The uncertainty surrounding the presence of the new strain of COVID in this island is worrying to Opposition Leader Bishop Joseph Atherley.
The more virulent strain, which was first detected in the United Kingdom has spread to several other countries, including our Caribbean counterpart Jamaica, which confirmed four cases last week.
During a recent press conference, Chairman of the Cabinet’s COVID-19 Sub-committee, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Dr. Jerome Walcott outlined that both the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) will be helping the country test for the new variant and samples were to be sent off.
However, Atherley is insistent that there
should be no delay in testing for the new variant strain as it was 50 per cent more infectious than the old.
“I am concerned about government’s capacity to do contact tracing as we continue to keep our borders open to the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe, bearing in mind that it is more contagious. It has still not clearly been said by government after all this time whether that variant is here, while other Caribbean jurisdictions have identified that it is present with them,” he chided.
Weighing in on government’s decision to pay for costs of accommodation for those tourists waiting more than 72 hours for COVID-19 test results, Atherley said he had no issue with it taking financial responsibility for those delays. However, he was not happy with the Tourism Minister’s statement that government would be paying for return trips for some of those affected.
“It is not important at this time to offer people free tickets back to Barbados. We are in the middle of a crisis so there was no need for this to be a priority and make it a major announcement,” he said.