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The blogmaster has sympathy for small open, tourist dependent countries. Developing countries with meagre resources that were struggling to manage poorly performing economies have been struck for SIX with the onset of COVID 19 pandemic. The challenge for governments to implement policies which balance shoring up livelihoods with public health priorities is real.

The blogmaster will not enter the toxic arena of blame gaming. At this juncture it is not a constructive exercise. Unlike New Zealand, Australia and a few other countries which are commodity driven economies and can support an aggressive quarantine protocol, Barbados has been caught out by operating at the margin which conflicts with the proposal from the local medical association of doctors (BAMP). The proverbial between a rock and a hard place.

  • Have we made mistakes managing the pandemic, YES.
  • Did the country become complacent, YES
  • Do we need to find ways to earn hard currency, YES.
  • Do we need to ensure COVID 19 screening is robust to adequately protect residents, YES.
  • Do we need to ensure authorities enforce laws to signal to those who compromise public health safety are penalized, YES.
  • Do we need to make the local economy less reliant on services, YES.
  • Have successive governments been unimaginative and lazy in charting a more sustainable economic path for the country post independence, YES.

The blogmaster could have added several more bullets to the list.

The harsh reality is that the country is ‘broke’ and to close the country again if it can be avoided to “keep out the virus’ as some promote is silly. The COVID 19 virus will be with us for the foreseeable future. Even if 100% of people take the vaccine health experts are unsure how new strains/variants may compromise the process. Even if the vaccine is 100% effective it will take possibly two to three years to immunize the global population to achieve heard immunity level. Then there is the issue of countries operating outside the purview of WHO like China, Russia…

Obviously Barbadians are concerned given the recent surge in COVID 19 positive cases. It is what it is, we have to deal with what is before us and move on. Have a look at the BU Sidebar Covid 19 Tracker and COVID 19 Update Page. Barbados is not waging the COVID 19 battle alone.

The government needs to ensure that our COVID 19 protocol is relevant/fit for purpose.

Residents need to ensure we adhere to the health protocol – wear your mask properly, wash your hands and physical distance please!

We can do this Bajans!

#rally


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685 responses to “Fighting the Good Fight Against Covid 19”


  1. @Tron January 15, 2021 7:18 PM “We should make generous use of the death penalty instead of imprisonment. Then we would have far fewer inmates in prison. The fact is that most prisoners perceive Dodds as a hotel. Our government should take swift action here and purchase the guillotine.”

    You and Pachamama like to make sport about killing other people’s sons. I trust that you feel the same way when it is you or your son facing the guillotine

  2. Carson C Cadogan Avatar

    SHOULD BE “THEM” IN LINE 1.


  3. A smart PM would have used COVID to build a sustainable economy out of the people
    Instead of fighting windmills
    What we are witnessing are policies borne on sowing the wind and reaping the worldwind
    No govt in their right mind would pursue a path of death and destruction


  4. Theo if you take cudear’s advice and you go on the bus, if one of the girls starts smoking,…. slow down and use a lubricant.


  5. Lawson…what did you get yourself involved in last time you were on the island.


  6. These two actions caused by leaving the borders open are a rise to a distrust of govt
    Also isolation


  7. @Hal Austin January 15, 2021 4:13 PM “I know Barbadians in the UK who have children born in Barbados and some born in the UK. Their are to different tribes. Even the parents treat them differently.”

    And is that a good thing?

    Is that how you and Baje have treated your own children?

    And how did that turn out?


  8. @BAJE January 15, 2021 4:38 PM “HAVING LIVED PREVIOUSLY IN THE UK FOR A PERIOD OF TIME I KNOW FULLY WELL WHAT YOU ARE MAKING REFERENCE TO.”

    Dear BAJE:

    Can you please tell me if living in the UK makes Bajan mad?

    And if so what is it that induces the madness

    The racism?

    The cold weather?

    Being constantly treated as an outsider?

    The unsuccessful struggle to reconcile your Bajan selves and your British selves?

    The knowledge that you have put your own interest ahead of that of your left behind children?

    The knowledge that you have neglected and abandoned your elderly parents?


  9. Angela what if there was no vaccine, or at least 5 or six years away. Lets just say they do not protect against the UK or brazil variant very well. Whats the back up plan. Hunker down forever ???? At some point hard decisions will have to be made the elderly and people will have to look after themselves , it may be you wont hug or shake hands again, shopping may be all done on internet ……. but one thing that you can bank on David will lose 95% of his contributors.


