Health authorities have scrapped the few remaining COVID-19 mandates, ending more than two years of protocols imposed on Barbadians to help control the spread of the virus.
Declaring that legal regulations are no longer needed to manage the situation, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) The Most Honourable Dr Kenneth George announced on Wednesday that effective immediately, the Emergency Management Order and its accompanying directives would come to an end.
He said authorities came to the decision after assessing the local, regional and international evidence collated over the last two-and-a-half years of the pandemic.
Commuters are now free to go maskless on public transport and schoolchildren will no longer be required to wear the protective face covering when they return to the classroom next month. There will also be no legal obligation for special requirements in medical facilities such as the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and dental offices, and senior citizens’ homes.
“This has been an extremely long journey and after careful consultation with the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), some of our external partners, and with the Senior Minister of Health and Wellness, The Most Honourable Dr Jerome Walcott, the recommendation from the CMO and the recommendation from the EOC is that we no longer require legislation to govern a public health incident. Why is this so? We have learnt tremendously over a two-and-a-half-year period,” Dr George said at a press conference.
At the same time, he encouraged Barbadians, particularly those who fall into vulnerable groups, “to always use the recommended protection that we have told you about for several years”.
“These include mask-wearing, not being close to individuals who you do not know, and obviously knowing and agreeing to be vaccinated as an added measure of protection,” he advised.
However, the removal of the mask requirement in schools is being challenged by the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union (BSTU) which is questioning why local authorities were going that route with COVID-19 cases rising in other countries.
President Mary Anne Redman told Barbados TODAY she had been receiving many calls from teachers expressing their discomfort with the move.
She pointed out that in many of this country’s main tourism markets, there were increasing COVID-19 cases and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) was also wreaking havoc in schools.
“We, therefore, should expect to see a rise in those cases. In Canada now, doctors and school officials are clamouring for a mandatory return for the wearing of masks in schools. So I don’t understand why at this point in time there would be an attempt to remove masks. The wearing of masks, frequent and proper sanitisation and, of course, physical distancing are all to control the spread of COVID and of similar viruses,” the BSTU leader argued.
“Why is it that we want to change if we are following the science? Why are we claiming that we are following it in some instances and not in others? If we know that those things work, why are we seeking to change when the pandemic is not over and there is a serious crisis in hospitals from our tourism-generating countries where children and the elderly are being admitted for severe RSV and influenza? Why at this time we are seeking to remove the mandatory wearing of masks in schools and on public transport?”
However, the CMO explained that much more is now known about how COVID-19 is transmitted.
“We also are very aware of the vulnerable groups, and we have spoken to those vulnerable groups, including the elderly and persons with non-communicable diseases. The intention of the Ministry of Health is to continue with all of our efforts to protect those groups and individuals. But we have reached the stage, after knowing so much about the pandemic, that we do not need a legislative approach to guide a public health problem,” the Government’s chief medical advisor stated.
He also explained that the ministry has always promoted personal responsibility as a means of reducing the spread of the virus, and that remained a necessary measure.
“We are asking the public to understand the position of the Ministry of Health. We still will take all precautions. We have not at one moment dismantled our COVID response and, indeed, we are acutely aware that we are also in the season of flu and we are also keeping our attention on that.
“For total transparency, we have found five cases of RSV which have been in the news for the past two to three months in the United States. Those have occurred in younger persons. I would like to report that there are no untoward issues with respect to those individuals,” the CMO disclosed.
“I think the recommendations are as such that children are not a driver of the pandemic in Barbados and the risk of transmission within schools remains low.”
President of the Barbados Association of Principals of Public Secondary Schools (BAPPS) Stephen Jackman, meanwhile, said he had no problem with the removal of the mask mandate in the island’s educational institutions.
“The health authorities have determined that they believe we are at a stage where mandatory protocols can be removed and we will work with that. It is still optional. It is for those who want to wear and we have no problem with that either… but we will still encourage persons to take the necessary precautions to protect themselves,” he said in an interview with Barbados TODAY.
“Generally, from what I would have seen, I can say during the last term we didn’t have any big challenges in schools to the point where they were disruptive because of COVID. It kind of cooled down in places but we have to continue living with COVID…. We urge [students] to wear their masks just in case as a precaution.”
President of the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) Rudy Lovell and general secretary Herbert Gittens said they were also willing to support the end of the mask protocol. However, they agreed that students, teachers and other staff should still ensure they protect themselves and their families.
Meanwhile, Communications, Information and Marketing Officer for the Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT) Mark Haynes said it was only a matter of time before the mask mandate was dropped.
“We could not go on for an excessive period with the wearing of masks, although the wearing of masks was meant to mitigate against COVID-19, which we quite understood. But given the fact that the island is now opening up as it were, in all sectors, you cannot continue to keep the PSV sector under this magnitude of rigidity,” he said.
“It is news that the organisation welcomes but we are still encouraging and imploring all of the workers in the sector and the commuters to take personal responsibility for their health and if they are so inclined to wear masks that they can do it.”
Chairman of the Association of Public Transport Operators (APTO) Kenneth Kenny Best held a similar position: “We have got to follow the world order but I would advise commuters to still be on their Ps and Qs because the flu is still around and COVID is still around.”
Although there has been general support for the end to the mandatory protocols, the Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners (BAMP) declared its intention to stand by an earlier statement promoting mask-wearing, especially among vulnerable groups.
emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb
