Caribbean Medical Journal
Thursday, March 23, 2023
Scholastica Login
  • About Us
    • Editorial Team
    • For Authors
      • Reviewing
      • Peer Review Process
      • Publication Ethics
        • Research and Publication ethics
        • Scientific misconduct
        • Authorship criteria
        • Peer review appeals and complaints from authors
        • Conflict of Interest/Competing Interests
        • Data Sharing Policy
        • Ethical Oversight
        • Corrections, erratums, and retractions
        • Business Model
      • Open Access
        • Open Access Policy
        • Author and Article Processing Charges
        • Archiving and indexing
        • Self-Archiving Policy
      • Copyright and Licensing
        • Copyright
        • Licensing
  • Issues
  • CMJ Reflections
    • Special Collection Series
      • Community Health Reflection Series
      • COVID-19 Series
      • Oncology Reflection Series
      • Organ Donation Reflection Series
      • Palliative Care Series
  • CMJ Resources
    • Brief guide to Research Ethics
    • CMJ Guide to the Research Process
  • Instruction to Authors
  • Manuscript Submission
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
  • About Us
    • Editorial Team
    • For Authors
      • Reviewing
      • Peer Review Process
      • Publication Ethics
        • Research and Publication ethics
        • Scientific misconduct
        • Authorship criteria
        • Peer review appeals and complaints from authors
        • Conflict of Interest/Competing Interests
        • Data Sharing Policy
        • Ethical Oversight
        • Corrections, erratums, and retractions
        • Business Model
      • Open Access
        • Open Access Policy
        • Author and Article Processing Charges
        • Archiving and indexing
        • Self-Archiving Policy
      • Copyright and Licensing
        • Copyright
        • Licensing
  • Issues
  • CMJ Reflections
    • Special Collection Series
      • Community Health Reflection Series
      • COVID-19 Series
      • Oncology Reflection Series
      • Organ Donation Reflection Series
      • Palliative Care Series
  • CMJ Resources
    • Brief guide to Research Ethics
    • CMJ Guide to the Research Process
  • Instruction to Authors
  • Manuscript Submission
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
Caribbean Medical Journal
No Result
View All Result
Home Editorial

COVID-19 Pandemic in the Caribbean

December 12, 2020
in Editorial
0

Damion Basdeo1, Loren De Freitas2
1Department of Internal Medicine, Sangre Grande Hospital, Eastern Regional Health Authority
2Arima District Health Facility, North Central Regional Health Authority


Corresponding Author:
Damion Basdeo (MBBS, UWI)
Department of Internal Medicine
Sangre Grande Hospital
Eastern Regional Health Authority
Trinidad and Tobago
Email: [email protected]


Download Article as PDF

DOI: 10.48107/CMJ.2020.12.002

Copyright: This is an open-access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.


“Beginnings are usually scary, and endings are usually sad, but it’s everything in between that makes it all worth living.” – Bob Marley

The above quote is aptly applicable to the COVID-19 pandemic. By now, we all are quite familiar with the COVID-19 virus. Amidst scientific discoveries, advancements in medicine and eradication of diseases, we are hit by this global crisis. The pandemic has now resulted in more than 40 million infected persons and over one million preventable deaths. The virus knows no limits, and all classes, races, ethnic and cultural groups are affected, notwithstanding the fact that some groups are more affected than the others.

“You take it for granted…When it’s taken away from you, you realize that just being here is a blessing”, said Dr. Eric Williams. This is a reminder of the freedoms we have lost, as a result of the restrictions implemented in our countries. The Caribbean islands now face a great challenge. In our efforts to protect and save lives, many sacrifices have been made. The implemented public health measures are now common knowledge. Our ‘new normal’ includes wearing face masks, washing hands, physically distancing and seeking credible medical advice. Our health systems and health care workers have done remarkably well for our limited resources.

It’s now time for us to “Rally round the West Indies” and fight this pandemic together. Our sisters and brothers in the medical fraternity are asked to continue our sterling efforts until we overcome this pandemic. As medical professionals we are now asked to run this race together, be the “Usain Bolt” of our profession and cross the finish line victorious. This may be long and arduous but our resilience shall prevail. We must continue to educate the public with the available strong scientific evidence and debunk the myths and misconceptions regarding this disease.

The Caribbean Medical Journal (CMJ) supports our medical community in its continued efforts to fight the pandemic. We also support the advancement of local and regional research which may be used to support the development of local clinical guidelines and our own policies backed by local scientific evidence. The CMJ Special COVID-19 series offers the opportunity to showcase research produced in the region, aiming to highlight local and regional work in both clinical and non-clinical areas pertinent to the pandemic. We hope that the series will encourage clinicians, researchers and other professionals to continue embarking on local and regional research.

We, as one of the leading medical journals from the region, should be instrumental in orchestrating every possible measure towards the containment of this pandemic. Let us continue to strive to give our best!


REFERENCES

  1. Hunte SA, Pierre K, St Rose R. Health Systems’ Resilience: COVID-19 Response in Trinidad and Tobago. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 2020; 103(2): 590–592. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.20-0561
  2. Coley-Graham, T. Weathering the COVID-19 storm in the Caribbean. Inter-American Development Bank 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.iadb.org/en/improvinglives/weathering-coronavirus-storm-caribbean. Accessed- 21/10/2020
Tags: COVID-19: A Caribbean Perspective
Previous Post

Confidentiality and Disclosure during the COVID-19 pandemic

Next Post

The COVID-19 Red Eye: An Algorithm for Differential Diagnosis and Management

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Caribbean Medical Journal

The Official Journal of Trinidad & Tobago Medical Association.

Teach | Treat | Mentor | Advocate.

Copyright © 2021  Caribbean Medical Journal
All rights reserved.
Electronic ISSN: 2664-5599
Print ISSN 0374-7042

Article Categories

  • Case report
  • Community Health
  • COVID-19 Country Experiences
  • COVID-19 Series
  • Editorial
  • Latest
  • Organ Donation Reflection Series
  • Original Article
  • Palliative Care Series
  • Reflection Series: Oncology
  • Resources
  • Review Article
  • Short Report
  • Viewpoint

Recent Posts

  • Digital Transformation and Healthcare Innovation in the Caribbean
  • Understanding the Antiretroviral Treatment Experiences of Men Attending a HIV Clinic in Jamaica
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact

© 2021 Caribbean Medical Journal - Teach, Treat, Mentor, Advocate.

No Result
View All Result
  • About Us
    • Editorial Team
    • For Authors
      • Reviewing
      • Peer Review Process
      • Publication Ethics
      • Open Access
      • Copyright and Licensing
  • Issues
  • CMJ Reflections
    • Special Collection Series
      • Community Health Reflection Series
      • COVID-19 Series
      • Oncology Reflection Series
      • Organ Donation Reflection Series
      • Palliative Care Series
  • CMJ Resources
    • Brief guide to Research Ethics
    • CMJ Guide to the Research Process
  • Instruction to Authors
  • Manuscript Submission
  • Contact

© 2021 Caribbean Medical Journal - Teach, Treat, Mentor, Advocate.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.