  10. Well that What if ! does not hold water
    There is a vaccine
    However i have made a point of govt making a giant leap of working from within instead of working with those things which have proven to be unsustainable when the sh.it hits the fan


  11. @ Carson

    I didn’t realise that the CXC fiasco is still dragging on with no resolution, the Barbados Labour Party Govt. hoping the matter will just dry up and blow away like so many other things….(Quote)

    It appears as if Barbados is the only nation struggling to cope with its children’s education. If the CXC cannot cope, it is the duty of the government of Barbados to provide adequate opportunities for its children.
    Children are super-spreaders, so to have them physically in class poses a threat not only to their classmates, but to teachers and those their colleagues and teachers and classroom assistants come in to contact with.
    CoVid is relatively short-term, so the panic over how best to teach these children is meaningless. Teaching by remote presents other problems, such as digital poverty, with many homes not having computers, smart phones, Ipads, oar even internet connections. Then there is the issue of parental help.
    We can easily re-organise the school year, for example, by introducing a month-long lockdown now, and extending school during the summer term, reducing leave from six weeks to four or even two.
    In infants and primary there is no need to rush, as some educational psychologists now claim to miss out on those early7 years will never be recovered. Nonsense.
    In some Scandinavian countries mandatory schooling does not start until the age of seven, unlike most Anglo-Saxon countries when it is five. That missed two years does not damage them.
    Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of NATO, started formal schooling at age ten. He rose to be prime minister of Norway and to be a university professor.
    We often look for easy answers for our social problems.


  12. Introduction
    Age of starting school and the early years curriculum have been the subject of
    considerable debate in recent years. Many kinds of influences are apparent in this
    debate, as we move into a period of increased funding but also increased demand and
    accountability. Some of the recent developments in pre-school policy include an
    increasing admission of four-year-olds to reception classes, the introduction of
    Desirable Learning Outcomes for three and four-year-olds (SCAA, 1997), the
    introduction of statutory baseline assessment (QCA, 1998) and, most recently, the
    development of the Foundation Stage, encompassing children aged from three to the
    end of the reception year (QCA, 2000).
    For many years, the UK has been out of step with other countries in expecting
    children to start school at an early age. Those in favour of keeping the current
    situation argue that young children are capable of learning the more formal skills
    inherent in the school curriculum and that starting school early enables children to get
    a head start in learning. In addition, it is argued that an early start provides an
    opportunity for children from less advantaged backgrounds to make up the deficit in
    their academic skills (this is one of the most frequently-cited arguments for starting
    1
    schooling early). Early school starting age is also thought to be popular among
    parents (a survey of parents who moved their children from pre-school playgroups to
    school at four found that most were happy with their decision, see Blake and Finch,
    2000).
    On the other hand, concerns have been raised about the appropriateness of a school
    environment for young children. Does teaching the 3Rs early result in any long-term
    advantage and is there a danger that young children will miss out on other important
    experiences or even be damaged by an early start?
    The purpose of this paper is to provide an up-to-date picture of school starting ages in
    Europe and to consider the research evidence that may throw some light on these
    important issues.
    2. Age of starting school in Europe
    In most of Europe, children begin compulsory schooling when they are six years old.
    Table 1 shows the school starting ages in 33 European countries. The countries
    included in the table are members of one of three groups: the European Union; the
    European Free Trade Association/the European Economic Area; and the so-called
    ‘pre-accession’ countries (countries that are preparing for entry to the European
    Union in 2004).
    Table 1
    Compulsory age of starting school in European countries, 2002
    Four Northern Ireland
    Five England, Malta, Netherlands, Scotland, Wales
    Six Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece,
    Hungary, Iceland, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania,
    Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain
    Seven Bulgaria, Estonia, Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Poland, Romania,
    Sweden
    Source: European Commission. EURYDICE and EUROSTAT (forthcoming) Figure D1.
    2
    The Table shows that over half of the 33 European countries listed have six as the
    official school starting age. The latest school starting age is seven (in three
    Scandinavian countries and five Eastern European countries). Three UK countries
    (England, Wales and Scotland) as well as Malta and the Netherlands, start school at
    five. Northern Ireland, with a starting age of four, has the earliest compulsory school
    starting age in Europe.
    Of course, compulsory school age only tells part of the story. Many countries have
    pre-school systems which the majority of children attend. Several countries allow
    individual children to enter school before compulsory school age or to delay entry, in
    accordance with parents’ wishes, teachers’ views and/or the results of pre-school
    assessments. In several cases, compulsory school age represents the maximum age
    by which children start school and the majority of children are in school before
    compulsory school age.
    In line with Europe, most countries in the world favour a school starting age of six
    (Ball, 1994; Bertram and Pascal, 2002; O’Donnell et al., 2002; Woodhead, 1989;
    West and Varlaam, 1990). So the UK countries’ compulsory school starting age of
    five is low by world standards. In practice, our actual school starting age is earlier
    still. The official school starting age in England and Wales is the term after a child’s
    fifth birthday. But most English and Welsh children start school when they are four,
    because many schools admit children to reception class at the beginning of the year in
    which they become five.
    The latest figures from the DfES (DfES, 2002) show that in January 2002, 99 per cent
    of the English four-year-old population were attending some kind of educational
    provision, with 59 per cent of four-year-olds in infant classes. Because this
    calculation is based on a census in January (in relation to the population of children
    born in the calendar year from January to December, rather than in relation to those
    born during the academic year from September to August) it is likely that it
    represents a considerable underestimate of the proportion of English children starting
    school at four.
    3
    Why do children start school early in the UK?
    If most countries have a school starting age of six, what are the reasons for the earlier
    school starting ages adopted in the UK? The term after a child’s fifth birthday first
    became enshrined as the compulsory school starting age in 1870 Education Act.
    Martin Woodhead points out that there was very little parliamentary debate on this
    issue at the time, although some MPs clearly favoured six or even seven as the school
    starting age (Woodhead, 1989). Reasons put forward in support of setting the school
    starting age at five were related to child protection (i.e. protection from exploitation
    at home and unhealthy conditions in the streets). There was also a political
    imperative to appease employers because setting an early starting age enabled an
    early school leaving age to be established, so that children could enter the workforce.
    Martin Woodhead points out that the school starting age was not decided on the basis
    of any developmental or educational criteria.
    The compulsory school starting age in Northern Ireland was established much more
    recently, in the Education Reform (Northern Ireland) Order of 1989. The Order
    revised the definition of compulsory school age so that each child receives a full 12
    years of schooling. A child reaching the age of four on or before July 1st must start
    full-time education in September, meaning that children start school from four years
    and two months of age (see Holt et al., 1999). …..(Quote)


