Barbados must be alert to all health dangers

The good that the internet serves is often overshadowed by the deluge of negative material emanating from the various web sources and social media platforms.

As much as some groups would want to wish the internet away or redesign it to become some utopia on which the world can rely, citizens will have to find a way to utilise its benefits, while managing its ill-effects.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which thankfully has run its course, and the worst is now behind us, provided us with valuable lessons on how we ought to manage information and how health crises can easily mushroom into economic and social crises.

There are very few people who can boast of not knowing anyone who contracted COVID-19 or sadly, died from its many complications.

The economic and social remnants still impact our lives including the way industrial relations are organised and how educational and financial services are provided.

We have evolved from a largely paper-based environment to one in which a digital footprint is the new “paper trail”, and those who are not convinced of the security of this approach are being slowly left behind.

In our haste to move forward, it is important, however, to not lose sight of the fact that there are several dangers on the horizon including those that threaten the health of our population.

Barbados has been on an aggressive thrust to further deepen the island’s opportunities to earn even more from the hospitality sector.

According to the Central Bank of Barbados in its last review of the economy  on July 29, “Long-stay arrivals totalled an estimated 49 316 for June 2024, a 34.5 per cent increase over June 2023 (36 670 arrivals), marking the largest percentage increase on record for June outside of the pandemic recovery periods in 2021 and 2022.”

The Central Bank asserted that the surge in tourist arrivals significantly impacted hotels and provided a major boost to the economy.

The country’s dependency on tourism again is under scrutiny as the World Health Organisation (WHO) is pointing to another possible health crisis about which it is urging governments to pay close attention.

Barbados recorded its first case of mpox last year, while the number of cases have been increasing across the African continent and  sporadic infections in other nations, though spread of the disease has not been in the headlines.

On August 14,  WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus determined that the upsurge of mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a growing number of countries in Africa, constituted a public health emergency of international concern under the International Health Regulations (2005).

According to another top WHO official, Professor Dimie Ogoina:  “The current upsurge of mpox in parts of Africa, along with the spread of a new sexually transmissible strain of the monkeypox virus, is an emergency, not only for Africa, but for the entire globe.

“Mpox, originating in Africa, was neglected there, and later caused a global outbreak in 2022. It is time to act decisively to prevent history from repeating itself.”

While no health alerts have been issued by our Ministry of Health and Wellness, at least one local doctor is urging Barbadians to be cautious.

Well-known family physician Dr Adrian Lorde, who used his social platforms to keep citizens informed about developments with the COVID-19 pandemic, has told Barbadians to be on guard with mpox.

While some may accuse the goodly doctor of causing undue worry, we applaud his call to action. The country has been down this road before, and people should not be caught off guard again.

“Philippines and Sweden, they have seen at least one case, and these are important cases.  We know how COVID started and went from China to other places. We got to be on alert.

“I have not been alerted by the ministry or the Chief Medical Officer or the Minister of Health. They haven’t told us anything really; the doctors, that is. I heard an announcement saying that they alerted the doctors.

“I checked my colleagues, nobody was alerted. And I checked the public health doctors, they weren’t alerted. So anyhow, I’m going to alert you all people,” Dr Lorde said in a widely circulated video.

Given this country’s dependence on tourism and aggressive thrust into the African markets, Barbados must tighten all its entry points and be extremely vigilant to ensure that the sector and those that are so dependent on its success are protected.