COVID-19 pandemic in Suriname
[6] 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.
"[14] On 13 March, Suriname's Vice President Ashwin Adhin announced the first confirmed case of coronavirus in the country: an individual who arrived from the Netherlands multiple days prior to testing positive.
[28][29][30][31] The hospitals shared 30 ventilators between them,[32] and on 16 March the staff of the St. Vincentius Ziekenhuis complained about a lack of supplies to adequately deal with COVID-19 patients.
[33] The International Academy of Suriname has announced that the examinations would continue online, and that students progress would be tracked through Distance education.
André Misiekaba, minister of Social Affairs and Housing, said that Suriname was not in a condition yet for emergency funds, but that food packages had been distributed to a hundred villages in the interior.
[42] On 9 April, the European Union announced a grant of €8M (US$8.6M), which would be implemented by the Caribbean Public Health Agency, for the fight against the coronavirus.
[53] On 20 April, Cleopatra Jessurun, Director of the Ministry of Health, announced that the last three patients were in a healthy condition and would be released after they test negative twice for the virus.
[56] Medische Zending announced on 25 April that they were sending an epidemiological team to Gonini Krikimofo who would screen and test the entire community.
The Crisis Management Team reminded everybody that it was important to remain on alert, and that the border situation is would still be a source of concern.
Mirdad Kazanji, Director of the Pasteur Institute explained that both laboratories have been sending negative and positive samples to each other as a quality control.
[63] On 5 May, the World Bank provided US$412,000 to Suriname to purchase essential medical supplies for the country's emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
[77] On 1 June, President Bouterse announced that the partial lock down would be back in effect from 18:00 to 06:00, and that all easements of restrictions would be cancelled.
[86] On 11 June, it was announced that Jerry Slijngard, part of the COVID-19 management team and Director National Coordination Centre for Emergency, was diagnosed COVID-19 positive.
[95] Chan Santokhi, Gregory Rusland and Ronnie Brunswijk went into quarantine, because they had been in long meetings with Somohardjo about the new government.
[106] On 17 July, the new Minister of Health Amar Ramadhin announced a new policy, with changes on the publishing of data, where it would be once a day at 20:00 (UTC−3).
[108] On 25 July, additional measure were announced by President Chan Santokhi, because the increase of cases: On 11 August, Santokhi announced a series of new measures, requiring the use of face masks, reducing operating practices of restaurants, and prohibiting groups of 5 or people from gathering except for work, education, religious gatherings and funerals.
[110] On 19 August, Health Minister Ramadhin told reporters that the mortuary Wanica Regional Hospital had already reached its maximum capacity, and was critical of persons who continued to ignore measures put in place to curb the spread.
Suriname is a former colony of the Netherlands and shares Dutch as the official language, therefore there are always a large amount people going back and forth between the countries.
On 3 April, a group of Dutch people in Suriname were scheduled to be repatriated,[117] but there was an issue with the plane which resulted it in arriving a day late.
[122] On 14 April, Danielle Veira contacted Irene Lalji, a lawyer representing a hundred stranded citizens in the Netherlands, to inform her that they were preparing to schedule a first flight for repatriation that week, and increasing the capacity for quarantine.
[135] On 11 April, Suriname and France announced joint efforts to prevent illegal crossings of the Marowijne,[136] and established a contact point in Albina and Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni.
[138] On 15 April, John Samuel, chair of the political party De Nieuwe Wind and former consul to French Guinea, had been sent back when he tried to illegally cross the river to visit his family.
[142] On 21 April, Suriname and Guyana have agreed to allow legitimate trade over the Courantyne river, because the closure had resulted in food and fuel shortage in the Amerindian villages, Orealla and Siparuta.
[144] Suriname's border with Brazil has been established by the Treaty of Limits[145] and mainly consists of impenetrable rainforest, and can be accessed through maroon and indigenous areas some of which are de jure autonomous like the Ndyuka.
On 30 March, Jorge Sebá, the honorary consul of Suriname for Brazil, died in Rio de Janeiro.
[149] On 3 April, Hans Prade, former ambassador of Suriname to the Netherlands and former President of the Surinamese Court of Auditors, died in Rotterdam.
[150] On 10 April, Bas Mulder, a Dutch Catholic priest known as a media personality and sports promoter, spend most of his life in Suriname, died in Boxmeer, the Netherlands.
[151] On 12 April, Surinamese-Dutch singer and percussionist Kishen Bholasing died in the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam, the Netherlands aged 35.
In cooperation with the Pan American Health Organization the Central Laboratory (Bureau voor Openbare Gezondheidszorg – B.O.G.)
Article 2 of the Law allowed for the establishment of a COVID-19 Crisis Management Team led by the Vice President of Suriname, Ashwin Adhin, and consisting of minimally the following members appointed by the President of Suriname Desi D. Bouterse:[159] The Law 'Exceptional Condition' also enabled the establishment of a Parliamentary Crisis Commission with Jennifer Simons[161] as appointed head.