  13. @WURA-War-on-U January 15, 2021 8:18 PM

    Thanks WURU. Very interesting article from NBC.


  14. @angela cox January 15, 2021 8:42 PM “Meanwhile the fire of distrust rages on”

    Stoked by people just like you who have never yet seen a fire you are not happy to throw gasoline on.


  15. Cuh dear like how people of your ilk likes blaming those who speaks out against the fires which govt started
    For with all certainty u guys are the ones who have sat back and said or did nothing while the fire becomes a towering inferno
    My criticisms are the only hose available to stop the rage from getting out of control


  16. That was indeed a good one from NBC.


  17. Today I am keeping my eyes on Mia! Will she run from the cameras when the going gets tough or will she hog the spotlight like the tough who get going?

    Stay tuned for the next miserable BU episode of the Hal Austin narrated docudrama “Between a Rock and a Hard Place!”


  18. @Hal Austin January 16, 2021 7:58 AM “I do not want to go on about English grammar…”

    You’re right not to go on about the English grammar, because your bosom buddy ac/angela skeete/Mariposa’s English grammar is the most exotic that I have ever read.

    ac/angela skeete/Mariposa writes English as though it is her 10th language, and not a word of criticism from you, instead effusive praise.


  19. @Hal Austin January 16, 2021 7:16 AM “In some states, the anti-vaxxers have such strong support that there is a need for well known people, including some politicians, to publicly take the vaccine to reassure the public.”

    Do the very, very stupid anti-vaxxers have strong support in Barbados?


  20. Re: school

    The flipside is that there is an emotional downside to children doing the online with limited interaction. We have to learn to adapt especially if living with pandemics in waiting and other adversities will be the order of the day.


  21. @angela cox January 16, 2021 9:53 AM “Guess if any one of u were place in position of back logs.. isolation and fukups which hinders one from attending a family member funeral…”

    Here is a little piece of advice. Visit your elderly parents when they are alive…this business of staying away and then attempting to run to a funeral during a pandemic, what is that all about?

    My beloved mother, may she rest in peace used to always say that she did not want anybody to come peeping ’bout in she face when she was dead. She told all of her children to visit her when she was alive and then they need not come to her funeral.

