These days, the temperature goes up to 40 Celsius.  After 2 months of confinement, the Haitian government has just announced a 2-month extension.  Three hospitals in Port-au-Prince are treating coronavirus patients. Among them are Doctors Without Borders. It took them a month and a half to settle down and convince the reluctant population that they would take all the necessary precautions.  Due to the increasing number of cases and the lack of beds, these hospitals will soon be saturated.  In fact, we do not know the actual numbers of people infected because of the lack of testing and stigmatization.

Coronavirus detected in Haiti’s largest prison   AFP

Nearly a dozen detainees in Haiti’s largest prison have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, an administrator told AFP Thursday, as fears mounted that the disease could spread like wildfire through the country’s dirty and overcrowded correctional system.

Last week, approximately 50 prisoners in the Port-au-Prince penitentiary reported having a fever, prompting health officials to test 12 inmates as a sample.  Results indicated that 11 were infected with COVID-19.

Haiti has more than 11,000 people behind bars — most of them waiting to go on trial, sometimes for years.  The Port-au-Prince facility is overcrowded, which is conducive to the spread of viruses. 

We give supplies to some families from our gate, but they do not enter our yard for health reasons.

Before the confinement, we had 1,035 in average attendance  on Sundays at the church.  Now we send 700 SMS messages a week, we make calls and we have a service on Facebook. But in a country where there are a few hours of electricity every 2 or 3 days and where people have little access to the internet, it is not easy to take care of the Church.

Please continue to pray that God will stop the pandemic and that the people will cry out to God. 

We are available for Zoom calls with your congregation on Sundays and during the week.

May God protect you. 

Michel & Louise