Health minister confirms presence of new variant, urges restraint and discipline

Health authorities tonight confirmed the presence of the highly contagious Omicron BA.2 subvariant of the COVID-19 virus in Barbados, and they believe this may be responsible for a worrying spike in cases.

However, Minister of Health and Wellness Ian Gooding-Edghill has assured the country there will be no tightening of existing protocols even though the subvariant has pushed cases up to “an unfortunate record high of a 28 per cent positivity rate”.

“I am now in a position to inform you that based on results of samples sent to the CARPHA [Caribbean Public Health Agency] lab in Trinidad for analysis, I am now confirming that the BA.2 subvariant of COVID does exist in Barbados. In fact, 90 per cent of the samples sent to CARPHA were found to be positive for this Omicron variant which is highly contagious, but which does not generally lead to serious illness,” Minister Gooding-Edghill stated.

“The increase in the positivity rate started on March 28, and according to the dashboard for April 13, the Ministry of Health and Wellness recorded 428 new cases of COVID-19, out of 1,357 samples tested. This represents an unfortunate record high of a 28 per cent positivity rate. This is in keeping with the science that shows that the more COVID spreads, the higher the positivity rate will be,” he pointed out.

The minister said that since March 28th, 5,104 new infections were detected.

“The Omicron subvariant BA.2 is reportedly more transmissible than BA.1, by 50 to 80 per cent, and this has been attributed to the increased transmission of COVID-19 globally,” the health minister noted.

Gooding-Edghill cautioned Barbadians to exercise restraint and personal responsibility as they head into the long Easter weekend and at the same time take all necessary steps to protect themselves including properly wearing face masks and continuing physical distancing, hand sanitizing and vaccination.

“As we head into the long Easter weekend, I once again advise, that the tightening of any of the protocols is not being considered. At the same time, I am sure that Barbadians as a whole will practise restraint, discipline and moderation with their social activities and interactions over the next few days,” he declared.

Gooding-Edghill contended that residents have to grow accustomed to managing COVID with  the same level-headness and commonsense that they exercise in managing other challenges and areas of their daily lives.

“In this regard, foremost in our minds as we observe the religious aspects and the all-important Easter season, will be the necessity to faithfully wash hands, sanitize, practise social distancing, wear our masks in public places and access proper ventilation. These well-established and proven healthy practices, will at the time of the new variant, be as beneficial to us now, as they have shown themselves to be in our past success,” the minister said.

He also urged Barbadians who have not yet been vaccinated to reconsider their position, seek medical guidance and take the necessary steps to “correct” the situation.

“There is overwhelming proof internationally that vaccination and boosting remain crucial to minimising chances of serious illness and possible death. Let me remind you that COVID-19 is still with us and will be with us for a long time,” he cautioned.

Gooding-Edghill also said that the government had been planning for this phase of the virus and over the past two years, has learnt and improved the technique to deal with what is currently happening.

He also assured Barbadians that authorities have the experience and facilities to treat and accommodate persons affected by the disease.

Up to yesterday, the virus had claimed the lives of 381 people. There are 81 people in isolation facilities and 2,889 in home isolation.

The country has recorded a total of 63,785 cases as of yesterday from 629,322 tests done since the onset of the disease two years ago. Just under 56 per cent of the total population has been fully vaccinated and 70.7 per cent of the eligible population has received at least one dose. Some 66.4 per cent of the eligible population, is fully immunised. emmanueljoseph@barabdostoday.bb