Acting Prime Minister Santia Bradshaw will address the nation “in the next 48 hours” to provide an update on the way forward as Barbados continues its fight to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.
Barbados is currently under a 24-hour curfew which is set to expire at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, but Bradshaw said she would come back to the people “at the earliest by Saturday”, “so that you can make preparations, both as shoppers and also retailers to know what will happen in the course of the next few days and next few weeks”.
The curfew went into effect on March 28 when there were only 26 cases. Since then, the number of positive COVID-19 cases increased to 63, with eight recoveries and three deaths.
St Kitts, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada are among countries that extended their lockdown periods.
The acting prime minister spoke about the backlog as restrictions were eased to allow people to purchase food. She said they were continuing discussions with the retailers who admitted to being overwhelmed and unable to fill both the pre-packaged and online orders.
Bradshaw also addressed the long lines at post offices yesterday as the elderly queued to get their pension cheques. She said in addition to extending opening hours, tents were erected at some post offices to provide shade from the sun, while observing physical distancing protocols.
She revealed that coming out of discussions with Attorney General Dale Marshall, banks will now allow members of the public to make deposits so they can have funds to purchase necessities.
“We understand at this time the difficulty that Barbadians are enduring as a result of the changes that have been made. We understand it is a very fluid situation; there is no perfect solution,” Bradshaw said, “but I want to assure you that we are continuing to work together with all of the stakeholders to find solutions to the problem.”
In wishing residents a happy Easter, the acting Prime Minister also urged people to be patient, work with the Government and continue to be respectful to the police and authorities. (SAT)