    Wise woman.

    No wonder I am so smart.


  22. Murdaaah! Cuhdear Bajan take the “Cuhdear” outta yuh name! Yuh en showing nuh mercy!


  23. Cuh dear keep digging……The govt has already dug a big hole for idiots like u to fall into
    Meanwhile i sit by the sidelines with hose in hand watching the drama unfold


  24. My father had 2 brothers who did not visit ma for more than 20 years, even though they lived less than 1,000 miles away, then got vex with my dad when he buried their 90+ mother the same day she died.

    Phuck negligent adult children.


  25. Cuh dear unlike you with all the University level of education
    I only went to stan pipe


  26. Cuhdear BajanJanuary 16, 2021 12:21 PM

    @angela cox January 16, 2021 9:53 AM “Guess if any one of u were place in position of back logs.. isolation and fukups which hinders one from attending a family member funeral…”

    Here is a little piece of advice. Visit your elderly parents when they are alive…this business of staying away and then attempting to run to a funeral during a pandemic, what is that all about?

    Cxxcccccccccccc

    Another piece of your sh.itty advice which u need to stick up yuh rear end idiot


  27. @ Angela Cox

    If you are also @Mariposa, good luck to you. However, you seem to bring out the nastiness in some people on BU. Is it because they know you, or is it what you say?
    I am used to people discussing ideas, sometimes you persuade your rivals, sometimes they persuade you, others you end up where you were.
    But until I came on BU , I have never seen such bitterness, such brutal dislike, such venom. It is frightening.
    It reminds me of the Tutsis and Hutus, or the Biafrans, in other words, some savage, blood-thirsty tribal warfare and you seem to be the main target (apart from myself, @Baje and @Carson).
    I can escape this by switching off, but I find it fascinating. I call it the Bajan Condition. Watch out for those who identify as female.


  28. Here we go again. The inability to debate issues in a civil manner. You will not get a rebuke from the codger across the pond.


  29. See what the blogmaster means? The biggest hypocrite and the biggest liar make the team.


  30. @Artax January 16, 2021 9:55 AM “We’re ‘hearing’ a silly argument that the BLP is keeping the borders open to kill ‘97% Black population’ and appease the “3% white people and Indians.””

    What if in spite of being a majority black country, and what if having hosted few “white tourists” this year, what if the majority of people in isolation so far have been white and indian people?


  31. @Lawson January 16, 2021 11:09 AM “…the elderly and people will have to look after themselves.”

    Looka who offering advice on how to look after the elderly. Lawson it is in the public domain how badly Canada has treated its elders in this pandemic.

    The year of the pandemic has busted the myth that Canada values its seniors. Decades of promises to improve the quality of life of elderly Canadians have gone unfulfilled. The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the ugly truth.
    More here: https://www.macleans.ca/society/health/the-year-of-the-pandemic-has-busted-the-myth-that-canada-values-its-seniors/

    And here: https://www.cihi.ca/sites/default/files/document/covid-19-rapid-response-long-term-care-snapshot-en.pdf
    While Canada’s overall COVID-19 mortality rate was relatively low compared with the rates in other OECD countries, IT HAD THE HIGHEST PROPORTION OF DEATHS OCCURRING IN LONG TERM CARE. LONG TERM CARE RESIDENTS ACCOUNTED FOR 81% OF ALL COVID19 DEATHS IN CANADA compared with an average of 38% in other OECD countries (ranging from less than 10% in Slovenia and Hungary to 66% in Spain).

    And much more but David only permits the posting of 3 links, so respectfully to David I have only posted two.


  32. I agree with Cudear visit your old parents often do you know how hard it is to get into there bank accounts if you dont have the numbers, what if somebody else finds them and tells the police before you get to cash some of those pension cheques . You islanders of all people should not follow the path of Colin Tennants family lord glenconner, the man who bought Mystique another savvy scot even in death taught his family you want the dough you better show.


  33. @TheOGazerts January 16, 2021 9:57 AM “she should recommend Cialis. It can treat erectile dysfunction and enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia). It can also treat high blood pressure in the lungs (pulmonary arterial hypertension).”

    Thanks TheO. Always happy to take scientific advice from a real-real scientist.

    I’ve drawn your excellent advice to the attention of the chief, in case the need ever arises…or doesn’t arise. Lol!


