Adhere to protocols, Minister Bostic urges

THE Ministry of Health and Wellness has been able to contain the
spread of COVID-19 in Barbados, Minister Lt. Col. Jeffrey Bostic
reported.

“We are satisfied but not complacent; satisfied but not arrogant;
satisfied but not being riskless.”

For the month of May, 11 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been
recorded, and since the last directive was issued on May 17, the
island recorded four cases – two imported and two cases of local
transmission. There are currently nine persons in isolation, and no
new cases since last Saturday.

“I think that the key here for us is to recognise the fact that
COVID-19 is going to be with us for a while, whether or not a vaccine
is discovered and that we have to be able to live with this pandemic,”
he declared during a  press conference at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford
Centre (LESC).

The Health Minister cautioned that a lockdown alone will not stop the
spread of COVID. “In a familiar fashion, the reopening of the country
to economic activity on its own, will not cause a spike.”

Therefore, as Government relaxes movement and business restrictions in
the coming days, Minister Bostic is urging the public to continue to
play their part.

“What we have to be able to do – the glue that holds this thing
together, is the strict adherence to public health protocols; that is
what is going to take us through,” he stressed.

“We have to be cognisant of what is happening around us; be our
brother’s keeper; ensure that we do everything possible within our
households, communities, places of worship, business places, public
spaces. And if we continue to do the right things, I am satisfied that
based on what we are seeing here in Barbados at this point in time,
that we would be able to live relatively comfortably in this ‘new
normal’ that we are facing.

“The fact is that we have to have some economic activity because the
very healthcare system itself will collapse if we do not have this
activity, and this is beyond and outside COVID. Remember, we still
have a healthcare system to manage, we still have a high quality
healthcare service to deliver to the Barbadian public,” Bostic added. (TL)