Entertainers relieved COVID-19 test mandate removed

Some entertainers have welcomed the change to the COVID-19 directives which eliminates the need for them to get tested even if they are vaccinated, to perform at events.

In the most recent Emergency Management (COVID-19) (Protocols) (No.8) Directive which came into effect from last Saturday, performers are now required to either be fully vaccinated or produce a negative rapid antigen test 24 hours in advance. In the previous directive, artistes were required to be both fully vaccinated and present a negative test.

Popular deejay Patrick Salt Bellamy told Barbados TODAY he was in full agreement with the adjustment.

He said having to pay for testing every time he performed was proving to be expensive.

“I think it is fair that we don’t have to be both vaccinated and tested as deejays and artistes because we don’t really interact with the public any more so than the average patron, and probably less,” he said.

“It was also getting a bit costly having to be tested. The weekend of May Day, that was a three-day weekend but I had to be tested four times and every test cost $30 to $35.”

Bellamy said there was also an issue where, in some instances, tests done in advance were not accepted because the results had not been uploaded to the Shape App.

“So I think it is a positive move as the world moves towards living in a post-pandemic environment,” Bellamy added.

Soca artiste Michael Mikey Mercer also told Barbados TODAY that as a vocalist, having to be tested before performing each time was proving to be challenging.

“I welcome the relaxation. I understand to an extent why it was so stringent initially, but I definitely welcome the relaxation because it was getting pricey and as a vocalist getting swabbed so often it was really starting to play on my sinuses and it was affecting my voice as well,” he said.

“But I laud it and I am thankful for it and it should make things a little easier for us entertainers because we have been under some serious, serious pressure for the last two years plus.”

Meanwhile, president of the Entertainers Association of Barbados (EAB), Rudy Maloney reserved comment until later this week.

He said the association was set to meet with officials from the Ministry of Health on Friday and he would be better placed to speak after that meeting.

Repeated efforts to reach Sean Apache Carter, president of the Barbados Association of Creatives and Artistes (BACA) were unsuccessful up to press time.

Carter had taken issue with the previous directives before, saying it appeared as though artistes were being discriminated against and being “subjected to a vaccine mandate”.
randybennett@barbadostoday.bb