Don’t drop guard, Czar warns

Some people have begun “dropping their guard” against the coronavirus, COVID-19 Czar Richard Carter has charged, even as the Government moves to loosen restrictions that were enforced to control the spread of the viral illness.

Through the Government Information Service, he urged Barbadians to comply with all health protocols, arguing they were developed for the benefit of society.

In an interview with the Barbados Government Information Service, Carter outlined a  number of actions that business people, the public transport industry and citizens must continue to take as the country adjusts to a “new normal” of living with the coronavirus.

Carter said: “We must remember that the relaxation of the restrictions come with greater responsibility for observation of the protocols that have been put in place.

“They have been put in place to protect all of us; they have been put in place under the guidance and direction of the Ministry of Health and Wellness; and apart from being law, they are also restrictions that are going to enable us to get past COVID-19.

“My reminder is for business places to continue to uphold those protocols in respect of persons who are entering the business place; to continue to observe the temperature testing if that is required; to continue to observe the physical distancing of persons when they are on their premises; to continue to look at rotation of their own staff, and allow them to work from home to minimize the level of congestion in the business place.”

As public transport returns to full capacity in minutes and route taxis, Carter stressed that all drivers, conductors and passengers must all wear their masks and practise good hygiene.

As the country cleared a three-week hurdle of no reported cases of the virus’ transmission here, the COVID-19 czar stressed that Barbados had passed the milestone because most people were compliant, and urged those who were being defiant to follow suit and support the rest of the country.

Carter declared: “We don’t want to place our health care workers, who have been doing an excellent job, at even greater risk by having more COVID-19 cases.

“We have to ensure that we are able to get back to a place where, as a society, we have confidence in going back to our health care practitioners, or accessing health care because we know there are a number of persons who have postponed, or put on hold their seeking of health care, as a consequence of concerns pertaining to COVID-19.

“So, we want to get back as close as possible to a society that we have come to love and enjoy, but we can only do that if persons are compliant,” he pointed out.

Carter praised Government’s handling of the virus as “ mature”, saying the decisions taken had been based on evidence, science, and guidance from the public health authorities.  He noted that Government had not followed the line established by other countries.

He told the GIS: “Barbados has crafted its own direction on the basis of its own determination of what needs to be done. I think that it has been successful; the evidence is there.

“We have not had a case of local transmission for over a month and that could only have come as a result of the work and the efforts of the COVID-19 response that the Government of Barbados has mounted.”

To date, seven people have died from the acute viral illness which has affected 97 people; 83 of them have recovered while seven remain in isolation.