No mask mandate

The Ministry of Health and Wellness has dismissed social media reports that there is a mask mandate in Barbados again.

However, it did advise persons who have respiratory symptoms and are visiting healthcare institutions to wear a mask.

Mask mandates have been reinstituted in some parts of the United States and are under consideration in parts of Europe amid a rise in COVID-19 and flu cases.

However, the ministry said, no such decision has been taken here.

It said it will continue to monitor the local, regional, and international situation and update the public as it relates to COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses.

And with the island in the midst of the flu season, health officials urged the public to practise good hygiene, which includes frequent hand washing or the use of hand sanitiser in the absence of soap and water, and covering the mouths and noses when coughing and sneezing to prevent the spread of infection.
(BGIS/BT)