2020 in Haiti explained

Events in the year 2020 in Haiti.

Incumbents

• • President: Jovenel Moïse Prime Minister: Fritz-William Michel (acting)

Events

February

• February 13 – Fifteen children die in a fire in an orphanage in Kenscoff, Port-au-Prince Arrondissement, Ouest Department.^[1]
• February 23 – Police in Port-au-Prince violently protest against money being spent on a carnaval celebrations instead of their salaries.^[2]

April

• April 6 – Haiti has community transmission of the coronavirus.^[3]
• April 9 – Many Haitians flee the Dominican Republic due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic in the Dominican Republic.^[4]
• April 13 – A historical landmark church inside Haiti's UNESCO World Heritage site, Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Church in Milot, is destroyed in a fire.^[5]
• April 20 – Haiti reopens factories; the country reports 40 COVID-19 cases and three deaths.^[6]
• April 21 – Haiti and Mexico have detected coronavirus infections among migrants deported recently from the United States.^[7]

May

• May 8 – The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti calls for immediate action to address health and humanitarian needs, alongside ongoing efforts to promote sustainable development and resilience to future shocks. The organization warns that the COVID-19 pandemic may increase poverty in a country where four million people need urgent food assistance, and at least one million are suffering from severe hunger. Haiti has 101 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 12 deaths, and it still suffers from the 2010s Haiti cholera outbreak.^[8]

June

• June 16 – COVID-19 pandemic: The government says the virus has peaked in Haiti. 4,309 people have been infected and 73 have died since March 19 when the virus was first detected.^[9]

July

• July 13 – COVID-19 pandemic: A report by The New York Times and the Marshall Project indicates that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) worsened the spread of the pandemic by deporting sick people to their countries of origin, including Haiti.^[10]

August

• August 23 – A ten-year-old girl is killed in Haiti by Hurricane Laura.^[11]
• August 26 – The number of deaths from Hurricane Laura increases to 21.^[12]

October

October 17 – 214th anniversary of the Death of Jean-Jacques Dessalines (Public holiday)^[13]

November

See also: Impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic on the arts and cultural heritage.

• November 1 – All Saints Day (Public and Roman Catholic holiday)
• November 1 and 2 – Fet Gede (Voodoo holiday)
• November 2 All Souls' Day (Public Roman Catholic holiday)
• November 13 – Haiti faces a fuel shortage in dispute between the government and its latest supplier of fuel, Preble-Rish.^[14]
• November 18 – 217th anniversary of the Battle of Vertières (Public holiday)

December

• December 10 – Jacques Yves Sebastien Duroseau, 34, a U.S. Marine, is found guilty of smuggling guns from North Carolina to Haiti in 2019 in an attempt to establish himself as Haitian president.^[15]
• December 16 – COVID-19 pandemic: Scientists are flummoxed by Haiti's relatively low number (9,588 confirmed cases) of COVID-19 infections. A feared second wave seems to be fueled by immigration from Florida and the Dominican Republic.^[16]

Deaths

• January 14 – Bernard Diederich, journalist, author and historian (b. 1926).^[17]
• January 24 – Georges Castera, poet and writer (b. 1936).^[18]
• April 17 – Annette Auguste, folk singer and activist (b. 1940 or 1941).^[19]
• August 14 – Ernst Jean-Joseph, football player and manager (b. 1948).^[20]
• August 28 – Stanley Gaston, lawyer.^[21]

See also

• 2020 in the Caribbean
• 2020 in politics and government
• 2020s
• Atlantic hurricane season
• COVID-19 pandemic in Haiti
• COVID-19 pandemic on cruise ships
• Haiti at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics

