Four cases come home

After 17 days without any new confirmed cases of COVID-19, that streak was ended after four of the Barbadians repatriated from the United States on Tuesday tested positive for the virus. With May 22nd marking the last new case, four of the 110 persons arriving home this week put the numbers back up after the 187 tests conducted on Tuesday.

This information was revealed during a media conference yesterday at the Ministry of Health and Wellness by Minister Lt. Col. Jeffrey Bostic as he gave the numbers to date. Noting that the three women and one man were now in isolation at the Harrison Point facility, bringing the total number of cases recorded in Barbados to 96, Minister Bostic also revealed that two of the four persons who were previously in isolation went home yesterday.

With these new cases sure to raise some concern among members of the public, Minister Bostic said that they did not come as a surprise. “While of concern, these results have not alarmed us. The public health officers in this Ministry were fully aware and have been advising the Government that we should be prepared for an uptick in cases once travel from hotbed areas resumed. I wish to assure the public that Barbados is much better prepared today to deal with this challenge than we were in March when the viral illness surfaced here. We certainly have more capacity and experience than we had at the beginning.” he said.

Going on to state that the public health threat was far from over and that persons could be tested if they chose to, Minister Bostic said that the island was well armed to face what could possibly come at us at present. “We have a more than adequate supply of testing kits so we are able to test everyone arriving into the island as well as to continue testing anyone who is recommended to be tested or who wishes to be tested in Barbados. I wish to take this opportunity to commend the officers at the Best Dos Santos Public Health Laboratory who have now completed more than 6000 tests for COVID-19 which is a significant achievement for a small island state such as ours. From the beginning, we have understood what is required and will continue to do all in our power to identify, isolate, treat, contact trace and contain the spread of COVID-19 in Barbados. We all accept that it will be around for a long time, or at least until a vaccine is developed, but we are also determined that we will not be paralyzed by its presence. We must never retreat or surrender but we must learn to live with the knowledge that this virus is around us.” he said.

When asked a question about if the government intends to continue repatriating persons who stay stranded in other countries, Minister Bostic explained that it would be wrong to deny persons the right to come home and that as long as the capacity existed, Barbados would be open to her citizens. “If there were Barbadians who were abroad and who reported that they were COVID patients, we would not turn them back as long as we have the capacity because that is a duty and a responsibility for us to look after our people and we have more than enough capacity at this point in time to be able to do so and all Barbadians can continue to expect that we will be accepting persons returning home.” he said. (MP)