Minister of Health and Wellness Jeffrey Bostic issued a statement following the announcement today that there are five new cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Two of these people are critically ill. The statement follows:
“Today we recorded five new cases of COVID-19, all visitors to the island who tested positive after retests.
“With the increase of flights into Barbados on a daily basis, especially from our major source markets, which are all now in the high-risk category, this development is not unexpected.
“We in the Ministry of Health and Wellness prepared for this and are competently meeting the challenge so far. I wish to assure Barbadians that both the current travel protocols and the updated version, which takes effect on October 16, address the measures which are necessary to help us to safeguard the health of all residents.
“Our current protocols require all visitors from high and medium-risk countries to arrive in the island with a negative COVID-19 PCR test and to undergo a second test four to five days after the first. The fact that we are capturing these positive cases after the retests, demonstrates the value of this requirement.
“Once again, I encourage all residents to continue to follow the protocols developed for our own safety by maintaining social distancing, wearing your masks correctly and practising good hand hygiene.” (PR)
