Prime Minister Mia Mottley advised the country tonight that Barbados will impose a curfew from 8PM to 6AM starting on Saturday 28 March 2020 until 14 April 2020. On a personal note the Prime Minister also shared she will be MIA for a while because her medical team advised her to undergo a medical procedure this coming weekend. Minister of Education Santia Bradshaw will act as prime minister. The blogmaster wishes her well.
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Russia has 1,036 cases, 3 deaths, and 8 serious/critical cases.
In comparison South Korea has 9,332 cases, 139 deaths and 59 serious critical cases.
Russia has a population of 145 million and South Korea 51 million.
Russia clearly does not test and South Korea’s “mass testing” does not appear to be of the “masses”.
Common sense is still the best weapon.
Of course COVID-19 needs to be taken seriously but we do not need to panic.
John March 27, 2020 11:05 AM “Every year a new flu vaccine has to be made because the flu is different from the last year.
Might be nothing next year or might be Montezuma’s revenge.
Not sure if I agree with old Bill …. or for that matter Fauci!!”
FOR THAT MATTER NEITHER DOES FREEDOM…HERE IS WHY
BILLY G IS A GLOBALIST, WHO SPEAKS OUT OF BOTH SIDES OF HIS MOUTH FOR HIS OWN AIMS AND OBJECTIVES.
Don’t you get it …it is in Billy G’s interest to Lock Down the Economy that way all Small Business will go out of Businesses and the Powerful Conglomerates will have a Bigger Share of the Pie! That is the End All of Game for the Globalist Elite like Billy Boy and the (New World Order Minions). In Addition, their Plan is to Depopulate the world for the same Reason! These are the Greedy ones Masquerading as having the Populations Interest at Heart!
BEWARE OF BG’S ARTIFICIAL SWEET WATER WORDS…
BILL GATES SENDS OVER $11 MILLION TO PRO-ABORTION GROUP PUSHING POPULATION CONTROL WORLDWIDE (between 2918 -2020 Alone)
Bill and Malinda Gated Foundation has also given at least $81,009,329 to Planned Parenthood and its affiliates from 2009 and before to 2018, according to records taken from the foundation’s website.
Billy G’s Daddy was a EUGENICIST who was head of Planned-murder-hood in his time and Billy Boy is walking in his Pappies footsteps…He is a Globalist who is all for Depopulation & Population Control!
WHO STANDS TO PROSPER FROM THE PATENT ON THE CORONA VACCINES?
REMEMBER A BITTER FOUNTAIN DOES NOT BRING FORTH SWEET WATER!
Billy G IS ALL ABOUT “Reducing The Population Growth”
HEAR BILLY IN HIS OWN WORDS!!
SO VERY TRUE!!!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10222344026775227&set=a.1796846286629&type=3&theater
@Hal Austin March 27, 2020 11:46 AM
“… you must be the top leader since you set yourself up as the top judge…”
+++++++++++++++++
It is a fallacy to assume that leadership can only be evaluated by people who have leadership talent.
The most important leadership talent is to be able to inspire followership among the people you are leading. I have little to none of that talent, but I can certainly open my eyes and evaluate it in others.
@GreeneMarch 27, 2020 11:54 AM
“… that speech last night was too long and full of gratuitous nonsense. it could have been limited to 10 minutes.”
++++++++++++++++++
I agree… but I’m not the audience that she was aiming at.
The “Aunty Mia” shtick takes time and eye contact and smiles and folksy language (“too long and full of gratuitous nonsense”). I talk to many Bajans for whom this is wonderfully effective.
@Hants March 27, 2020 11:50 AM
“If true that could mean that there are a lot of people who are likely carrying and spreading Covid 19 in Barbados.”
+++++++++++++
Exactly!
@Greene
politics is a dirty, competitive business. When leaders have to step away, they want the most trustworthy, not the most capable. Why did FJS pick Sealy? Was Sealy part of the Eager group? MAM knows they are those who would put a knife in her back, why do you think we have so may Ministers.
@HA
suggesting the PM disclose the full nature of her medical condition, is among the most disingenuous of your comments. Who cares who the surgeon is, where he/she is performing the procedure. All you need do is wish her a successful and speedy recovery.
While this is true, it also true we should be seeing stress on local healthcare facilities as well.
@NO
true but that Min of Ed is a right dweeb. i would rather Ninja Man
@ Northern
I am not suggesting that the surgery, if any, should be videoed. But telling the public what is wrong with her is expected of senior politicians. I expect the same of Trudeau, Johnson, Trump, Putin, Prince Chares, the Queen, etc.
We want to know the health of our leaders, just as we do with Sanders or Biden. If you want to keep your health private, then get out of public life.
What next do you want to keep private? Your wealth? Your sponsors? Who you meet late at night?
@PLT , you are a funny guy with “I talk to many Bajans for whom this is wonderfully effective.”
Of course it’s wonderfully effective for us Bajans because that’s what we have sucked on for years (weaned is the term I suspect) . Are we not the same Bajans who got thrills from wondrous words on Budget day from Barrow and Tom and Owen etc…. often lots of sweet palaver signifying not as much as all the hot air!
But then we grow up or get serious … so it’s disappointing to read your interpretations as above… this is the time for collegial but firm Principal Mia, NOT Auntie Mia in my humble opinion. She has the intelligence to know how and when that shift is needed.
It’s hilarious also to read @Greene say “that speech last night was too long and full of gratuitous nonsense. it could have been limited to 10 minutes.”
A similarly rambling, lots of pretty talk speech which also could have been crisp and shorter by Stuart was previously quite ok! Granted his was a party gathering and this was a NATIONAL crisis directive but the point remains the same: Bajans love our leaders to offer stupid oratory when focused and purposeful remarks are needed!
Mari needs a time out because Mari speaks a truth most dont want to hear
China took the same approach with its people doing there darn best to hide the truth
Sorry uf my message irritates or offend
The truth now lies behind a govt who took a high risk if saving the tourism industry in crisis time over the well being of the citizens
Better safe than sorry is the best approach
The question which all should be asking is how many people in barbados are infected because of govt open doors policy
Getting irritated by my comments is not a solution
*“And I can assure you that the Government of Barbados has ordered 50,000 with a requirement now for the Ministry of Health to order another 50,000 in the event that we shall need them.”
If it is not clear enough already, this is more evidence that the govt really doesn’t have a clue. If we can afford 100 000 testing kits why not them and “test, test, test”. Why mindlessly follow the WHO guidelines knowing full well that virus will and has arrived?
Why not take advantage of our small size. population and geographic isolation by testing as many as possible in combination with carefully thought out social distancing and movement restrictions?
There is no need for this ABC, 123 approach when we can get ahead of the curve (no pun intended)? Look at S. Korea and to a lesser extent Germany as examples of what widespread testing, especially of the asymptomatic can achieve.
@ Greene
You are not addressing the real problem, which is that out of 29 members of parliament there is not a single one that has the authority and punch to step in for the president when she take her leave. What if Joe leaves or collapses? Key person planning is a central part of business insurance.
If you run a car repair shop and the main mechanic is a single person, if s/he walks out the business will be in danger of collapse. Governments are more important than a mechanic shop.
Was it George Payne who stood in? Was it the attorney general? The president know the weaknesses of her team, it is part of her leadership strategy.
You should go further, because Bajans suffer from the ‘bajan condition’ therefore the blogmaster puts it to you there is absolutely no man or woman capable of doing the job.
lawson
March 27, 2020 11:44 AM
John maybe Chinese newyears celebrations at the end of jan
+++++++++++++++++++
First cases in the US from Feb 15.
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/
In fact, most places except China where it started.
They seem to start January 22.
They reacted quickly and canceled their celebrations.
Trump then cam into the picture end of January.
Cuomo then blew it.
@Hal
nature abhors a vacuum. someone would lead if something untoward happens to our dare (deliberate) leader. even if it is Ninja Man
@David, no sir that does not automatically follow re “While this is true, it also true we should be seeing stress on local healthcare facilities as well.”
I am no mathematician so I can only apply COMMONSENSE to all I have read of COVID19….
