(CNN) The governor of Sao Paulo state has called Jair Bolsonaro a “psychopathic leader,” in a sharp rebuke over the Brazilian President’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are in one of those tragic moments in history when millions of people pay a high price for having an unprepared and psychopathic leader in charge of a nation,” Joao Doria said in an interview with CNN on Monday.

Doria said much of the deaths from the virus in Brazil could have been avoided if Bolsonaro had “acted with the responsibility that the position gives him.”

He added that Bolsonaro made “unbelievable mistakes, the biggest one was having a political dispute with the governors who are trying to protect the population.”

Bolsonaro has repeatedly opposed lockdowns and restrictive measures and has criticized governors and mayors for implementing them.

The governor added that he was facing the biggest challenge of his life as governor of Brazil’s largest state, and that he had to restructure the healthcare system in “record time” and look for ways to mitigate the economic crisis that hit the country during the pandemic.

Doria also spoke about the grave state of hospitals and ICUs in Sao Paulo, saying they had already tripled the number of ICU beds and this month would open 12 field hospitals in the state.

The Covid-19 crisis in Brazil has never been worse.

Nearly every Brazilian state has an ICU occupancy of 80% or higher, according to a recent CNN analysis of state data. As of Friday, 16 of 26 states were at or above 90%, meaning those health systems have collapsed or are at imminent risk of doing so.

And as of Friday, less than 10 million people in the country of about 220 million had received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, according to federal health data. Only 1.57% of the population had been fully vaccinated.

That is the result of a slow rollout program that has been plagued by delays. During the announcement of its distribution plan in early February, the government promised some 46 million vaccine doses would be available in March. It’s been repeatedly forced to lower that number, and now only 26 million doses are estimated to be available by month’s end.

Doria said of 90% of the vaccines in Brazil were produced by the Butantan Institute in Sao Paulo — linked to the Sao Paulo government — and that by the end of August they will have made 100 million vaccines available across the country.

“It is still not enough,” he said, adding that the federal government in March started buying vaccines while Sao Paulo state began in April of last year.

CNN’s Matt Rivers contributed to this report.

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Ramón Pérez Tejada, the Dominican Republic’s director of the General Directorate of Border Development (DGDF) affirms that the construction of a perimeter fence on the Dominican-Haitian border announced by President Abinader on February 27 goes well beyond the nationalism caused by illegal immigration, but will allow, among other things, to put an end to trafficking of all kinds …

This fence, of which he specifies that some 60 kilometers have already been built between Elías Piña and Jimaní, will extend for 190 kilometers of the 391 km of border that separates the two countries.

According to Pérez, each access point with Haiti will become a large customs office for companies, which will benefit not only the Dominican State but also the Haitian State by reducing smuggling and all those who live on both sides of the border.

Regarding the number of customs offices, he mentions two or three large customs infrastructures in each Dominican border province [Dajabón (North-West), Elías Piña (South-West), Independencia (South-West), Monte Cristi (North-West) , Pedernales (Sud-Ouest)] explaining that it is the commercial exchange dynamics of each province that will establish the number and location of these infrastructures explaining

“If there is a market that has existed for years, you can not simply block it, but on the contrary, you have to create the structures for it to develop. Reality will tell us where this trade infrastructure will be located along the border. What the fence will do is organize the border and promote the development of the economy of both countries.”

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It took two months, but the international world broke through President Biden’s laser-like focus on domestic affairs, COVID-19 relief and his arguments that in a post-Trump era, he has new solutions for age-old problems.

From immigration at the U.S. southern border, to relations with China, Russia and Iran, to next steps with the Taliban and U.S. troops in Afghanistan, the Biden White House finds itself back to the future.

On Sunday, Biden defended the administration’s response to conditions at the border, telling reporters the White House is “making sure that we reestablish what existed before, which was they can stay in place and make their case from their home country.”

The president said he would visit the area “at some point,” assuring reporters he understood the conditions migrants are experiencing in U.S. detention facilities.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas repeated on four network news shows on Sunday what he has told Congress for weeks. The U.S. message to Central American migrants and asylum-seekers who are putting themselves and their children in danger and attempting to reach the U.S. border is, “do not come.” It is the same message Biden delivered in June 2014 at the southern border on behalf of former President Obama when a migrant surge led to tough responses that earned Obama the nickname “deporter in chief.”

