Cholera continues to increase in Haiti, according to a new bulletin from the Ministry of Public Health obtained Tuesday, October 18 by AFP, fueling fears of a recent disaster in this country already plunged into a humanitarian and security crisis.

As of October 17, a total of 606 suspected cases and 66 confirmed cases have been reported, according to the bulletin. This represents an increase of 222 new suspected cases counted between October 13 and 17.

In addition, 22 deaths have been recorded in medical facilities.

Suspected cases have also been identified in new regions of this Caribbean country, says the bulletin, including the departments of Central, Artibonite and Center.

The civil prison of Port-au-Prince, with 271 suspected cases, 12 confirmed and 14 deaths, according to the Haitian ministry, represents one of the epicenters of the disease in the country.

This new toll comes a day after a meeting at the UN where the Security Council discussed the possibility of sending an international force to Haiti to address the humanitarian and security crisis.

Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary General, described the situation in Haiti as “absolutely nightmarish,” characterized in particular by the blockage of the leading oil terminal by gangs that do not let fuel out.

At the United Nations, the Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean Victor Généus said he had “the delicate mission of bringing before the Security Council the cry of distress of a whole people who are suffering and to say loudly and clearly that Haitians do not live, they survive.

As the number of cholera cases continues to rise, demonstrations have resumed in Port-au-Prince and in the Haitian regions to demand the resignation of the head of government, Ariel Henry.

A demonstration of several hundred participants was dispersed Monday, October 17 with tear gas not far from the U.S. Embassy.

Haiti had experienced between 2010 and 2019 a cholera epidemic, introduced by peacekeepers, which had caused more than 10,000 deaths.