BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The Barbados Parliament Tuesday gave the green light further to extend the state of emergency (SOE). The island deals with a new wave of cases linked to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Health Minister Ian Gooding-Edghill, who piloted the Resolution on the Emergency Management Act, said that the SOE would remain in effect until September 22.
Gooding-Edghill said the move is necessary due to the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 and the evolving variant, appealing to Barbadians to follow the required hygiene measures and mask-wearing along with getting vaccinated or the booster shots.
“We still have vaccines, and Barbadians are more than capable of going to the various vaccination sites and getting vaccines and boosters as we continue to manage this particular wave of this pandemic,” Gooding-Edghill told legislators.
He said the home isolation program has worked well and complements the isolation facility on the island.
” We do not have issues about discharge certificates. Those matters were put to bed. We will continue to maintain the home isolation policy and ensure that we manage and work very well with Barbadians,” he added.
Last week, Barbados confirmed the presence of the new Omicron BA.2 variant of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as the island deals with a “dramatic” increase in the number of new COVID-19) cases.
Gooding-Edghill said then that confirmation of the variant had come from the Trinidad-based Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) following the questions raised last week regarding the dramatic increase in new COVID-19 cases the possible existence of the new BA.2 variant in Barbados.
“Let me remind you that COVID-19 is still with us and will likely be with us for a long time. Be assured that we have the experience and scientific tools to help us properly manage the impact of COVID-19. The non-pharmaceutical interventions such as mask-wearing, physical distancing, good hand hygienic practices, and ventilation are critical to reducing the spread of this virus,” he added then.
Meanwhile, Home Affairs and Information Minister, Wilfred Abrahams, has sought to clarify a new directive where people may now receive a fixed penalty notice o0f BDS$100 (One BDS$=US$0.50 cents) not wearing a face mask in public.
The measure applies to a public building, public place, or while traveling on a public service vehicle or other public transport, whether as a driver, conductor, or passenger.
Abrahams told Parliament that before the amendment, the offense was one for which an individual could be arrested and charged a sum of as much as BDS$50,000. But he said having a conviction means an individual has a criminal record and paying the acceptable means that’s the end of the matter.
“Many people believe that the government instituted a fine of BDS$100 for not wearing a mask last week. This is not upscale; it is a serious tone down of what was obtained before last week,” he told legislators.
Barbados has recorded 388 deaths and 64,794 infections linked to the pandemic since the first case was detected in March 2020.
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