thomas announced on Monday.

WASHINGTON, DC – A new study has found that adoption of front-of-pack nutrition warnings can help decrease obesity and cardiovascular disease in the Americas, including the Caribbean.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Ahead of World AIDS Day on Thursday, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is warning that progress in HIV prevention and treatment has nearly flatlined over the past three years, with many regions still not at pre-pandemic service coverage.

ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada – Allied Health practitioners who fail to register with the Health Council have been warned that they will be charged a maximum fine of (EC$250,000 One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents)

UNITED NATIONS – A top United Nations aid official says the continued spread of cholera in Haiti is a “worrying trend”, lamenting that a US$145 million appeal to support the response is only 16 percent funded.

KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Jamaica government says the proposed introduction of paternity leave for fathers of newborns and family leave for adoptive parents bringing a new child into the home, is scheduled to come into effect on January 1, 2023.