Barbados Health Minister Lt. Colonel Jeffrey Bostic
Barbados still remains in the dark as to whether a more contagious strain of Covid-19 has reached these shores, even as the island has now moved into the category of community spread.
While cases of the UK variant of the Covid-19 have been confirmed in Jamaica and Trinidad, Health Minister Lt. Colonel Jeffrey Bostic said the island is still awaiting results from samples sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) in Trinidad.
“The officials at the Best Dos Santos Laboratory as well as the Chief Medical Officer are in contact with the officials at CARPHA, and I believe we will get some information in the next coming days in relation to that, but we do not have any information on it at the moment, but we have done what was required of us and we have submitted samples,” he stated during a recent Covid-19 update press conference at Illaro Court.
Bostic suggested the delay was due to the fact that other countries were also sending their samples to that facility to be tested.
“Remember there would be a queue at the CARPHA lab, because it is not only dealing with Barbados but the region, but we are trying desperately to get back those results as quickly as we can. I would have indicated that whether or not the variant is here, and I am not saying we do not want to know, we obviously do but what we are trying to do in terms of the protocols and following the public health advice, that remains in place irrespective of what variant comes our way at this point in time,” he continued. (JMB)