Bostic: Majority of COVID cases concentrated on southern corridor in urban areas

As a 50-year-old Barbadian man succumbed to COVID-19 this morning, Minister of Health and Wellness Lt Col Jeffrey Bostic is reporting that the majority of the cases are concentrated on the southern corridor in urban areas.

Bostic raised this point Saturday at the Prime Minister’s Press Briefing where he also reported that out of the 1 686 tests conducted at the Best-Dos-Santos Laboratory, there were 96 new positive cases of which 90 are Barbadians and 22 under the age of 18.

He said it is now a worrying trend that 310 people under age 18 have tested positive since September 1, as the overall numbers increase.

Bostic said: “For me this is a clear indication that I need to appeal to parents and guardians and families of our young ones that we have to really do our very best to protect them. For those who can be administered the vaccine, those between the ages of 12 and 18, I would encourage and recommend that you do everything possible to facilitate this.

“And for those who are unable to take the vaccine at this time because of their age, we have to go the extra mile to make sure that we ourselves are vaccinated, and if we are not, that we take all of the other public health measures very seriously, and that we strive to protect our young and loved ones”.

The Minister further revealed that from August 1 to date, 142 families, ranging from two to seven persons, have been impacted by COVID-19. He said 58 persons have now died from COVID in Barbados.

However Bostic, who noted that authorities are worried that the situation can get worse, said that given the impact of the Delta variant, deaths must be expected, even though he believes strongly that once Barbadians do what is needed, including getting vaccinated, lives can be saved.

He said unfortunately, the six persons who died within the last week were unvaccinated.

“And as I attempted to say during the last press conference, even though it looks like it is declining, as we move from 28 down to seven days, we are far from out of trouble. So that these figures represent the spread, but it is not about figures at this point in time in my humble opinion.

“It is about our capacity to respond to the situation that confronts us. Our capacity in quarantine, our capacity in isolation facilities and our capacity in terms of human resources. And I can say to you that yes, we are challenged, but we can overcome the challenge.

“But the most significant challenge at this time is in terms of human resources and we have been doing a lot to ensure that we provide the personnel required at all levels and in all areas of this operation to be able to deal with COVID-19 and the variant,” he said.

Bostic said that while Barbados is fortunate to have adequate resources than many other countries to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, all hands must be on deck to assist in the effort. (AH)