If you test less than 250 people and about 10% are positive how can you extrapolate that you are good! How!
In EVERY nation as more tests were done the level of positives increased in direct comparison to the higher testing…(doubling every 2 weeks and in some instances in 48 and 72 hours) but in Bim we are on a TOTALLY DIFFERENT curve. This entire thing has been maddengly incomprehensible …totally in alternate universe land.
We do not have the resources of others so of necessity we should have been far more proactive…. we CANNOT afford the stress on our facilities so we need to be well ahead!
@ Quaker John
The disease started in Wuhan in December; in January a plane load of Chinese came in at Seawell/Grantley Adams. Who were they? Are they still in the island, if not how long did they stay?
@ ks March 27, 2020 11:43 AM
Agree completely with you that a DLP government would have driven us to ruin.
Here is my alternate DLP horror scenario:
January 2017, outbreak of the new Corona disease. At the Chinese New Year’s reception in Bridgetown, delegates from the Chinese Communist Party infect numerous DLP dignitaries, including Prime Minister Stuart. Chris Sinckler becomes the new prime minister, Pornville Inniss his deputy. In a panic reaction, Prime Minister Sinckler orders a total shutdown for three months. Tourists are no longer allowed to leave the island. After the hotels also close, 50,000 tourists stray around the island without a roof over their heads as beggars. Sinckler rejects all foreign aid and instead has the military and drug soldiers shoot anyone who sticks his head out of the house. The economy collapses completely. All foreign commercial banks (i.e. all banks) leave the island and lay off all employees. After two months all foreign currency reserves are used up. The Barbados dollar collapses and only stabilizes at a ratio of 10:1 to the Guyana dollar and Jamaica dollar. After another month, there is no food left and the people eat up the many starving bodies. In their desperation, the people rebel and storm the Prime Minister’s mansion.It turns out that he and the entire DLP cabinet have already left the island in a hurry at the beginning of February for Canada.
In the end, there are only three corona deaths (Mariposa, Eastwitch and Lowe), but ten thousand hunger deaths and another one thousand deaths by the death squads. Barbados becomes the new poorhouse of the Caribbean. Tourism is changing radically. Where once rich people spent the night in Sandy Lane, disaster tourists and Stone Age explorers are now coming.
@HA
maybe she doesn’t know what is wrong? Possibly she has been told ‘we are going to do X, but if we discover (whatever) we may have to do Y or Z’. Why not wait until after, and see what is said? For now, we know she will be out of commission for a period. I would expect this will be updated over time.
@ Hal
The prime minister should come clean and tell us what her medical procedure is, and if it will be carried out in the QEH or some expensive private hospital/clinic?
Surely you jest! What has this to do with you?
a Cawmere mate of mine said she is getting a tummy tuck. for the BLP yardfowls who want to pounce see Tron’s post above
@Tron March 26, 2020 10:31 PM. “It will cost us not just a few miserable lives,”
I really don’t get this?
Exactly which lives are miserable lives?
And exactly which are worthwhile lives?
@ Silly Woman March 27, 2020 11:47 AM & @ Hal March 27, 2020 11:46 AM
“I’ve never stuffed poultry with sweet potato before, but I’ll do so this afternoon and let you know how it turns out”.
\
Should come out okay. In my days when really used to consume the waters, I came home from a session and decided to bake a chicken. I did not write down quantities of inputs . I have always regretted that. I used cooked Irish potatoes ( only thing I had available) mashed them added powdered black pepper and copious amounts of chopped broad-leaf thyme and some salt to taste. It was great. Couldn’t get the recipe duplicated Sloppy work for one who is a scientist.
