Monday 20th April 2020  -  BARBADOS.

COVID-19 update featuring Acting Prime Minister, Santia Bradshaw and Minister and Health and Wellness, Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic

Scope Of Testing For COVID-19 To Be Widened.

Computer Stores To Facilitate Online Shopping.

Rigorous Contact Tracing Key To Fighting COVID-19.

No Exact Dates For Start Of Term Or Exams.

Scope Of Testing For COVID-19 To Be Widened.

Minister of Health and Wellness, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Bostic, has announced that there will be an escalation in the numbers of people being tested for COVID-19 “in short order”.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, he explained: “We will do so because we want to be absolutely certain that there is no community transmission in this country. Even though at this stage we have seen no evidence to suggest this, out of an abundance of caution, that is the direction that we want to be able to go.”

Government’s ability to widen the scope has been facilitated by the acquisition of 2,800 swabs, which became available today, he said, significantly increasing the Ministry of Health and Wellness’ capacity.

Reiterating his call for residents not to become complacent after five consecutive days of no positive COVID-19 cases, he disclosed that the testing criteria will also be revised and a number of additional testing sites opened up for persons to access testing.

The Health and Wellness Minister noted that up to now a “fairly rigid criteria” to qualify for testing has been in place, largely because the available resources had to be carefully managed.  He explained that Barbados started the process with only 500 testing kits at its disposal.

He announced: “I am happy to say today that from the paltry figure of 500 we now have available in this country 27,000 tests.”

Minister Bostic revealed that the Emergency Operations Centre will be putting out a new document that will be sent to all stakeholders, including service organizations such as the Medical and Nursing Councils as well as the Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners and the pharmacy associations, in terms of the revised criteria.

Additionally, along with the already established testing sites at Paragon and the field medical facility at Jemmotts Lane, a list of new centres will shortly be made available and will include all polyclinics, the Minister shared.

He explained that despite the challenges that his Ministry faced with swabs in recent days, testing has continued with about 32 to 33 persons being tested on average over the last four or five days.

Also contributing to the reduced numbers, he added, was that fewer people were presenting with symptoms at the testing site at Paragon and there had also been a significant reduction in persons being referred from private medical facilities.

Meanwhile, Minister Bostic stated that the process of transferring patients from the Blackman and Gollop isolation facility at Staple Grove, Christ Church, to the Harrison Point facility in St. Lucy started today and he was hopeful that all 37 patients would be transferred by the end of the week.  

He noted, however, that it was “a delicate operation” and no time limit could be placed on it.

Lt. Col. Bostic said Government intended to make full use of the newly refurbished facility at Harrison Point, disclosing that three patients were transferred yesterday from the Enmore isolation centre; all the staff was in place, including a complement of Cuban nurses, and the equipment in place included an adequate supply of ventilators.

joy.springer@barbados.gov.bb

Computer Stores To Facilitate Online Shopping.

Government has revised some of its recently implemented COVID-19 shopping arrangements and has also given permission for computer stores to reopen to facilitate online shopping.

Acting Prime Minister Santia Bradshaw made the disclosure yesterday at Ilaro Court, during a press conference via Zoom, with Minister of Health and Wellness, Lt. Colonel Jeffrey Bostic.

Ms. Bradshaw told the media: “Given the steps now being taken to utilize online teaching while the country fights COVID-19, as well as the growing number of workers who are operating from their homes, computer stores will be permitted to open to facilitate online shopping for computer equipment and peripherals, such as ink, paper, cables and the other items that are connected to the use of devices.

“Customers will only be allowed to access their purchases by a curbside pickup, using the alphabet system and operators of computer stores will also be facilitated to do delivery. There will be absolutely no instore shopping.”

The acting Prime Minister said that over the past few days, Cabinet, the Emergency Operations Centre and members of the parliamentary group had examined the effectiveness and necessity of some of the recently implemented measures.

She explained that the evolving situation required constant review of Government’s response plan as the scientific evidence and behavioural responses of the population emerged.

She outlined the additional changes agreed to as:

   Effective immediately gas station operators will discontinue use of the alphabet system of surnames for the purchase of gasoline, diesel, kerosene, liquified petroleum gas and cellular top ups.

   Grocery shopping at supermarkets and minimarts may now start at 7:00 a.m. and run until 4:00 p.m., while maintaining the previously mentioned break at 11:00 a.m. Supermarket operators can continue to process shoppers in the queues at the cut off times.

   In light of the public holidays on April 28 (Heroes Day) and May 1 (May Day), individuals who would have shopped on those days using the alphabet system, will now be permitted to shop during the times allocated to essential workers, on Sunday, April 26, between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. and on Thursday, April 30, between 1:00 and 4:00 p.m.  These time slots have been selected based on feedback from operators of supermarkets, who note that the shopping traffic has been quite manageable at those times.

Ms. Bradshaw reminded that a strict curfew remains in place between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., except for essential services.  

“Movement during the hours of 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. is allowed only for permitted activities, such as essential shopping or banking during the allocated periods based on the alphabet system, to purchase petroleum products, or to seek medical or dental attention.

“The maintenance of the regime of restricted activity is critical if we are to continue to record favourable results in our efforts to halt the spread of COVID-19,” she stressed.

sharon.austingill-moore@barbados.gov.bb

Rigorous Contact Tracing Key To Fighting COVID-19.

