Lawsuit pending over two-week quarantine for mother, infant

The state is facing legal action in connection with a two-week quarantine ordeal involving a mother and her son.

Samantha Jordan and her two-year-old son were reportedly released from the Blue Horizon hotel on Thursday without a negative COVID-19 PCR test result or a clear explanation as to why they were held against their will since May 6th.

Two weeks ago, Jordan claims she and her son, an asthmatic, was transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) Accident and Emergency Department from the Sandy Crest Medical Centre in St James. There, she was informed, based on the symptoms her son was experiencing, that they would both be required to take a PCR test. Fearing the impact of the nasal swab on her young son, Jordan asked that he be given an oral test instead. This, she claims, was denied and she alleges she was threatened with a two-week quarantine and warned that her entire family and work colleagues would be tested for the deadly virus.

The following day, the mother and son were transferred to the Enmore medical facility at Collymore Rock where she was granted an oral COVID-19 test. The next day, whilst still detained by public health officials, Jordan claims she was told that the machine to test oral swabs was not working and that she and her son would have to take the nasal swab. Again, she refused.

Three days later on Sunday, Jordan said she was transferred to the St. Lucy District Hospital where she was informed that the oral samples taken from her and son had gone missing. After again refusing the PCR test, she was held in Government quarantine and later transferred to the Blue Horizon hotel.

On Thursday around midday, in the hotel’s parking lot, Jordan, on the advice of her attorney, Douglas Trotman, declined to comment further.

Standing next to her, however, was social activist Winston Clarke who has been relentless in his fight against ‘vaccine intimidation’. He was adamant that “a lot” of the young mother’s constitutional rights had been infringed.

More appalling for him, is the fact that throughout the “traumatic and distressing” experience, the child never received treatment for his asthma.

“Up to now, nobody has come back to find out how the child is doing, not one person from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, nobody. The child, as you can see, is robust. She herself has no symptoms, so she was held for no reason at all. They can’t say she had COVID… and they have released her without a test result, so obviously, you can see there is nothing wrong,” Clarke, who is head of the activist group, The Steering Committee contended.

Clarke added that the letters submitted to the offices of Prime Minister Mia Mottley, Attorney General Dale Marshall and Chief Medical Officer Kenneth George appear to have been ignored.

When contacted, head of quarantine facilities, Alvin Hart revealed that media queries on the matter should be directed to Chief Medical Officer Dr George. The CMO however told Barbados TODAY that he had “no comment on the matter at present”.

When contacted, Jordan’s attorney, Trotman revealed that he had engaged in discussions on the matter, but he was not prepared to speak publicly about it.

“I think too much has been said in the press already on a matter that has been very, very sensitive and offensive to the entire nation as it relates to the plight of the asthmatic community,” he said.

Up to the time of publication, Barbados TODAY was still awaiting a comment from Attorney General Dale Marshall.

But in the meantime, Clarke is demanding answers about the reason for Jordan’s detention.

“Usually, in situations like this, they do contact tracing. Her family hasn’t been quarantined or isolated, nobody she works with or anything of the sort. She has not been in contact with anybody. There is nothing plausible for this,” Clarke declared.

“Obviously, she has to be compensated in some form for what she has been through. We don’t know exactly how that will be, but it must be… You can’t just take away persons’ freedoms just like that.

“These kinds of issues are showing you the high-handedness of authorities when it comes to this COVID vaccination agenda and that is what I am really worried about, because eventually it looks like we are not going to have any self autonomy,” he added.

In defence of the hospital’s handling of the matter, QEH Head of Medical Services Dr Clyde Cave said that many of the claims being made on social media about Jordan’s situation were false, but declared that the hospital’s duty of care extended to patients, staff and society in general.

“We do acknowledge the fact that an individual has the right to refuse a COVID-19 test. However, to ensure public safety, clear national protocols have been issued by the ministry of health and wellness and these protocols state that in the event that a suspected COVID-19 positive individual refuses to undergo PCR testing, the individual will be required to quarantine for a period of 14 days at an approved facility. (kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb)