Protocols paramount as cruise tourists return

Officials in the tourism and maritime sectors have taken all reasonable steps to avoid another major outbreak of COVID-19, as cruise ship visitors return to Barbadian shores for the first time since last March.

Minister of Maritime Affairs and the Blue Economy Kirk Humphrey has also promised that both visitors and crewmembers would be held to the highest standards in relation to observation of this country’s protocols.

Humphrey gave the assurance in a Barbados TODAY interview after welcoming 500 vaccinated passengers aboard Celebrity Millennium into the Bridgetown Port.

“I have insisted that passengers on board the cruise ship listen carefully and heed the protocols and follow them, because we did not bring them down by serendipity,” Humphrey declared.

“We have communicated that to all of the ships on all of the stops and so we hope that this season, as the tourists come that we do so in a manner that is safe and allows us to respect the wishes of the average Barbadian as well.

“We have to be careful, we need to make sure that the persons follow the protocols every single day and I have communicated this,” the Maritime Affairs Minister added.

The Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners (BAMP) also supports the resumption and the protocols, which, for the most part, should keep visitors confined to a ‘bubble’.

President, Dr Lynda Williams said that the protocols established were only approved after months of dialogue and buy-in from many of the relevant stakeholders including neighbouring territories, international cruise companies and local tour operators.

“If everything goes according to the protocols, we shouldn’t have a problem, but of course on the ground, we would now have to see if we can get everything to run smoothly,” said the BAMP president in an interview with this newspaper.

“Because of the whole concept of people being isolated in bubbles and going from corridors from the airport to cruise ships, the interaction with people here should be very little,” Dr Williams added.

Nevertheless, the BAMP president wants more action to facilitate the identification of new COVID-19 variants as deadlier, potentially vaccine-resistant mutations of the virus are identified.

“We need to know if tests are being done, we need to know the results of the testing that is being done. If we are having an ongoing arrangement to have variants testing, we want to know what that is and we need to know that it is robust and up and running,” Williams explained.

Nevertheless, Minister Humphrey expressed confidence that existing vaccines “for the most part, are holding up”, which, in his opinion, would be bolstered by strong adherence to protocols.

“If we do what we are supposed to do, we will be okay. All of the passengers are vaccinated. No one in the world has been vaccinated against these new emerging variants, so to ask that of them would be a little bit unfair. But, the science tells us that for the most part the variants have been responding to the traditional vaccines.

The Royal Caribbean vessel is the first passenger ship to set sail commercially in the Western Hemisphere since the pandemic brought the industry to a halt over a year ago.

Minister Humphrey revealed that a number of other vessels would follow the arrival of Celebrity Millennium, offering seven and 10-day cruises over the summer, followed by a significant increase over the winter season.
(kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb)