Gov’t putting citizens at-risk

The Mia Mottley-led administration is being accused of playing “Russian Roulette” with the lives of Barbadians.

It has come from Opposition Leader Reverend Joseph Atherley, who has condemned Government’s decision to keep the island’s borders open to visitors from the UK and other high-risked countries despite an upsurge in the number of local COVID-19 cases.

Yesterday, during a live televised COVID-19 update, Mottley said a shutdown of the country’s borders or a lockdown could lead to more economic hardship for Barbadians already struggling due to the pandemic.

“What we are very clear on is that a national shutdown of our borders or a lockdown will carry significant pressures to other types of persons and to all kinds of issues. If we were to shut down the country as some are asking for, then we would run the risk of persons not being able to carry out their duties,” the Prime Minister said.

She said a lot of people in this country for whom work is essential to maintain themselves and their families, are still living “day to day or week to week”.

Mottley said planes were now bringing significantly reduced numbers of visitors to Barbados due to the pandemic.

However, Atherley told Barbados TODAY leaving the country’s borders open was a risk not worth taking.

The most recent statistics show that there are 692 confirmed COVID-19 cases on the island, with 361 persons being kept in isolation.

“It continues to bother me that you have a situation in the UK where the Government put the UK under lockdown but we still have an open-door policy on people coming to us from and through the UK. I think that’s a very serious situation and one that we need to perhaps reflect further upon,” Atherley, the leader of the People’s Party for Democracy and Development (PdP) said.

“We can’t continue to play Russian Roulette with the health of Barbadians. This open-door policy of flights coming in from England is an unnecessary one, perhaps an imprudent one at this time. We are taking chances that we do not need to take. We need to get a handle on this thing, pull it back, see where we are and then reassess how we will go forward in terms of policy position.

“You are playing Russian Roulette with the staff at the airport; you are playing Russian Roulette with the people who are involved in transportation, you are playing Russian Roulette with the lives of people who have to provide services to the hotels, villas and other places of accommodation and once those people get infected by extension you are playing Russian Roulette with the rest of our lives,” he contended.

Atherley also questioned the suggestion by Mottley and other officials that the country was “in a better position” now than it was over the weekend when the spike of COVID-19 cases was discovered.

He said nothing had been said to support the position that our situation had improved.

Atherley said no updated numbers had been provided and the prison was still under the authority of the army and police force.

“I think the latest update was an attempt on the part of Government to give a more optimistic tone to their narrative and deflect growing public criticism of some of their recent efforts to manage the situation.

“Now they are telling us that we are in a better place but I did not hear any indicators to suggest or assure me that we are in fact in a better place…these latest reports speak up to Saturday but they say nothing of Sunday or Monday so what basis do we say that we are in a better place at this moment?” he questioned. (randybennett@barbadostoday.bb)