“Those who are pondering risking their lives to reach the United States should be aware of what awaits them. It will not be open arms,” Biden said in Guatemala City nearly seven years ago while discussing the crisis then. “We’re going to send the vast majority of you back.”

Immigration law in 2021 remains a politicized puzzle, complicated by emotions tied to children, a pandemic and Biden’s campaign vows to undo former President Trump’s hard-line immigration policies, which also required immigrants to file appeals to enter the United States from their home countries.

The Associated Press: Biden aims to prevent border crossings from swamping agenda.

The Hill: DHS chief takes lead in Biden administration’s border response defense.

“The border is closed, the border is secure,” Mayorkas said on ABC’s “This Week.”

“We are encouraging children not to come. Now is not the time to come. Do not come, the journey is dangerous. We are building safe, orderly and humane ways to address the needs of vulnerable children. Do not come,” he continued.

The Associated Press: Mexico on Sunday moved to limit all nonessential travel at its shared border with Guatemala. It is under pressure in Washington, as it was in 2014 and 2020, to slow the migration north as the U.S. government wrestles with growing numbers of undocumented people fleeing their countries.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) this week plans to visit the border with 14 colleagues and he urged Biden on Sunday to open migrant detention facilities to press coverage, despite White House arguments that COVID-19 risks are one reason officials are keeping journalists at bay. In a letter sent today to Biden and shared with the Morning Report, Cruz called it “unacceptable” that the news media could not join the GOP delegation to see “a crisis of your own making.” Trump also issued a four-paragraph statement on Sunday accusing Biden of “destroying” the country (The Hill).

As The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports, Biden’s agenda for his first 100 days got off to a strong start but is being buffeted by border issues he understood from experience, instances of domestic extremism and violence that he assailed during his campaign and pressures from a host of foreign adversaries he has assured voters he knows well.

Also on Sunday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (pictured below in Kabul) arrived in Afghanistan, making an unannounced visit as the administration wrestles with a war that is nearly 20 years old. Austin met with officials, including Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, U.S. diplomat Ross Wilson and Army Gen. Austin “Scott” Miller, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan. Austin told reporters traveling with him in Kabul that senior U.S. officials want to see “a responsible end to this conflict” and “a transition to something else” (The Washington Post and The Hill).

The Taliban on Friday warned the United States that if it does not meet a May 1 deadline for U.S. troop withdrawals, there will be a response. Suhail Shaheen, a member of the Taliban negotiation team, told reporters “it will be a kind of violation of the agreement. That violation would not be from our side … Their violation will have a reaction” (AlJazeera).

Meanwhile, Turkey and Afghanistan today will commemorate 100 years of diplomatic relations and Turkey appears ready, with encouragement from the Biden administration, to play a mediator role in Istanbul in April in trying to finalize a peace deal with the Taliban. On Sunday, Biden also rebuked Turkey for abandoning an international agreement aimed at preventing violence against women (ABC News).

CNBC: Former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, who helped negotiate a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran from which Trump withdrew the United States, said on Thursday “there’s probably just about 10 weeks left for some serious diplomacy” with Tehran.

The Associated Press: Iran in January threatened attacks on Washington’s Fort McNair Army post as well as a top general.

Across the globe, the Biden administration hoped to counter Russia and China by strengthening U.S. alliances and to collaborate with partners to put pressure on both countries to change behavior. Antagonistic signals from Moscow and Beijing last week showed the Biden administration that the two powerful nations are willing to confront the United States, report The Hill’s Laura Kelly and Morgan Chalfant.

The Hill’s Niall Stanage: Biden faces steep climbs two months into governing.

The Hill: On the Sunday talk shows, the Biden administration grappled with conditions at the border whether labeled a “crisis” or a problem.

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) – A group of hundreds of economists and businessmen, including shareholders of Brazil’s largest bank, Itau Unibanco Holding SA, defended urgent change in the federal government response to the COVID pandemic.

“The country demands respect,” the letter begins, stating Brazil has the deadliest pandemic outbreak in the world and that the health system is overwhelmed and collapsing.

The letter says the recession is “caused by the pandemic and will not be overcome if the pandemic is not controlled by a competent stance by the federal government”.

