With Barbados midway into the COVID-19 surge of the Omicron variant, resulting in over 9 000 people in isolation, Government has developed an Omicron Surge Plan.
Updating the nation during a virtual press conference yesterday, Chief Medical Officer, The Most Honourable Dr Kenneth George, disclosed that the Ministry of Health and Wellness now has official confirmation of community spread of the Omicron variant, having received recent results from samples sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA).
He said that 17 of the samples tested positive for the variant while the Best-dos Santos Public Health Laboratory has recorded 100 per cent concordance. With a positivity rate at around 26 per cent and an R-effective rate (the number of people who can be infected by an individual) of 1.2, Government has devised a five-pillar plan to combat the wave.
“The Ministry of Health within the last four to six weeks has produced an Omicron surge plan. The pillars of this plan are self, home and quarantine isolation, to get us out of this current situation. We are also looking at the protection of the vulnerable as well as an enhanced vaccination approach, which embraces the use of boosters. Risk communication and the engagement of critical stakeholders is also key to the plan,” George explained. (CLM)
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