What are people prone to do when they are panicked? They tend to make irrational decisions, oftentimes, based on worst case scenario.
That is what we fear may be occurring following the sudden announcement over the weekend and on Monday that a total of seven persons from a single household were infected with the highly contagious novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
The Ministry of Health and Wellness, led by Minister Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic and his team, including Chief Medical Officer Dr Kenneth George and Infection Control Specialist Dr Corey Forde, have tried their best to allay fears that COVID-19 was somehow spreading rampantly in the community and Barbados had lost its grip on the disease.
To its credit, the Ministry has provided evidence that it is operating a well-oiled machinery that has been able to track down and trace persons who may have come into contact and possible exposure to the cases, the bulk of which have been from passengers arriving on aircraft from high-risk countries such as the United States, United Kingdom and from our northern neighbour Jamaica.
The most recent cluster of cases is linked to a Barbadian woman who returned from Britain, and was found to be positive for the illness on her second PCR test. Now many have argued that the recently adjusted travel protocols, which place more responsibility and we dare say cost, on the traveller rather than Barbadian taxpayers, are too loose.
The cluster, according to our Ministry of Health, developed from a front-line worker, who was a housekeeper for the infected returning Barbadian at her villa. Working for an honest living caring for others, the housekeeper unknowingly brought the illness to her home and infected many in the large and extended household.
We sincerely wish this family receives the very best health care this country has to offer as they recover at the Harrison Point Facility in St Lucy.
But we are extremely concerned about what appears to be a rush to judgment and stigmatisation of this family, including the 12-year-old and 15-year-old students of Ellerslie who are now in isolation.
While we understand the public’s right to know and ascribe no blame to the decision of the Ministries of Health and Education to release the name of the secondary school where these students attend, we abhor what can only be deemed malicious attempts by some to stigmatise all students who attend Ellerslie, their parents, the teachers of that Black Rock institution and the non-teaching staff.
We have even been hearing of what could only be termed as irrational fears of some parents of the St Stephen’s Primary School, located almost a mile from Ellerslie that these students could possibly be at risk.
What utter nonsense! We completely agree with the condemnation from the head of the COVID-19 Unit Ronald Chapman of such ridiculous fears, often from parents who then project that fear on to their children.
According the Mr. Chapman, the situation now equates to manic hysteria and the reactions are way over the top.
Employers are telling parents of the more than 1 000 children who attend Ellerslie that they should not come to work for the next two weeks. Will these employers be paying those parents and relatives from the households to stay at home? Certainly, such employers are not asking these workers to go to doctors seeking sick certificates for illnesses they do not have? And then ask the heavily burdened National Insurance Scheme to foot the bill of the unilateral decision of employers?
These students of Ellerslie already carry the unjust burden that comes with the classist reputation of attending a “newer secondary school”. While we understand that precautions must be taken, why are these major public announcements being used to speak to Ellerslie student cricketers, volleyballers and those in other sporting disciplines?
These students have worked and played with these organisations on a long-term and regular basis. Could they not have been contacted individually or communicated directly through their principal?
When these students return to the classroom after their 14-day period of quarantine, how will they be treated in the bus terminals, on public transport, on the sporting field? How will they be treated by their neighbours and friends?
More consideration and advocacy by the Ministries of Education and Health should be made on behalf of these children. Calls by some parents of Ellerslie to “know who these children are” will only serve to further stigmatise the children and their extended family.
Take a moment. Consider the impact and let us hope this unfortunate situation does not befall any other school or family in Barbados.
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