@ Hal
Continued my stroll through town this morning. The lines were really bad. The places like “Sewing World” where one could get stuff before, there are now lines. and one has to wait. Even Scotty’s the same thing. Bought some sweet potatoes at $2.50/pound. Normally don’t buy them at this price. I wait until the price is one dollar and buy. The older the potatoes are the sweeter they are( biochemical reaction).. Bought some chicken (don’t really need it)then returned home,
Made a second journey into town..to the Library to return books due tomorrow. the Library has the best enforcement. One can’t even enter the building. There is a sign telling one to leave books in a box placed outside the door and that the Library would get the cards back to you. One person from the Library poked her head out of the door, to inform me that I could keep the books until this whole thing is over, but make sure I did not damage the books. I took the latter advice
Left the Library and encountered Lionel Brewster who was at Combermere. Asked him if he knew you. He replied that he was ahead of you at school and that he thought you were in the US or UK. Ended up in Suttle Street, the rum shop at the juncture was very quiet. We had a drink at one of the watering hole in the street. Only us and the owner The owner got into conversation. To listen to him he was the greatest thing to happen to women. According to him ,he never had a time when he experienced drought of women .One knows BS when one hears it. We concluded that the young buck was trying to impress us. We went our separate ways
@Hal Austin March 27, 2020 3:02 AM “…the QEH or some expensive private hospital/clinic?”
Expensive does not necessarily mean better. The QEH is without a doubt the best medical institution in Barbados.
@ Robert
I know Lionel well, and his brother, who is also in the UK, and cousins. Next time you see him plse say hello for me. Exercise is good; in the UK even exercise is part of the lockdown – only once a day and only with another person from your home.
I am not a big chicken fan, but my leader is. I prefer fresh salmon, can eat it every day. Salmon salad and I am in food heaven. Sadly, I am rationed.
They removed my gall bladder under general anasthesia on a Tuesday about 6 p.m., discharged me on the Wednesday just after midday. i did not need nor did I take any pain killers.
On Thursday morning my sister came to look for me at home and I had walked to the hardware store about 1 mile away to buy some paint. I was in my 60’s then. Then and now still feeling fit as a fiddle.
The QEH does excellent work.
@ Dullard
The nation needs to know if its political leader is in good health; and, if our political leaders do not have confidence in the QEH then something is wrong. That has everything to do with the public. Remember Ronald Reagan’s health only became an issue after he was out of office.
In the UK that is a resignation issue – a prime minister using private health.
@ Silly Woman March 27, 2020 1:40 PM
You shouldn’t get so upset about my colorful language. At least admit that I succeed in bringing people to tears. Whether they laugh or fume with rage, it’s all up to you.
Statistically speaking, the whole panic surrounding Corona is completely unfounded. Worldwide, no more people will die of diseases in 2020 than one year later or earlier.
But one thing is clear: the loss of tourism and the years of global recession to come are causing massive damage to our economy. BERT is history. We now need a new fifth IMF programme called STARVE.
@Dullard March 27, 2020 1:01 PM
“If we can afford 100 000 testing kits why not them and “test, test, test”. Why mindlessly follow the WHO guidelines knowing full well that virus will and has arrived?”
+++++++++++
The WHO guidelines say to combine social distancing through business shutdowns with widespread testing. We are not yet following WHO guidelines.
Why not??
TronMarch 27, 2020 2:05 PM
“Statistically speaking, the whole panic surrounding Corona is completely unfounded.”
++++++++++++
Complete and utter nonsense!
You clearly don’t believe me (you see Hal? This why I’m useless as a leader), but perhaps you might listen to the statistical epidemeology experts from the faculty of medicine at Imperial College London:
“We estimate that in the absence of interventions, COVID-19 would have resulted in 7.0 billion infections and 40 million deaths globally this year. Mitigation strategies focussing on shielding the elderly (60% reduction in social contacts) and slowing but not interrupting transmission (40% reduction in social contacts for wider population) could reduce this burden by half, saving 20 million lives, but we predict that even in this scenario, health systems in all countries will be quickly overwhelmed.”
https://www.imperial.ac.uk/mrc-global-infectious-disease-analysis/news–wuhan-coronavirus/
None of the boys of BU have been a middle aged woman.
Common medical procedures in middle ages women, including me.
Gall bladder surgery–Yup I have been there.
Exploratory surgery, looking for breast cancer, because the breast in a non-lactating woman was leaking a fluid–Yup I have been there too. Thankfully more than 20 years later no cancer.
Surgery for fibroids, this is unfortunately very common in black women–Yup i had fibroids too, but unusually during pregnancy, and unusually they self resolved, so no surgery…yet.