Signed by hundreds of economists, policy makers, bankers and businessmen, the letter demands urgent acceleration of vaccination, a national campaign to demand the use of masks and serious discussions on social distancing policies.

Among the businessmen signing the letter, are Roberto Setubal and Pedro Moreira Salles, shareholders of Brazil’s Itau , Pedro Passos, co-founder of cosmetics maker Natura & Co Holding , former central bankers Gustavo Loyola and Arminio Fraga and former finance minister Pedro Malan.

The letter says at the current pace of vaccination, the country will take three years to reach all the population, and adds Chile is vaccinating ten times faster than Brazil.

“We cannot expect an economic recovery if the pandemic is not under control. There is no more time to waste on sterile debate and fake news” , the letter states.

To this Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has once again lashed out against the quarantine measures taken during the pandemic. Targeting the country’s governors, he accused them of being “tyrants” and “trying to restrict your freedom.”

On the occasion of his 66th birthday on Sunday, Bolsonaro greeted supporters who turned up outside the presidential palace in Brasilia to wish him on his special day. During his impromptu speech, he made it clear that he was still not okay with the stay-at-home measures ordered by mayors and governors to control the pandemic.

“They’re picking a fight. If anybody thinks we’re going to give up our freedom, they’re wrong. Some tyrants out there are trying to restrict your freedom. But you can be sure, our army is olive-green, and it’s all of you, too,” Bolsonaro as reported by France 24.

“You can count on our armed forces to defend your freedom and democracy.”Earlier this month, the president told people of his country to “stop whining” about COVID-19. “Stop all this fussing and whining. How long are you going to keep on crying?” said Bolsonaro, who trivialized the disease as “a little flu.”

                        287,000 Deaths and Climbing

Brazil has registered 86,982 new coronavirus cases and 2,724 deaths, the second highest daily toll, according to the health ministry.

Infections have surpassed 11.7 million and deaths have gone past 287,000 in total.

 

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The race to get back to some semblance of normalcy in the Caribbean now depends on how much of the population gets vaccinated against COVID-19.

It has been stated by many Caribbean governments that tourism, Carnival, the re-opening of borders and schools, rests in the hands of its citizens being willing to accept the vaccine.

Not everything has been equal globally with the distribution of vaccines.

In the Caribbean, governments wait on the COVAX facility, accept donations, share vaccines amongst the islands and look to other sources to access the jab.

Here is a breakdown of how vaccinations look so far in some Caribbean islands:

St Kitts and Nevis 

St Kitts and Nevis is administering the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine to its citizens. The island received a donation of 2,000 doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine from Dominica.

St Kitts and Nevis also received 20,000 vaccine doses from the Government of India.

Under the COVAX facility, St Kitts and Nevis has been allocated 21,600 vaccine doses.

The Federation is also seeking access to other COVID-19 vaccines through two other mechanisms.

Over 7,500 vaccine doses have been administered to date.

Antigua and Barbuda 

Antigua and Barbuda through the government of India received a donation of 40,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The island was also gifted 5,000 vaccine doses from Dominica.

Under the COVAX agreement, Antigua and Barbuda was allocated 40,800 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Additional efforts are ongoing to procure 100,000 AstraZeneca doses from three sources.

Over 25,000 vaccine doses have been administered to date.

Barbados 

Photo: Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley took her first vaccine dose in January.

Barbados is using the Covishield vaccine by Oxford-AstraZeneca. Barbados received a gift of 100,000 doses of the vaccine from India. Barbados shared doses with many islands.

The island was also allocated 100,800 vaccine doses under the COVAX facility agreement.

Over 61,000 vaccine doses have been administered to date.

Saint Lucia 

Saint Lucia in the early days received 1,000 vaccine doses from Barbados and 2,000 doses from Dominica. (Barbados and Dominica shared their portion of vaccines from the Government of India).

Saint Lucia later received a donation of 25,000 doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine from India.

The island has also been allocated 74,400 doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine through the COVAX facility.

Over 20,000 vaccine doses have been administered to date.

 

Dominica 

Photo: Melissa Poponne-Skerrit, the Parliamentary Representative for the city of Roseau, received her first dose of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine. 

Dominica received the gift of 20,000 doses of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine from The People’s Republic of China. The island also received 70,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from India.

