‘Homeless outbreak over’, says BAEH leader

The leading advocate for Barbados’ unhoused has declared an outbreak of COVID-19 among the homeless population to have been brought under control.

President of the Barbados Alliance to End Homelessness (BAEH) Kemar Saffrey, who reported on October 26 that while one of 20 infected people has died at the Harrison Point Isolation Facility, the remaining 19 have recovered.

He told Barbados TODAY: “I am getting confirmation now that there has been one confirmed death among them and that person died at Harrison Point. We would have worked with the Ministry of Health and those who tested positive would have been picked up from the office and they would have been all quarantined and most if not all of them should have been released already. But people are still going forward to be tested, but we haven’t had any more positive cases since I made the announcement.”

Saffrey said the majority of the unhoused people who tested positive for COVID-19 have received their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. He said BAEH was not waiting on the appropriate time, as has been identified by the Ministry of Health, to encourage others to get their first doses.

He said: “[The] majority of them are coming forward to get vaccinated. We are not having that problem. They are going for testing. We have contacts within the Ministry of Health so they have been testing. But we have a positive outlook so far on what we are seeing now in terms of persons not getting further ill, so we are sending as [many] persons to be tested”.

The BAEH leader also revealed that all staff operating at its Spry Street shelter have all tested negative for the coronavirus. Saffrey said due to the ongoing community spread of the virus, any new people coming to the shelter, or those who have been away for an extended period, are required to present a negative PCR test before they are allowed to use the facilities or interact with staff and other homeless individuals.

(AH)