After 50, doctors recommend a colonoscopy for both men and women looking for colon cancer –Yup my doctor recommended. Mea culpa, I plead guilty, I have not had it done, even though I had and I have quite good health insurance. I anticipate an uncomfortable procedure and I admit that I have been cowardly, but I am very aware of family history, a good history, but maybe one of these days i will get my courage up.
our PM is human just as we are. Whatever she is having done, we or a close relative has had done.
or
Wha in pass ya, in ketch ya yet.
Guess he found out just before….what people are not understanding, this examply might help, someone i know was suffering from the virus, had a hard few weeks, then they STARTED recoverING, the problem is them going into the general population and infecting those who are not as strong as they are and then the virus will KILL THOSE WEAKER PEOPLE.
“Virginia man who downplayed the seriousness of the coronavirus as merely the media “pumping out fear” has died after contracting the virus.
Landon Spradlin, 66, a pastor and traveling musician, died on Wednesday, March 25, at a hospital in North Carolina after testing positive for COVID-19.
As first reported by Patch, nearly two weeks before his death Spradlin shared a meme on his Facebook page suggesting the media “can manipulate your life.”
@ PLT
Yes the WHO advocates a multi-pronged strategy. My criticism is of the the static, formulaic approach of the gov’t.
I believe the WHO also leaves it to individual countries to refine the strategy according to local conditions.
Unless those in charge do not understand the nature of the problem this (tweaking the strategy) should not be that hard.
“I am not suggesting that the surgery, if any, should be videoed. But telling the public what is wrong with her is expected of senior politicians. I expect the same of Trudeau, Johnson, Trump, Putin, Prince Chares, the Queen, etc”
exactly, i saw a bunch of dumb people on FB showing the world how dumb they are telling others who know she is a public figure…SUCKING FROM THE TAXPAYE”S PURSE…that it is none of their business what is wrong with her, oh yes it is, she was elected BY THE PEOPLE and they have a right to know .
.that is why the ignorant will always be poo, victimized and always be robbed by those they believe are not accountable and answerable to the people who elected them and pay their salaries.
that is why the ignorant will always be POOR…
@ Hal March 27, 2020 1:48 PM
Will do.
I wonder why DT went to hospital in ny and how long it toin him before he told the public what was wrong with him
@ peterlawrencethompson March 27, 2020 2:16 PM
We all know that predictions are highly uncertain. To date, there is no functioning weather or stock market prognosis that works longer than three days into the future.
In China, the number of people infected without any harming signs is said to be five to ten times higher than the number of people who test positive. Perhaps even more. The statisticians are groping in the dark.
It is therefore possible that mortality is ten times higher than the flu. But it is also possible that the mortality rate is not higher at all.The only thing that is certain is that corona, unlike classical flu, is often accompanied by inflammation of the lungs. We must therefore seriously ask ourselves whether we want to drag the global economy down into the abyss because of a bit of a cold.
I therefore fully support the moderate, temporary restrictions on public life imposed by our government. After Easter it is time again for the beach party in Sandy Lane.
@ Blogmaster:
Back in time, 2010, I defended Thompson’s right to privacy.
See: https://barbadosfreepress.wordpress.com/2010/07/08/prime-minister-thompsons-health-is-his-own-business/
To be consistent … My position has not so evolved that I think today that the circumstances are so different that Ms. Mottley has either a moral or legal obligation to reveal such personal medical information.
@Tron March 27, 2020 3:22 PM
Pandemics are neither weather patterns nor stock markets. That those are your points of comparison reveal that you are completely clueless about epidemiology.
The fact that the “number of people infected without any harming signs is said to be five to ten times higher than the number of people who test positive” is exactly the problem. It means that there are five to ten times the number of people wandering about infecting others.
Get out your calculator and figure out the mortality rate that the epidemiologists from Imperial College London are assuming… it is 0.57%; that is just over 1 death per 200 infections. That is a very very conservative estimate. The problem is not the mortality rate, it is the infection rate caused by the “number of people infected without any harming signs is said to be five to ten times higher than the number of people who test positive”.
