COVID-19 doc fears new level of daily infections

Barbados is approaching a fresh crisis in the COVID-19 pandemic as the island has entered a “storm” of infections that could reach 500 people being diagnosed with the COVID-19 Delta variant per day, the island’s authority on infectious diseases declared Wednesday.

But Dr Corey Forde, Head of Infection Prevention and Control/Infectious Diseases at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital made a direct appeal to mostly younger Barbadians, urging them to get vaccinated against the disease as more of them receive intensive care for the viral infection.

During a live broadcast from Harrison Point, organised by newly appointed COVID-19 public advisor David Ellis to underscore the state of the pandemic, Dr Forde, who runs the coronavirus isolation facilities across the nation said that with the deaths of three COVID-19 patients on Tuesday night,  168 people tested positive on the same day and all those getting critically ill are unvaccinated.

To make it safely out of the storm, Dr Forde urged citizens not to be selfish in their actions and thinking.

Dr Forde warned that on the disease’s current trajectory, he cannot guarantee that every Barbadian who becomes seriously ill with COVID-19 will be saved and that there will be a point in time when the number of ventilators currently available will not be enough.

Stressing that he is not being an alarmist, Dr Forde said Barbadians need to realize that the unfolding situation is real and that they cannot pretend that “we are not where we are at this point”.

He said: “I think we certainly have entered the storm. In the short term, where we are would depend on every single person listening to me to be very clear. We saw 168 persons today and one hundred and something the day before.

“The only way we are going to make it out of this storm is for people to just listen and follow guidelines. In short, people need to wear their masks, don’t congregate together, go and get vaccinated. Protect all the older people in your households by getting them vaccinated.”

He expressed further concern at the alarming number of young people being diagnosed with COVID-19, saying that many of them are taking too long to get tested, even though they are experiencing symptoms.

Addressing younger citizens who think nothing can happen to them if they contract COVID, Dr Forde noted that 11 out of the 23 patients in primary isolation where the most critically ill are housed are under age 50.

Urging young people not to play Russian Roulette with their lives, Dr Forde said: “Above that in the 30s generally, we have another set of people. This is worrisome, and it looks like the rest of the globe. It is no different than what we are seeing in other Caribbean countries. And I would tell Barbadians that we all know one important fact for a hurricane. There is the eye.

“There is a point that might come where things seem calm, but as that point comes, we also need to consider the next part, which is important. That there is fire on the other side, but how long we stay in that calm will be again dependent on the things that I continue to mention over and over again. I saw this coming, to us as a country.”

As it relates to the COVID-19 vaccinations, Dr Forde said that even if people go forward to get their first dose now, they would still have about 20 to 30 percent protection from becoming severely ill and having to be hospitalized.

Medical teams working at the isolation facilities across the island are extremely tired as the virus continues its relentless advance, he said as he made a direct appeal to the public.

Dr Forde said: “I am asking you on behalf of the staff here who are out to all. I am pleading with you today based on what we are seeing in primary isolation. We are at a horrible state in this country potentially, and it is up to you to make a difference.

“The problem is that we would basically overrun our healthcare system with a large percentage of unvaccinated people in our population. If there is a large percentage of unvaccinated people in our population, we will overrun our healthcare system in terms of allowing people not to have their own ventilators, or to go in primary isolation care for 21 days. This is particularly hard.”

Last Saturday, Minister of Health Lt Col Jeffrey Bostic publicly defended the staff at Harrison Point whose reputations came under scrutiny following viral video attacks on the service at the isolation facility on social media.

Dr Forde described what was being circulated about the staff on the frontline who go above and beyond to execute their jobs as hurtful. He argued that the staff provide a level of standard care that can be matched by highly developed countries.

He said: “The 168 cases that we have today is a challenge. We will see bigger challenges ahead, but how big those challenges are will depend on you. They are tired. Are you all tired? How tired are you? They are exhausted.

“Some of them have become infected with COVID, but they are still here fighting even after that battle, and that speaks a lot. And there are others who are not here who are behind the scenes fighting the battle.”

(anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb)