PM Mottley warns against ‘banditry’

Prime Minister Mia Mottley today warned Barbadians to be on the lookout for unscrupulous individuals who are using the coronavirus scare as an excuse to defraud people.

In her latest briefing at Ilaro Court, she revealed three new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to five, urged the elderly to stay at home and announced a national day of prayer on Sunday.

Mottley disclosed that just today a woman reported that she received a call from someone claiming to be Minister of Health Lt. Col. Jeffrey Bostic and was seeking money.

Mottley said: “I want to warn people of people who are trying to be fraudulent and pretend to be ministers, asking for money as one tried to do pretending to be Minister Bostic this morning, calling her up and asking for supplies.

“Trust me, if the Government is asking for anything you will know, it will come officially, but do not allow banditry to intrude into the affairs of this country at this time when we need people to be safe, discipline and to get through this period.”

The Prime Minister also issued an impassioned plea to Barbadians, especially the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions to limit their outings.

She said: “I continue to ask those in the vulnerable groups to please, please, please, adhere to our request. I don’t want to, but I promise you that if we have to, we will go to Parliament to keep them at home, but I don’t want to at this stage because the truth is, the feedback we are getting is that the majority are in fact adhering to the warnings.”

Thanking businesses that have put special arrangements in place to accommodate the elderly, she said at the same time the family, community and churches should help provide the necessary support.

Mottley reiterated her call for everyone not to panic, saying “we are in this together” and called on residents to look to reputable sources for information.

The Prime Minister said she was satisfied “we will get through it and we will get through it well”.

She said: “Our duty is to make sure that we minimize and contain as far as possible, but at the same time that to the extent that people need intense treatment, those very few, that we have the capacity to do it.”

She said while the island’s capacity to manage an outbreak was not ideally where she would have liked it to be “we are pretty much there”.

“I say that because we are still taking in equipment as we go,” said Mottley, pointing out that the quarantine and isolation facilities were close to being fully ready.

Mottley said she received calls from several priests today who requested that there be a day of national prayer.

She concluded: “I would like to advise that we are going to agree that on Sunday there ought to be a day of prayer for the whole nation as we embark on this uncharted territory,” said Mottley.

“It doesn’t necessarily mean that people have to go to church in the same way, but wherever we are in Barbados, and they will announce those arrangements themselves or through the Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs, wherever we are we will have that Sunday as a day of prayer, because we know that ‘for the past 300 years the Lord has been our people’s guide, with him still on the people’s side we have no doubts or fears”.