Clermont’s plight is shared by many in Haiti and, more broadly, across the Caribbean and Latin America.
In Brazil and Mexico, which make up more than half the region’s population, populist governments went against scientific opinion and downplayed the threat of the virus, continuing to hold political rallies and resisting lockdowns.
Experts say the true scale of the virus’ spread in the region is likely much worse than reported as many countries have failed to implement rigorous testing programs for practical or ideological reasons.
In Haiti, which has a population of around 11 million, the spread has outpaced its testing capacity so much that its coronavirus task force declared that symptoms were enough to diagnose COVID-19, the illness caused by virus.
Less than 9% of the population of Latin America and the Caribbean – and just 4.5 % in Haiti – is aged 65 and above.
