Bahamas COVID-19 death rate still among highest in region

With a case fatality rate (CFR) of nearly 14 percent, The Bahamas continues to have one of the highest rates of death from COVID-19 in the region.

There have been 80 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country and 11 deaths.

The only country in the Caribbean with a higher rate is Sint Maarten, where 13 of the 75 confirmed cases have died, resulting in a CFR of 17.3 percent.

In the English-speaking Caribbean, Jamaica and Trinidad both have more cases than The Bahamas but fewer deaths.

As of yesterday, Jamaica had 364 cases and seven deaths – a CFR of 1.9 percent. Trinidad had a CFR of 6.9 percent with 116 cases and eight deaths.

Barbados, like The Bahamas, had 80 confirmed cases, and six deaths.

The Cayman Islands, with 70 cases, had only one death — a CFR of 1.4 percent.

Having had 282 COVID-19 deaths  – the most in the region – the Dominican Republic, with over 6,200 cases has a CFR of 4.5 percent.

Minister of Health Dr. Duane Sands has on several occasions raised concern that the large percentage of Bahamians with comorbidities could be contributing to the high CFR.

However, in a contribution to the House of Assembly on Monday, Sands said The Bahamas’ case fatality rate will fall as more people are tested.

“Notwithstanding the significant level of comorbid illnesses that have contributed to this level of lethality, we expect the case fatality rate to fall as we liberalize the criteria for testing,” he said.

“More tests, more positive cases but that will then lead to a lower case fatality rate, as long as we don’t have an increased number of deaths.”

As of yesterday, Sands said, 1,118 people had been tested in the country.

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source https://thenassauguardian.com/2020/04/29/bahamas-covid-19-death-rate-still-among-highest-in-region/