COVID-19 update – January 20, 2021. (PMO) view here …..

PICTURED ABOVE —- New medical facility at Harrison Point ( Picture by David Crichlow – CARIBPIX )

Manager of Isolation Facilities, Dr. Corey Forde, has given an update on the condition of patients in the COVID-19 isolation facilities.

Speaking during a televised press conference today, the Infectious Disease Specialist said patients under care at the isolation facilities at Blackman and Gollop and Dodds were stable and doing well.

He also reported that patients in the tertiary and secondary units at Harrison Point were doing well, while in the primary isolation unit – the area for the most critically ill – there were currently nine patients – seven Barbadians, one Trinidadian and Guyanese national each.

Dr. Forde said there are three males and six females, ranging from age 41 to 63, with two of them now ventilated.

He further explained: “What that means is that there are on life support for oxygen. One of those individuals is one that I would have spoken to you about before. This is a 45-year-old Trinidadian female, who has multiple co-morbidities and remains quite ill … and critically ill from our perspective, and she’s on dialysis. She is a dialysis patient previously. The other is a new one, and this particular time is a Barbadian, and she is 48 years old and she has hypertension and diabetes, as chronic illnesses; she is actually very critically ill at this point. The remaining five individuals are actually on oxygen.”

The Infectious Disease Specialist was pleased to report to the nation about a patient who had been critically ill, but was now moving around with minimum oxygen. 

“Remember, I spoke to you on several occasions about a Barbadian national, who resides in the USA, who came back, and I would like to tell the public today that with the help of God and the hard work of the staff there and the ICU team, Dr. Lovell, Dr. Hassell, and with the assistance of Dr. George, … worked extremely hard with these patients and I would like to … report this morning that he has done quite well and walking around with a minimum amount of oxygen. This is a guy who was extremely ill, so that is very encouraging for us today in the country.”

Dr. Forde urged Barbadians to continue to follow the safety guidelines and thanked Barbadians for providing assistance to the Harrison Point Isolation Facility. He also praised the former patients who gave back. 

“I encourage you as Barbadians, as I have always said at every single press conference, that it is our facility. We need to be proud of it and we need to contribute towards it in any way possible. There have been many clubs; there have been many individuals from 97 years old to much younger who have contributed, and I want to take the opportunity to encourage you to continue to support us as a facility, and to support the workers of the facility for the sort of work that they have been doing.”

JULIE CARRINTON — — BARBADOS G.I.S

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Barbados’ COVID-19 Deaths Move To Nine

Barbados has recorded its first two COVID-19 deaths since April 2020.

Minister of Health and Wellness, Lieutenant-Colonel Jeffrey Bostic, revealed that the deceased were two elderly males, during a televised press conference this morning. The latest victim was 83 years old.

“Yesterday, an attempt was made to have him booked into a small nursing home in the south of the country, where he would’ve spent approximately an hour and a half before he was taken to the Accident and Emergency Department, where he passed away. Our sincerest condolences are extended to the family and friends of the deceased,” Minister Bostic said.

He stated that while contact tracing was under way at the nursing home, there was no need for persons to panic since the level of exposure “would have been limited”, and assured that the situation was being well managed by public health officials.

Meanwhile, investigations into the death of an 84-year-old man, who presented to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s Accident and Emergency Department on January 16, have confirmed that he had COVID-19.

“A policy decision has been taken that as long as a person who passes away and had respiratory symptoms, test positive, we would count that as a COVID-19 death. This means we are now at death number nine because the eighth person, which I would’ve mentioned some time ago that is now a COVID-19 death,” Minister Bostic explained.

He pointed out that in relation to the eighth death, 17 primary contacts, identified through contact tracing, were tested, and “16 of those tests came back negative, with one positive, and  the positive test has been linked to the West Coast cluster”.

The Health Minister also gave a summary of the number of tests conducted by the Best-dos Santos Public Health Laboratory, since the emergence of the virus in Barbados. According to him, 93,070 tests had been conducted overall, of which 1,156 were positive.      

“Of these [positive cases], we would’ve had 758 cases for the month of January, and 22,815 tests would’ve been conducted during the same period. I would’ve reported to you last week, and since then, we would’ve done 5,850 tests, with 120 positive cases. But of interest is the fact that for the last three days, we would’ve conducted 1,556 tests with 15 positive cases.”

The Health Minister also made a fresh appeal for Barbadians to take precaution to reduce their risk of contracting COVID-19, as he expressed concern about the number of positive cases connected to the various clusters that have been identified by public health officials.

“Those positive cases are spread out across the country, and I take it at this time to really reinforce to all persons, even if we have a vaccine tomorrow, no matter what the strain is … the basic principles remain the same, we must continue to protect ourselves ….

“The evidence is clear that if we wear a mask when interacting with persons or in public spaces, that significantly reduces the chances of getting COVID-19 …. You need to treat person as if they have COVID-19, so follow the protocols set out by the Ministry of Health and Wellness,” he stressed, noting that this would greatly aid efforts to contain the spread of the viral illness in Barbados.

NYA PHILLIPS — BARBADOS G.I.S