Minister of Health and Wellness, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Bostic, speaking during yesterday’s media briefing.
Barbados currently has no confirmed cases of COVID-19. This was the news revealed by Minister of Health and Wellness, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Bostic, during a media conference held by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley at Ilaro Court yesterday.
With it being proclaimed by Prime Minister Mottley that Barbados was named as one of two Caribbean countries on a list of the 15 best recovering countries worldwide from the COVID-19 pandemic, the backdrop was set up for Minister Bostic to notify the nation.
“The good news is that we are now on Day 35 without any local transmission of COVID-19 and even better news, all persons who were in isolation have been discharged so there are no confirmed cases that we are still treating at the isolation facility at Harrison Point. Also important is the fact that all persons who were repatriated on flights from the United States and the United Kingdom and Canada have been discharged from quarantine and this is indeed good news,” he said.
With just over three months passing after the first case was announced on March 16, Bostic took the opportunity to thank all arms of the Government’s response to the virus and went on to say that the buy-in from Barbadians was what really made the achievement possible.
“We could not have reached this point if we did not have the co-operation and support of the ordinary Barbadian man and woman and all other persons residing here. This, ladies and gentlemen, is what really made the difference – you collaborated. We asked you to embark on a journey that you had never taken before for the most part. Most Barbadians never experienced a curfew. Most Barbadians never experienced isolation, solitude, deprivation. All of these were required and a level of discipline for us to be able to reach where we have reached today.”
Later in the conference, it was revealed that the island was now in a much better position to stand up and face almost any eventuality that could occur as there were over 30,000 kits and the requisite equipment, and Minister Bostic ended his address by stating that our people’s resilience is what got us this far and will continue to keep us moving forward.
“This is one of those situations where our destiny is not in the hands of any foreign government, our destiny is in our hands. When we come together, when we work together, when we co-operate, we will be strong. We’ve done well, but let us not become complacent. Let us continue to be our brother’s keeper and look out for each other and I am sure we can ride through any storm that comes our way,” he said. (MP)