Notes and References

1. News: Sanon . Evens . Wissenstein . Michael . Fox . Ben . 2020-02-14 . Mueren 15 niños al incendiarse orfanato en Haití . 15 children die when orphanage catches fire in Haiti . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200218024040/https://www.msn.com/es-mx/noticias/mundo/mueren-15-ni%25C3%25B1os-al-incendiarse-orfanato-en-hait%25C3%25AD/ar-BB100wxf . 2020-02-18 . . es.
2. News: Paultre . Andre . Martinez Casares . Andres . 2020-02-24 . Haiti carnival season start descends into gunfire and violent protests. https://web.archive.org/web/20200227005425/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/haiti-carnival-protests-guns-a9354036.html . 2020-02-27. . 27 February 2020.
3. News: Charles . Jacqueline . Jacqueline Charles . 2020-04-06 . Haiti now has community transmission of the coronavirus. It's getting rapid testing. . . Apr 26, 2020.
4. News: Charles . Jacqueline . Jacqueline Charles . Apr 9, 2020 . Haitians are fleeing the Dominican Republic due to coronavirus. Many arrive home unscreened. . Apr 26, 2020. Miami Herald.
5. News: Charles . Jacqueline . Jacqueline Charles . Apr 13, 2020. Historical symbol of Haitian identity gutted after church dome goes up in flames . Apr 26, 2020 . .
6. News: Charles . Jacqueline . Jacqueline Charles . April 15, 2020 . Haiti declares early victory over coronavirus, plans to reopen factories . Apr 26, 2020 . Miami Herald.
7. News: Oré . Diego . Paultre . Andre . April 20, 2020 . Exporting coronavirus? Infections among U.S. deportees reach Haiti, Mexico . . April 26, 2020.
8. News: 'Humanitarian catastrophe' looms in Haiti, threatening years of progress as COVID-19 takes hold, ECOSOC group says . . July 14, 2020 . en . 8 May 2020.
9. News: June 16, 2020. Haiti says virus infections have peaked . . July 14, 2020 . en . Agence-France Presse.
10. Web site: 13 July 2020 . Servicio Migratorio de EU "exportó" Covid al regresar a personas infectadas . US Immigration Service "exported" Covid when returning infected people . . July 14, 2020 . es.
11. News: August 23, 2020 . En Haití, primera víctima de 'Laura', que va hacia Cuba; 'Marco' amenaza a EU . In Haiti, first victim of 'Laura', headed to Cuba; 'Marco' threatens the US . https://web.archive.org/web/20200913064356/https://www.msn.com/es-mx/noticias/mundo/en-hait%C3%AD-primera-v%C3%ADctima-de-laura-que-va-hacia-cuba-marco-amenaza-a-eu/ar-BB18hgHW . September 13, 2020 . August 23, 2020 . La Journada . . es.
12. News: August 25, 2020 . El número de muertos en Haití por la tormenta Laura sube a 21 . The death toll in Haiti from Storm Laura rises to 21 . August 26, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200913070731/https://www.msn.com/es-mx/noticias/mundo/el-n%C3%BAmero-de-muertos-en-hait%C3%AD-por-la-tormenta-laura-sube-a-21/ar-BB18miNc . September 13, 2020 . . EFE . es.
13. https://publicholidays.la/haiti/2020-dates/ Haiti Public Holidays 2020
14. News: Charles . Jacqueline . Jacqueline Charles . Haiti is running low on fuel again as sweet deal with fuel supplier turns sour . November 15, 2020 . . November 13, 2020.
15. News: Fowler . Hayley . Marine found guilty of smuggling guns to Haiti in purported plot to become president . December 10, 2020 . . December 10, 2020.
16. News: Charles . Jacqueline . Jacqueline Charles . Despite lax rules, COVID-19 claims few lives in Haiti. Scientists want to know why. . December 16, 2020 . . December 16, 2020.
17. News: Charles . Jacqueline . Jacqueline Charles . January 15, 2020 . Bernard Diederich, dean of Haitian press who devoted life to telling Haiti's story, dies . . 26 January 2020.
18. Web site: January 24, 2020 . Le célèbre poète haïtien Georges Castera est mort à 83 ans . Famous Haitian poet Georges Castera dies at 83 . rezonodwes.com . fr . 26 January 2020 . 24 January 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200124212534/https://rezonodwes.com/2020/01/24/le-celebre-poete-haitien-georges-castera-est-mort-a-83-ans/ . dead.
19. Web site: Décès de Annette Auguste dit "Sò Anne", une militante d'exception . juno7.ht . Death of Annette Auguste known as “Sò Anne”, an exceptional activist . 17 April 2020 . fr . 20 August 2020.
20. Web site: August 14, 2020. L'ancienne star du football haïtien Ernst Jean Joseph est mort à 72 ans. https://web.archive.org/web/20200913064231/https://rezonodwes.com/2020/08/14/lancienne-star-du-football-haitien-ernst-jean-joseph-est-mort-a-72-ans/. dead. Former Haitian football star Ernst Jean Joseph dies at 72. September 13, 2020.
21. Web site: August 29, 2020. Pèlerin 5: Assassination of the president of the Bar of Port-au-Prince. https://web.archive.org/web/20200901113247/https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-31661-icihaiti-pelerin-5-assassination-of-the-president-of-the-bar-of-port-au-prince.html. dead. September 1, 2020. iciHaiti.