Please read and learn before misleading other people. 20 million more deaths is a global tragedy. People are working hard to reduce the scale of that suffering and loss, but you are belittling and demeaning their valiant efforts, often at the risk of their own lives, with your ignorant and totally erroneous prattle.
Please stop.
@Robert Lucas,
this is a magnificent thing you are doing. first ha d accounts are wonderful and the personal anecdotes lend weight to the pieces. i does cuss yuh a lot but you have restored my faith in the Alma mater. nobody tells a story like us.
you should keep this up. David should provide a thread for you to so do and you should start numbering them day 1 etc.
Italy is going for broke, no matter how they try to contain the virus, it just keeps getting worse and worse….just over a month later.
“The death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in Italy has surged by 919 to 9,134, the Civil Protection Agency said on Friday, easily the highest daily tally since the epidemic emerged on Feb. 21.
Prior to Friday’s figure, the largest daily toll was registered on March 21, when 793 people died.
The 919 people who died over the last 24 hours compares with 712 deaths on Thursday, 683 on Wednesday, 743 on Tuesday and 602 on Monday.
The total number of confirmed cases rose to 86,498 from a previous 80,539, taking Italy’s total past that of China, where the coronavirus epidemic emerged at the end of last year.”
If we assume that your calculation is correct, then we should nevertheless restart the tourism industry in Barbados as the first island in the Caribbean to give us a competitive advantage.
We must also think of the many unemployed in the tourist industry, the unemployed taxi drivers and so on.
We need a national burden-sharing scheme. All those with a secure lifelong income (i.e. national civil servants) must give 20 per cent of their income to the unemployed in 2020. That is justice.
Don’t think US even wants its own cruise ships anymore…lawd….Barbados better don’t play ass and talk more shite..
“Four passengers have died aboard a Holland America cruise ship that soon may make its way to Port Everglades, the liner announced Friday.
Holland America said “four older guests” died on the Zaandam, but didn’t say whether the new coronavirus was the cause.
Nearly 140 people on the ship have complained about feeling sick, including some with respiratory symptoms. On Thursday, several were tested for the coronavirus and two people tested positive. The company didn’t say whether the two who tested positive were among the four passengers who died.
A Miramar couple aboard the ship adrift at sea said the captain also announced the four deaths.
The ship was prohibited from disembarking in Chile and is now seeking to make its way to Fort Lauderdale. That plan has drawn the wrath of Broward’s County Commission, which is considering turning it away”.
Someone mentioned “SUCKING … FROM THE TAXPAYER.”, which brought to mind Bill Clinton’s tryst with Ms. Lewinsky.
I always believed that Clinton erred in not meeting the right to privacy issue head on, and launching a serious public debate on that issue at the very outset. Kenn Starr was then permitted to embark on an overly expensive, useless, prurient xxx-rated investigation including minor staff such as Kavanaugh.
Absolutely, no interest in Ms. Mottley’s medical issues, except to wish her well.
MariposaMarch 27, 2020 12:59 PM
Mari needs a time out because Mari speaks a truth most dont want to hear
China took the same approach with its people doing there darn best to hide the truth
Sorry uf my message irritates or offend
The truth now lies behind a govt who took a high risk if saving the tourism industry in crisis time over the well being of the citizens
Better safe than sorry is the best approach
The question which all should be asking is how many people in Barbados are infected because of govt open doors policy
Getting irritated by my comments is not a solution
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Did I say you could come out of the corner?
Not irritated at all. I AM IN CHILL MODE. NOW BACK IN THE CORNER FOR YOU!
Silly Woman
March 27, 2020 2:32 PM
I anticipate an uncomfortable procedure and I admit that I have been cowardly, but I am very aware of family history, a good history, but maybe one of these days i will get my courage up.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Last time they knocked me out.
Two times before they didn’t.
No comfort or discomfort.
In and out.
You take a “purgative” like no other the day before and you feel like a new person!!
All poisons, toxins and whatever gone!!
Nuculer diarrhea. a good clean out!!
Just do it!!
A relative of mine lost a boyhood school friend in his forties and luckily took his advice and started.
Dr. told him he nearly waited too late.
Been doing it since.
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.