Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Kenneth George denied claims on social media that there was a cover-up in relation to novel coronavirus COVID-19.
Minister of Health and Wellness Jeffrey Bostic, in a live broadcast this morning, confirmed the two first cases of COVID-19. They are a 39-year-old Barbadian woman and a visitor from the United States.
George was responding to questions this evening during an interview on CTC TV 8. George and COVID-19 czar Richard Carter appealed for calm with George saying that the contact tracing was absolutely necessary as authorities tracked the two women’s histories since coming to Barbados.
George did not give the flight airline number but said the women arrived here on March 13.
“We’ve engaged the airlines. We’ve been extremely upfront. We have engaged the airline to let them know what our thinking is and they have agreed to work with us . . . So I think with regard to contact tracing this will be a priority, and contact tracing is a very methodical and slow process,” he said.
He said the Ministry of Health and Wellness had been preparing for a very long time and had mproved surveillance.
The chief medical officer said there is enhanced on the ground testing, with the facility for 600 tests, while the ministry is working with partners in health care .
George urged the public to work with health officials through this difficult time. He said with regard to COVID-19 infections, 80 per cent of victims should have a mild case of the disease, ten per cent should receive more invasive monitoring and five per cent would require ventilated support.
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