There were hardly any vendors near the Independence Arch on Wednesday as these street entrepreneurs saw a slow down of visitors in the capital over the last couple of days.
Ghost Streets in California: One Barbadian living and working in California, one of the states severely affected by COVID-19 shared some photos of her community.
A tale of two realities
As the cases of Coronavirus remain in single digits for most Caribbean countries, including Barbados, the state of California is being affected significantly by the relentless disease.
Before the revelation of the five confirmed cases of COVID-19, Barbadians have responded dramatically by panic buying, crowding popular supermarkets and warehouses to buy stockpiles of toilet paper and household cleaners. Since the news, there has been an impact on critical sectors such as tourism and the small entrepreneurs who rely on this industry.
This week a number of cruise ship operators suspended their operations to reduce the spread of COVID-19 on their vessels.
Floating ships and no destination
For those cruise ships which are still on the sea and have confirmed cases of coronavirus on board this has resulted in these vessels having no place to dock and leaving passengers stranded.
The most recent episode has been a British transatlantic cruise ship carrying more than 600 passengers and five people with coronavirus. This ship was refused docking by several Caribbean ports including Barbados. Visitors who spent their days on Carlisle and Browne’s Beach could see several large cruise ships anchored on the horizon. A number of cruise ship operators have suspended their operations resulting in passengers being refunded and empty floating vessels dropping anchor.
Immediate effects
In Bridgetown, which is the capital of the island and a major hub for small businesses which depend on the tourist arrivals for revenue, on Wednesday, there was a noticeable absence of vendors and taxi operators along Independence Square and the Independence Arch.
The Barbados Advocate observed less tourist traffic by the neighbouring restaurant, a favourite spot for visitors and only one vendor opposite the Massy store.
Slow down in another city
As highlighted in this publication, California has seen a slow down in activity as schools, businesses and parks closed with state officials urging people to stay indoors, leaving major streets (similar to Broad Street) Market Street and Kearny and Pine deserted.
A young Barbadian, Kim who is living in California, recently shared some dramatic images in her community due to the COVID-19 outbreak. As of March 18, there have been 472 cases of coronavirus in California and eleven deaths.