Deadliest Day: Nine die from COVID-19

Nine Barbadians – Five women and four men – died from COVID-19 on Sunday, the deadliest single day of the 19-month-old pandemic, as its death toll climbed to 139.

Two of the nine who were vaccinated against the disease died from a breakthrough infection – a 54-year-old woman and 71-year-old man, according to the Ministry of Health.

The record numbers of deaths and infections have been attributed to the
highly infectious Delta strain of the coronavirus.

The 54-year-old woman and two other unvaccinated women, ages 59 and 61, died at the Harrison’s Point Isolation Facility. Another unvaccinated woman, aged 64, died at the Accident and Emergency Department of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Health officials also confirmed the passing of a  65-year-old woman.

Of the four men who died, a 62-year-old and a 65-year-old passed away at  Harrison Point in primary isolation. They were unvaccinated.

A 71-year-old vaccinated man died at the QEH A&E department. A 93-year-old unvaccinated man in tertiary isolation died at Queens College.

On Sunday, 247 new coronavirus infections were confirmed from 1,255 tests conducted by the Best-dos Santos Public Heath Laboratory.

The island is fast approaching the 5,000 mark in home isolation at 4,952, while 788 patients are in isolation facilities.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Barbados has recorded 15,588 confirmed cases (7,547 males and 8,041 females) of COVID-19.

The National Vaccination Programme for COVID-19 has so far delivered at least one dose to 147,118 people, or 64.4 per cent of the eligible population. So far, 121,827 people, amounting to 45 per cent of the total population or 53.3 per cent of those eligible to receive the jab have been given second doses.

The Ministry of Health has not yet released figures on the numbers of people who have received a third booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine. The booster programme began last week. 
(SD)