Another two dozen cases of the coronavirus have been reported on Thursday with about half stemming from an outbreak at Her Majesty’s Prison Dodds, the Minister of Health has reported.
In all, there are 29 new positive cases out of 1,429 tests that were processed for COVID-19, with 12 of those cases originating out of HMP Dodds.
The figures were revealed by Minister of Health Lt Col Jeffrey Bostic, during Thursday’s COVID-19 update from Ilaro Court.
Outside of the 12 Dodds cases which include one female staff member, four males, and seven male inmates, 28 patients were released from isolation on Thursday, he said.
The health minister said: “Out of the remaining 12 cases from this number of 29, there are eight Barbadians and four non-nationals. We also have another 49 results that are pending today, and this is a daily occurrence. You will find some of the positives from the following day would have resulted from some of the cases that would have been pending.”
Currently, HMP Dodds has 309 confirmed cases, with 70 members of staff out of that number being among them. The Psychiatric Hospital has no new confirmed cases as of Thursday, Lt. Col. Bostic said but added that his ministry is still conducting contact tracing in order to find all the affected people who would have originated from various clusters around the island.
The contact tracing has so found the following numbers associated with clusters: four on the South Coast, 17 from the bus crawl, seven from a catamaran Cruise; West coast,100; four at a Northern church; 35 at a West Coast bar; 34 from another West Coast bar; a Paradise Beach lime, 20; a West Coast restaurant #1, 17; West Coast restaurant #2, 5; and a West Coast hotel, 5.
The Government’s infection prevention expert, Dr Corey Forde, who runs the coronavirus hospital at Harrison’s Point, disclosed that only three patients remained on oxygen support but revealed the battle was on for the recovery of two patients, among them a Barbadian man.
Dr Forde said: “Last time I spoke to you we had way more than that, so we have had some improvement. We have had some discharges, but one still remains, the Barbadian male of interest I spoke about before, he remains in a moderate to severe state of the disease.
“Additionally, to that, we added one more interesting case; a Trinidadian national who has kidney disease, she has had a transplantation of a kidney early last year and was presented to us with COVID. So we are watching her carefully.”
Dr Forde also said that 73 inmates at HMP Dodds are likely to be released from isolation there on Friday. (SB)
