On what would have been the first full day of a work week, some Barbadians failed to comprehend that these are not normal times and continued to fan out across the island as they normally would. Lines outside banks, supermarkets and even post offices in some areas showed that some are not taking the social distancing guidelines seriously, especially in light of the 34 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Monday. Pictured, these shoppers outside of Cherish in Swan Street, clearly did not adhere to the social distancing guidelines and were bunched closely outside waiting for the store to open.
Barbadians appear not to be heeding the call to stay home, as a lot more people than expected were out and about Barbados yesterday, during the first week day since businesses were mandated to close and an 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew was imposed.
This was somewhat of a concern to the COVID-19 Czar Richard Carter, who indicated that the Emergency Management Act, which was amended last Friday, gives to the Chief Medical Officer the power to require further restrictions, if the desired results are not being attained.
“If we do not reach a stage where we are seeing a level of behaviour that is reaching the objective, then additional measures will be taken; you can be assured of that,” the COVID-19 Czar affirmed.
He was speaking yesterday afternoon on one of the local call-in programmes ‘Down to Brass Tacks’, as he traversed the island conducting an assessment of Barbadians’ response to the restrictions that have been imposed. Under the COVID-19 Order, in an effort to stem the spread of the virus, only essential services and select businesses are operational, with the latter being given specific hours within which they are to operate.
“My own observation, we have far more people on the road; we have far more people engaging in shopping, going to the bank and not observing the basic principles of physical distancing than we had anticipated would be the case. Therefore, my immediate reaction is that what we set out to achieve by announcing the restrictions, we are not seeing the results right now based on what I have seen around,” he stated.
He added, “We have been appealing all along to the public of Barbados to work with us while we attempt to get through this. The restrictions and instructions attached thereto, I don’t believe they could have been anymore clear – maintain a distance of six feet between yourselves and other persons [and] restrict the need to leave your house as much as possible.”
The COVID-19 Czar, reflecting on the measures being undertaken in neighbouring Grenada, which has been put on a seven-day lockdown, said “all of those options are available to the Government of Barbados”, including he said, prohibiting persons from congregating in groups of more than two. He said here in Barbados, they have decided to let moral suasion as well as the behaviour, order and judgement of Barbadians to prevail, but he contended, should that not be achieved, the authorities are prepared to impose the restrictions necessary to reap success.
Carter, who interacted with a few callers while on the programme, in responding to one of their questions about persons who are supposed to be self-quarantining breaking confinement, said that he agrees that sometimes there is a need to protect people from themselves and the rest of society from people who are undisciplined or reckless. But he said a lack of capacity made it physically impossible to place everyone who comes into the island in a government quarantine facility.
“If persons breach quarantine, it is currently in the power of the Chief Medical Officer for those persons to be confined to a place where they are in mandatory quarantine... The point is made that we do have to protect the rest of the country from those people who breach quarantine. Follow up is diligently being undertaken by the Ministry of Health’s officials and persons are checked every day,” he said.