GIS on COVID-19 alert

Personnel from the Barbados Prison Service have been called in to assist authorities of the Government Industrial School (GIS) after “one or two” wards of the female section at Dodds tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.

While denying reports of an outbreak at the juvenile reform institution, Chairman of the Advisory Board Rev Dr Lucille Baird said “If you have one or two cases of the COVID, it’s not an outbreak, is it?

“And also, things that concern children, particularly their medical health cannot be disclosed publicly. I think that all of us would want to wish the GIS facility and all the residents, the best of health. There is no outbreak at the GIS,” Dr Baird told Barbados TODAY Tuesday.

“Whatever needs to be done will be done to ensure the safety of all the staff and residents that are there,” she assured.

When Barbados TODAY reached out to the Superintendent of Prisons Lieutenant Colonel John Nurse, he disclosed that the authorities at the juvenile facility had asked for help.

“What has happened is that they have asked for some assistance and we loaned some assistance, but they run their shop,” Nurse said while rejecting reports that the Prison Service had taken control of the GIS in light of the discovery of the COVID cases.

“They asked us for some assistance while they do certain things and we loaned that assistance to them for a period of time and hopefully they can get over the challenges quickly. Once you got one or two cases, obviously, following on from that would be testing. So once you are tested, you are set aside until your results are known,” the prison chief stated.

Asked if any of the young residents are therefore being accommodated at the Dodds Prison, Nurse replied “no.”

Pressed to specify the nature of the assistance, the prison superintendent said:  “Personnel. We sent a couple of personnel there to help them maintain…you know, once you are dealing with security and so on, I don’t discuss it. So I loaned them that assistance and they would use them accordingly. I can’t go into any more details on that.”
emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb