Key points and live updates from the March 13, 2021 COVID management press conference featuring Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and Chair of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on COVID-19.
Senator Jerome Walcott
- New diplomatic offices will be opened in Kenya, Ghana and United Arab Emirates.
- These missions will be set up to identify new sectors and strengthen and diversity multilateral action to promote Barbados.
New heads of missions:
- Gline Clarke – Canada
- Alex McDonald – Kenya
- Hallam Henry – People’s Republic of China
- Gabriel Abed – United Arab Emirates
- Francois Jackman – UN office in New York
- Commercial and cultural officer in Ghana – Phil Phillips
- A Diaspora officer will be part of the staff complement in the UK in London – Everil Lewis
- We will be working with public and private sector to deepen trade relations.
- The Ministry will have enhanced engagement with the diaspora.
- Ambassador Liz Thompson will be based in Bridgetown, with special responsibility for climate change, Small Island Developing States (SIDS) issues and the law of the sea.
- For past week, the positivity rate is below 5.
- This is a good trend.
- We are still not out of the woods.
- Continue to follow the protocols.
- Results from the lab are coming within 24 hours.
- There are some small clusters – family and community.
- The Ministry of Health is on top of these via contact tracing.
- All of the nursing homes cases were settled.
- Geriatric Hospital – settled
- QEH still has cases – staff and patients
National Vaccination Programme
- As at 2 p.m. March 13, 2021, 51 200 people were inoculated.
- The focusing is primarily on those over 70 years.
- There were discussions about people who are vaccinated leaving Barbados to travel to other countries.
- We should be focusing on vaccinating as many people before we look at vaccine passports.
- Random testing has started.
- We recognise that by doing testing in hot spots alone – based on contact tracing – is putting us at a disadvantage.
Harrison Point patients in isolation:
- Primary: 15
- Secondary: 17
- Tertiary: 77
- China expects the Sinopharm vaccine to get approval from the World Health Organisation shortly.
- We’ve had discussions with the Chinese mission here and China relating to the vaccine.
Editor’s Note: Corrects spelling of name Everil Lewis.
