2020 in Haiti

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Decades:	2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	Other events of 2020 Timeline of Haitian history

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)[13]

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

References

1. 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]. Associated Press (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2020-02-18.
2. Paultre, Andre; Martinez Casares, Andres (2020-02-24). "Haiti carnival season start descends into gunfire and violent protests". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2020-02-27. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
3. Charles, Jacqueline (2020-04-06). "Haiti now has community transmission of the coronavirus. It's getting rapid testing". Miami Herald. Retrieved Apr 26, 2020.
4. Charles, Jacqueline (Apr 9, 2020). "Haitians are fleeing the Dominican Republic due to coronavirus. Many arrive home unscreened". Miami Herald. Retrieved Apr 26, 2020.
5. Charles, Jacqueline (Apr 13, 2020). "Historical symbol of Haitian identity gutted after church dome goes up in flames". Miami Herald. Retrieved Apr 26, 2020.
6. Charles, Jacqueline (April 15, 2020). "Haiti declares early victory over coronavirus, plans to reopen factories". Miami Herald. Retrieved Apr 26, 2020.
7. Oré, Diego; Paultre, Andre (April 20, 2020). "Exporting coronavirus? Infections among U.S. deportees reach Haiti, Mexico". Reuters. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
8. "'Humanitarian catastrophe' looms in Haiti, threatening years of progress as COVID-19 takes hold, ECOSOC group says". UN News. 8 May 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
9. "Haiti says virus infections have peaked". Medical Xpress. Agence-France Presse. June 16, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
10. "Servicio Migratorio de EU "exportó" Covid al regresar a personas infectadas" [US Immigration Service "exported" Covid when returning infected people]. El Universal (in Spanish). 13 July 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
11. "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]. La Journada (in Spanish). Agence-France Presse. August 23, 2020. Archived from the original on September 13, 2020. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
12. "El número de muertos en Haití por la tormenta Laura sube a 21" [The death toll in Haiti from Storm Laura rises to 21]. infobae (in Spanish). EFE. August 25, 2020. Archived from the original on September 13, 2020. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
13. Haiti Public Holidays 2020 Archived 2020-02-27 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 27 Feb 2020
14. Charles, Jacqueline (November 13, 2020). "Haiti is running low on fuel again as sweet deal with fuel supplier turns sour". Miami Herald. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
15. Fowler, Hayley (December 10, 2020). "Marine found guilty of smuggling guns to Haiti in purported plot to become president". Miami Herald. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
16. Charles, Jacqueline (December 16, 2020). "Despite lax rules, COVID-19 claims few lives in Haiti. Scientists want to know why". Miami Herald. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
17. Charles, Jacqueline (January 15, 2020). "Bernard Diederich, dean of Haitian press who devoted life to telling Haiti's story, dies". Miami Herald. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
18. "Le célèbre poète haïtien Georges Castera est mort à 83 ans" [Famous Haitian poet Georges Castera dies at 83]. rezonodwes.com (in French). January 24, 2020. Archived from the original on 24 January 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
19. "Décès de Annette Auguste dit "Sò Anne", une militante d'exception" [Death of Annette Auguste known as “Sò Anne”, an exceptional activist]. juno7.ht (in French). 17 April 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
20. "L'ancienne star du football haïtien Ernst Jean Joseph est mort à 72 ans" [Former Haitian football star Ernst Jean Joseph dies at 72]. August 14, 2020. Archived from the original on September 13, 2020.
21. "Pèlerin 5: Assassination of the president of the Bar of Port-au-Prince". iciHaiti. August 29, 2020. Archived from the original on September 1, 2020.