No retreat from Government

Sandals Barbados Resort and Spa will remain off the list of certified quarantine properties until the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MHW) is satisfied that its management is willing and able to correct a continuous breach of national COVID-19 protocols.

That firm stance was communicated on Wednesday as Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Kenneth George told Barbados TODAY infractions at the Dover, Christ Church property, which were alluded to in a press statement on Tuesday, included “non-wearing of masks, the use of communal areas and the mixing of visitors from various risk categories”.

Barbados TODAY later learned that although numerous hoteliers have received warnings, Sandals is the only one to be delisted. Additional details, however, suggest that authorities were so concerned about potential breaches, that the COVID-19 Monitoring Unit was compelled to have a team stationed at the resort.

Meantime, Minister of Tourism and International Transport Senator Lisa Cummins has given her full support to the Ministry’s actions, in the face of passionate protestations from management of the Jamaica-based international chain.

“The Ministry of Tourism fully supports the work being done by the Ministry of Health. They are the professionals; they have done a stellar job so far in terms of keeping the country safe. It is for that reason that we have been able to avoid community spread and local transmission and I have no reason at this time to question their judgment,” she declared.

Senator Cummins went on to stress that in the midst of a pandemic, industry players could no longer be preoccupied with maximising arrivals, raising foreign exchange and pursuing business opportunities.

“Right now… we are facilitating tourism in the middle of a pandemic, so as a ministry, we need to be supportive of the efforts of the Ministry of Health, so that visitors and locals alike have the opportunity to enjoy our country safely. So we are not going to be exchanging hotels for hospital beds, for the sake of being able to have tourism. Tourism in a pandemic must mean that we limit what we do within the confines of the regulations set in place from the Ministry of Health and Wellness,” she said.

“The Prime Minister in her wisdom financed and supported the Barbados Economic Sustainability and Transformation (BEST) programme so that [Government] could support the tourism industry for the entire 24 months, and the reason for that was that we did not expect tourism arrivals to rebound to 2019 or 2018 levels this year,” Cummins added.

On Tuesday evening, the Ministry of Health and Wellness announced in a statement that from January 5, 2021, the Sandals Barbados Resort and Spa would lose its status as a designated quarantine hotel.

According to the Ministry, the actions followed several “verified complaints” of COVID-19 protocol breaches occurring on the sprawling all-inclusive property.

Hours later, Dr George confirmed that Sandals is the only resort so far subjected to the harsh measure.

“Hotels will be delisted until they show the MHW that they have corrected the breaches… The infractions at Sandals have been varied, from non-wearing of masks, use of communal areas and mixing of various risk categories,” the acting CMO explained.

The sanctions have already received support from the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA), whose chairman Geoffrey Roach said the body would not be challenging decisions handed down from health officials.

Sandals Resorts International has meanwhile vehemently refuted the allegations and accused public health officials of unleashing heavy-handed action in the middle of dialogue between the hotel and the Ministry of Health.

“In fact, we have separated our two hotels so that one is used exclusively as a quarantine facility before guests move to the second hotel to enjoy their vacation. These hotels are operated as separate entities, with zero comingling of guests in order to ensure that all arrivals are properly quarantined,” Sandals claimed in a statement. (kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb)