BAMP: Don’t rush lifting all COVID-19 restrictions

While some countries have recently dropped mask mandates and other protocols put in place since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared two years ago, the Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners (BAMP) has cautioned local officials against rushing a return to pre-COVID life.

BAMP president Dr Lynda Williams noted that even in places where restrictions were being lifted, health authorities were still advising caution.

“In all of those countries, all of their public health officials are still saying you need to exercise some vigilance. And to use a local example, when the hurricane season comes and we experience a storm, do we just get rid of all the supplies immediately after or hold onto them just in case another storm comes before the end of the season?” she said on the Down to Brass Tacks call-in programme on VOB on Wednesday.

“Here in Barbados, we have lots of multi-generational households and a high vulnerable population, in terms of elderly people and those suffering from chronic non-communicable diseases. You can’t just follow other countries; each country has to look at its own situation and we must do that. We cannot afford to throw caution to the wind at this time.”

She added that the Government, on the advice of the Chief Medical Officer and the Ministry of Health and Wellness, was best poised to make decisions based on data.

Dr Williams suggested that the best way forward is to encourage vaccination and normalise testing.

“We also have to get the idea out of our heads that tourists are bringing in COVID, because it is spreading all over our population and, in all honesty, we could be spreading it to tourists as well. We have people mingling here without sticking to the protocols, so we have to balance the economic reality with the health reality and do things safely and carry out proper surveillance,” the BAMP head said.

Weighing in on the debate about whether it will be safe to hold Crop Over this year after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, Dr Williams suggested that certain events would have to be scaled down to conduct the festival safely.

“If it is something you decide to do, for economic reasons, have the protocols and gather data so that if there are any sudden changes, you have contingency plans. For example, if new variants come in you have to deal with them, if things aren’t going in the direction you like, let people know in advance. I don’t think it is impossible to open any sector as long as you have proper guidance,” she said. (DH)