Covid-19Local NewsNews Self-quarantine monitoring bracelet, app ‘coming’ for home quarantine’ by Anesta Henry 21/07/2020 written by Anesta Henry Updated by Stefon Jordan 21/07/2020 3 min read A+A- Reset Lt Col Jeffrey Bostic Share FacebookTwitterLinkedinWhatsappEmail 427 A specially designed cellular phone application is to be rolled out in the coming weeks to keep track of people who are supposed to be on home quarantine, Minister of Health Lt Col Jeffrey Bostic has declared. The move is a bid for stricter surveillance to ensure those in home quarantine arrangements do not risk spreading COVID-19 in the community. People are placed on quarantine and monitored by health care providers while they are awaiting COVID-19 test results in case they develop symptoms before the results return and need to receive medical care at an isolation centre. Health authorities are awaiting the arrival of bracelets which people on home quarantine will be required to wear so that their whereabouts can be monitored at all times, Lt Col Bostic told a Barbados Labour Party (BLP) St Philip South branch meeting on Sunday. He said: “We would have had them by now but we told them we want waterproof bracelets because you can’t say that you are in the sea or you in the bath. You keep it on and if you take it off we will know that you have taken it off. “And then if you are on home quarantine, and we have had to do this before, and you decide that you are going to play the fool, well we are going to pick you up and we will carry you straight to Paragon. If we can’t get you one way, then we will get you the next.” You Might Be Interested In Crystal Beckles-Holder, 2nd runner up in regional competition GUYANA: Body of child found after gold mine collapses Barbadians asked to help with return tickets for Haitians The Health Minister noted that the 60 constituency health officers have been helpful in identifying a case where an individual placed on quarantine did not leave his premises but was caught receiving visitors. “We have a lot of things that we are going to ensure that people who are on home quarantine remain on home quarantine. Of course, there is legal action that can be taken by the Emergency Powers Act,” Lt Col Bostic said. “We will be watching it very closely and I think that at this point in time we can say that we are satisfied that it is going well, but I agree with you that it is not 100 per cent because we can’t control people who don’t want to be controlled unless you control them legally and otherwise.” Lt Col Bostic also announced that Barbados would not be going the route of rapid testing for COVID-19. He said the 17-minute test has a 30 to 40 per cent false-negative result rate, so the Ministry of Health will continue to use the World Health Organization (WHO) validated test. The Minister told the party faithful: “The one that the Americans did not want to use in the beginning. That test has worked very well for us and in fact, I can tell you we have a few cases where there was a bit of uncertainty and they re-run the whole test again in order to confirm and so the testing for us has been very active up to this point in time. “When we started we had 500 testing kits and I can tell you that through the vision of the honourable Prime Minister we have about 60 000, with another 100 000 on order because she was willing to pay for them because that is what is going to keep us safe. “And if people start to integrate, I mean visitors into the society, we are going to start to do some random testing in hotels, some random testing in attraction sites as soon as people start to come back in that sort of way.” anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb Anesta Henry You may also like Update: Person of interest identified and charged 18/02/2025 Man remanded on firearm and ammunition charges 18/02/2025 Man charged with handling stolen property granted bail 18/02/2025