#BTColumn – Review those travel protocols, Minister Bostic

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by this author are their own and do not represent the official position of the Barbados Today.

by Simon Alleyne

The Democratic Labour Party (DLP) is calling on the Minister of Health Jeffrey Bostic to urgently revisit the travel protocols for Barbados.

In the wake of the Government’s hurried response to refute the notion of community spread we are asking officials to make it mandatory for visitors coming from medium risk countries to remain in self quarantine and for them to be supervised closely by the Covid-19 monitoring unit until they have a second negative Covid-19 test result. All persons breaching our protocols should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

It is clear that one negative Covid-19 test is NOT conclusive evidence that a visitor or returning national from a medium risk country is Covid-19 free. We would like to thank the citizen whistleblower for alerting this country to facts and scenarios that have been kept from the general population.

And this leads us to ask:

What are the specific protocols in place for members of the Diplomatic Corps? Do they differ from those of the wider travel population?

What Covid-19 guidelines have been drafted for the management of guest houses and apartments which accept quarantined persons? How will the accommodation sector manage guest laundry, cleaning and cooking? Villas and apartments operate on a smaller scale than hotels. Have they been issued clear instructions?

Why is there a 14-day quarantine for locals but only 5 for arrivals?

In our desperate bid to earn foreign exchange the mantra that our society is more than an economy should be foremost.

As we welcome visitors and returning nationals in the following months we ask the Minister of Health and the Government of Barbados to consider this question: What is the cost of a Barbadian life?

Simon Alleyne is Democratic Labour Party spokesman on Health.