Dominica shared doses from this batch with other islands in the region. Under the COVAX facility, Dominica was allocated 28,800 vaccine doses.

Over 13,000 vaccine doses have been administered to date.

St Vincent and the Grenadines

Photo: Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves and his wife Eloise after receiving their second dose of Sputnik V.

St Vincent and the Grenadines was gifted 5,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from Dominica.

Twenty doses of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V were also received by St Vincent and the Grenadines, through an intermediary.

It also received 40,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine Covishield AstraZeneca from the Government of India.

Through the COVAX facility, St Vincent and the Grenadines has been allocated 45,600 vaccine doses.

Over 9,000 vaccine doses have been administered to date.

Grenada

Photo: Prime Minister of Grenada Dr Keith Mitchell when he received his first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine. 

Grenada received 6,000 doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine that was manufactured in India and gifted to them by Dominica. Barbados shared 500 vaccine doses with Grenada. Antigua and Barbuda has also stated that it will share 5,000 vaccine doses with Grenada.

Through the COVAX facility, Grenada has been allocated 45,600 vaccine doses.

Over 8,600 vaccine doses have been administered to date.

Trinidad and Tobago 

Trinidad and Tobago was gifted 2,000 doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine from Barbados.

The twin-island nation will receive 100,800 vaccine doses through the COVAX facility.

Over 1,100 vaccine doses have been administered to frontline workers to date.

Jamaica 

Jamaica became the first country in the Caribbean to receive 14,400 vaccine doses out of the 124,800 allocated to it through the COVAX facility.

India also sent 50,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Jamaica. The island has also secured 1.8 million vaccine doses under the African Medical Supply Platform.

Through various platforms, Jamaica expects to have a total of over 874,000 vaccine doses by the end of May.

Over 16,000 vaccine doses have been administered to date.

 

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Santa Maria Beach in Villa Clara Province, Cuba has been judged as the best beach in the Caribbean.

Santa Maria Beach picked up the distinction in the 2021 Travelers’ Choice® Best of the Best Awards for Beaches by TripAdvisor.

The beach is located on Cayo Santa María, which is just off Cuba’s north central coast.

A trip advisor review of the beach said it has: “Incredibly fine white sand that feels like flour, tranquil water, and a nice little breeze… this place is paradise. Some days, you can see fish swimming around or even dolphins from a close distance.”

Santa Maria Beach has a rating of 4.5 out of five stars on TripAdvisor.

The beach placed second to Australia’s Whitehaven Beach on the global ranking.

Cuban beaches were the star of this year’s awards as they picked up four places on the Top 25 list of Caribbean beaches.

Coming in second in the Caribbean was Grace Bay Beach in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos.

A recent review of the beach describes it as “an absolutely idyllic setting. Golden sand edging crystal clear blue water with gently lapping waves – it’s what postcards were made for.”

The beach placed second to Australia’s Whitehaven Beach on the global ranking.

Cuban beaches were the star of this year’s awards as they picked up four places on the Top 25 list of Caribbean beaches.

Coming in second in the Caribbean was Grace Bay Beach in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos.

Roundout the top 25 beaches were:

4. Varadero Beach, (Cuba)

5. Maho Bay Beach (US Virgin Islands)

6. Seven Mile Beach (Negril, Jamaica)

7. Seven Mile Beach (Cayman Islands)

8. Bavaro Beach (Dominican Republic)

9. Half Moon Bay (Antigua)

10. Flamenco Beach (Culebra, Puerto Rico)

11. Bloody Bay (Negril, Jamaica)

12. Horseshoe Bay Beach (Southampton Parish, Bermuda)

13. Trunk Bay Beach (Virgin Islands National Park, US Virgin Islands)

14. Honeymoon Beach (St Thomas, US Virgin Islands)

15. Playa Pilar (Cuba)

16.Playa Paraiso (Cuba)

17. Frenchman’s Cove (Jamaica)

18. Mullet Bay (Sint Maarten)

19. The Baths (British Virgin Islands)

20. Grande Anse des Salines (Martinique)

25. Arashi Beach (Aruba)

21. Plage de Grande Anse (Guadeloupe)

22. Pigeon Point Beach (Tobago)

23. Kenepa Beach (Curacao)

24. Playa PortoMari (Curacao)

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