Minister of Health and Wellness, Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic, has touted the rigorous contact tracing protocols in place as the best “arsenal” in Government’s ability to fight COVID-19.

The Minister, speaking during a press conference at Ilaro Court and carried on major, broadcast and social media platforms yesterday, said the signs from the contract tracing are encouraging, but cautioned that the country was not yet “out of the woods”.

Lt. Col. Bostic, in explaining the process, said most persons were located through contact tracing, while some were referred not necessarily through contact tracing, but by institutions to the contact centre at Paragon.

“For example, of the 75 confirmed cases, about 31 of those would have resulted from contact tracing, and we had just under 400 persons under quarantine and monitored, as a result of contact tracing.

“We have established a very rigorous contact tracing regime because we recognize that even with a lockdown, and all of the testing that we do, the key is to identify those persons who would have come into contact with confirmed cases; locate them wherever they are; quarantine as necessary, and in some cases, as we have had to do, isolate. The faster we get to these contacts, the better this country would be in being able to fight this virus,” the Minister of Health emphasized.

Minister Bostic added that the signs had been encouraging and gave the assurance that Government was on top of the game. He said officials were still pursuing other contacts and doing other work that was necessary.

When asked to what extent his technical team’s work was based on epidemiological modelling, the Health Minister said the work currently being done is based on what was before them, over the last several weeks.

“As I indicated earlier, when we had a limited number of tests, we had to make decisions as to how those tests were going to be utilized, especially with the international issues, in relation to medical equipment and the exportation of equipment from places that we would normally purchase from. We had to be very prudent in how we manage those resources.  So, we would have tested based on people who satisfied a particular criteria.”

The Minister continued: “You recall that we stated several weeks ago that persons coming from hot spots … arriving from countries where there is a prevalence of COVID-19 that those persons would be put in quarantine; we would monitor those persons and based on symptoms presented, then we would isolate and test persons. The positive cases would remain in isolation [while] those negatives were allowed to go. Also, persons were referred from private medical facilities and practitioners who were referred to the testing centre and we were testing persons based on the symptoms presented.”

julie.carrington@barbados.gov.bb

No Exact Dates For Start Of Term Or Exams.

The jury is still out as to the precise start date of the new school term, and when the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) examinations and the Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination (BSSEE) will take place.

Stating that the situation in respect to COVID-19 was still very “fluid”, Acting Prime Minister and substantive Minister of Education, Santia Bradshaw, said there were a number of mitigating factors which would determine if the regional and local exams would happen within the June to July period, as originally intended.

She was speaking during a press conference yesterday to update the country on Government’s COVID-19 response.

“We are watching what is happening in the region and across the world.  In relation to CXC for instance, obviously that is governed by the regional body and they have made some recommendations in terms of as to when they would want students to sit the exam in June to the July period.  However, we are mindful that as cases increase across the region, or if other territories are not able to control their numbers that that will have a direct impact on Barbados as well and we may very well find ourselves moving to September.

“What we have spoken to the respective stakeholders about is that the situation is fluid; we’ve expressed that there will be a point where we will certainly know that we may have to postpone it.  But we intend to continue to engage in the dialogue with them with respect to any shifting from the June/July date to a September examination period,” Minister Bradshaw explained.

As for the BSSEE or 11-Plus exam, the Acting Prime Minister said a projected June sitting would be subject to review, following the end of the extended shutdown on Monday, May 4.

“The common entrance exam, we have more control over that because that is a creature of the Barbados Government and the Barbados educational system. We had initially said that we would postpone it until the end of June, but that is still subject to review after May 4, and those discussions are ongoing with the various stakeholders in terms of the best time.

She continued: “It may very well be that we may have to postpone the exam beyond the June period, but at this stage it is still a bit early to say with some degree of certainty. What we are trying to do is ensure that students who are preparing for exams at any level that they are not disadvantaged.”

She announced that with the thrust geared towards online teaching as the country fought against the tide of COVID-19, and considering that more Barbadians were working from home, Government would ease the restrictions on computer stores to allow them to facilitate online shopping for computer equipment and “peripherals”, with the condition that there would be curbside pick-up in place.

Minister Bradshaw further added that the Ministry of Education held consultations with education stakeholders all last week.  

She said that as it relates to the resumption of formal teaching or learning in the primary and secondary schools that it would be “unwise to stipulate a precise start date for the new term” at this time.  

She emphasized that the aim was to have an emergency response mechanism, in terms of technology, rolled out in all schools, once the circumstances permitted. The Ministry of Education has started to officially roll out its Google GSuite for Education online learning platform this week.

Minister Bradshaw emphasized that she expected teachers to use this “familiarization period” to reinforce the subjects taught in Terms I and II, instead of introducing new concepts.

She said this would allow 80 per cent or so of teachers who have been trained by the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training (METVT) to test the knowledge base of students, while allowing the Ministry to focus on training those who haven’t yet been trained.

As for those students who do not have devices, internet connectivity or electricity, the Acting Prime Minister assured the public that Government was working to ensure no student was left behind.

To this end, she disclosed that the METVT had been consulting with internet providers and overseas suppliers to address this matter “in the shortest possible time”.

Additionally, private retailers and individuals had offered to donate equipment to ensure there was a level playing field for students, she stated.

Minister Bradshaw said the METVT would also be utilizing radio stations in the interim, including those of the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation, to complement the new learning platform.

melissa.rollock@barbados.gov.bb