Barbados is ramping up its home isolation model as it prepares for an expected increase in COVID-19 cases associated with the Omicron variant.
During a nationally televised press conference yesterday, Government’s consultant manager for home quarantine, Dr Adanna Grandison,- said the new concept was necessary and would include a higher level of self-monitoring and self-isolation.
“Omicron, though more contagious, is expected to result in a milder course of infection, so this expected wave will be based predominantly on the monitoring of symptoms,” she explained. “We have started to see here that persons who are vaccinated tend to have a milder version of the infection but they do have the potential to get seriously ill.”
Grandison said that in their red, yellow and green system, reds would remain those patients who are severely ill or displaying the compromise of organs and being treated at the Harrison Point Facility in St Lucy. People designated in yellow will be those showing signs of the disease but not seriously ill, and can isolate at home. These will now be split into three categories: vaccinated, unvaccinated or those with co-morbidities, as that could increase the risk of becoming seriously ill.
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