Health agency backs travel restriction ease but warns of risks ahead

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has given qualified support for Barbados’ decision to ease travel restrictions for vaccinated travellers, describing it as a “good measure” while warning that the ease in restriction for inbound travellers will come with risks.

During the weekly press conference on Wednesday, PAHO Director of Health Emergencies Dr Ciro Ugarte said it was important to note that vaccinated individuals were “better protected” from the virus.

But, he said: “Maybe it will not completely eliminate the infection but they are way more protected than the persons that are not vaccinated and in that regard allowing the persons who are vaccinated is a very good measure.

“However, the recommendation from WHO and PAHO is not to restrict the essential travel of persons who are not vaccinated, because the vaccines are not widely available, unfortunately. Also to recognise that when you reduce the restriction for travellers you recognise that you are accepting a certain level of risk.”

Since Sunday, October 24, fully vaccinated travellers to Barbados with a valid negative COVID-19 PCR test are no longer required to take a test on arrival or quarantine.

Dr Ugarte, who was responding to a question from Barbados TODAY, warned of the need to continue to strengthen surveillance capacity, “track” the capacity of health services and provide the visitors with easy to understand health information.

He also cautioned that even when communities are “highly vaccinated” against the COVID-19 virus, every measure designed to reduce the spread of the virus should be still be maintained.

Stressing the need for the continued use of masks, physical distancing and sanitisation as the basic measures that have proven to be useful, Dr Ugarte said limiting the number of people gathering in some spaces would also be useful.

He said: “We have been including other measures including reduction of mass gathering, particularly in places where people come from several other locations, and also to have better ventilation in closed environments, for example, in restaurants where many people will take off their masks to eat. In those places, it is very important to have better ventilation and if possible use your masks for as long as possible.

“So meanwhile we have this transmission in most of the countries including Barbados, in some locations we saw an increase in the number of cases that may eventually overwhelm the health services, these measures are the ones that are very useful.”

In presenting PAHO’s weekly update on the state of the pandemic in the Americas,  Assistant Director Jarbas Barbosa da Silva, said while there has been an overall decline in COVID-19 positive cases in Latin America and the Caribbean in the past several weeks, Barbados was among countries that were still of concern.

“Cases in death are trending downward or remaining stable throughout much of the Caribbean, Barbosa said. “However, Barbados continues to report its highest number of COVID-related infections and death since the start of the pandemic.”

Barbados has been recording over 300 positive cases of COVID-19 infections daily, and more than 70 deaths for the month of October alone, the highest number of deaths in a single month since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.

Last week, Barbosa had also expressed concern about the rising cases in Barbados saying: “St Kitts & Nevis, Barbados and St Vincent and the Grenadines are now reporting their highest numbers of COVID infection and COVID related deaths”.

He warned: “That is why it is important that the countries continue to implement public health measures like mask-wearing, social distancing and limiting large gatherings to bring this outbreak under control, especially as many countries are still struggling to expand vaccine coverage.”
marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb