An outbreak of COVID-19 has occurred among homeless people, according to the head of one of the organisations that looks after their welfare. President of The Barbados Alliance to End Homelessness (BAEH) Kemar Saffrey however sought to assure that the situation is under control.
He told reporters at a news conference Tuesday, it was only a matter of time before the pandemic caught up with that segment of the population.
Over the last seven days, the charity recorded 20 positive tests, 14 in the “last couple of days, and about five or six today [Tuesday] alone”, he said.
Those who have tested positive so far include three females and 17 males, ranging in age from their 20s to their late 50s, Saffrey reported.
The BAEH leader said his organisation is working with the ministries of health and people empowerment along with feeding groups to get the homeless off the streets, get tested and vaccinated.
He said: “ Since the virus is now so widespread in Barbados, naturally it would have had an impact on the homeless community as well, but there is no reason to panic as the situation is under control.”
Saffrey said his organisation makes a determined effort to not only get its clients tested but to ensure they get the relevant treatment. “We are hoping that some of those who come to the shelter are tested before they arrive here, and some are already vaccinated,” he said.
“We also have two quarantine rooms here, one for males, one for females, in case someone needs to be isolated. When they go to get tested at one of the polyclinics, they give this organisation’s address as their home address and give the staff our email address. So once a client tests positive and we receive the email to that effect, since we know where to find them, we go out to them immediately and arrange with the ministry to pick them up.”
The charity has arranged vaccinations for 50 homeless people thus far, said Saffrey who is hoping to get the Mobile Vaccination Unit to return its Spry Street shelter.
Saffrey also had some words of advice for the charitable organisations that go out feeding the homeless, noting that they had to make a greater effort to adhere to the protocols aimed at controlling the spread of the coronavirus.
He said: “We are asking those organisations to comply by first of all making sure they arrive at the locations on time. If they come an hour late, for example, it means there might be as many as 100 people there waiting for a meal, and if they aren’t wearing masks and are bunched close together it gives the virus greater potential to spread.
“Right now there are three centralised locations for these exercises, namely the Calvary Moravian Church on Roebuck Street, our facility on Spry Street and the Salvation Army in Reed Street. Feeders must control their activities, for example, making sure the people maintain safe distances from one another and enforcing mask wearing and sanitising.
“For example, when we do feedings here, we do not hand people food anymore, but we put it on a table, we wear disposable masks and gloves and get rid of them as soon as we are finished.” (DH)