  34. I can give advice because I did it ,built my mother an apartment so my family could be near and not just dumped at the doors of the QEH , as she got older we brought in caregivers as her time neared they came in 6 times a day as well as a visit from her doctor . Covid has hurt our seniors support workers moving from home to home transferring didnt help .Did I mention in my town 66% of cases were in colored community partly because they work those jobs. Some of our homes are owned by people overseas your right again maybe they dont care as much.


  35. Watch out for those who do not know if they are fish or fowl!

    Either way, they stink of hypocrisy and deceitfulness!


  36. cuhdear your missing link just showed up


  37. @angela cox January 16, 2021 12:26 PM “Cuh dear unlike you with all the University level of education. I only went to stan pipe.”

    Well clearly your parents were as stupid as you are. Since “Barrow gave the people free education” why didn’t you parents insist that you attend school, instead of hanging ’round the stand pipe?


  38. @Lawson January 16, 2021 1:07 PM “I agree with Cudear visit your old parents often…”

    lawson and I don’t agree on much, but on this lawson the dutiful son, and I the dutiful daughter are in full agreement “visit your old parents often”


  39. @ Angela Cox

    Cuh dear unlike you with all the University level of education
    I only went to stan pipe….(Quote)

    Don’t worry about so-called university education. Most of those on BU who claim a university education are semi-literate. All they can talk about is their degrees in crap.
    You have far more critical understanding than any of them. They cannot deal with your ideas so they become abusive. Keep up the good work.


  40. Here we go again.

  41. Carson C Cadogan Avatar
    Carson C Cadogan

    Don’t pay “”donna “” any mind.

    She is not very bright.


  42. Miller
    My mention of a US$1.3B hotel project gine kill you dead, dead. Week after week, after week it is occupying your attention. #rentfree


  43. True Hal a few seem to have spent their time on wine,women and bong, I never finished high school but managed to get a couple of businesses going none the less. University shows employers that you are trainable thats all


  44. Cuhdear BajanJanuary 16, 2021 1:50 PM

    @angela cox January 16, 2021 12:26 PM “Cuh dear unlike you with all the University level of education. I only went to stan pipe.”

    Well clearly your parents were as stupid as you are. Since “Barrow gave the people free education” why didn’t you parents insist that you attend school, instead of hanging ’round the stand pipe?

    xxxxxxxxxx

    You stupid insensitive moron
    Make mention of my parents in such a disrespectful manner
    Tells a lot about your stupidity and your gross attitude to make yourself a holier than thou
    B..itch u not good enough to tie either one of my parents shoe laces
    Insipid moron
    Yeap u have now cross the line when u attack my parents such good and noble people who never look for govt hand outs
    Btw u had free education but nothing u have said on BU have placed you on top of any list that would be of help to barbados
    So what you plant okra and beans as a hobby
    Stupese


  45. @ Angela Cox

    Don’t be provoked. Punch up, not down. What some people post on BU says more about them than they imagine.


  46. Including you of course.


  47. It currently takes up to 10 days for tourists and other air travelers to get their Corona test from the government lab. The state testing system has effectively collapsed. Blame not our government, but our occupants of Dodds and our natives at the bus-crawl-orgy. I advise everyone to take a private test.

    It is clear that all participants of the bus-crawl-orgy should be sentenced to long prison terms and penal labor. They have ruined the whole tourist season and must be punished draconically.


  48. Offered this piece of free excellent advice, even the trouble maker lawson agrees with me “Visit your elderly parents when they are alive”

    This is angela cox’ crude, vulgar uncaring response “Another piece of your sh.itty advice which u need to stick up yuh rear end idiot”

    And this is Hal Austin’s sick indefensible attempt to portray angela cox, himself, Baje and CCC as victims

    @Hal Austin “…you seem to bring out the NASTINESS in some people on BU…. I have never seen such BITTERNESS, such BRUTAL DISLIKE, such VENOM. It is FRIGHTENING. It reminds me of the Tutsis and Hutus, or the Biafrans, in other words, some SAVAGE, BLOOD-THIRSTY TRIBAL WARFARE.

    And all because I advised that people visit their elderly parents while the parents are still alive.

    I wonder what Hal would have written if I had suggested that people abandon their elderly parents?

    I will repeat. If you have elderly parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles and other relatives whether in Barbados or elsewhere I beseech you, please visit them while they are still alive, because as my old mother noted it does nothing for your elders to peep into their cold dead, dead faces.


  49. @Tron January 16, 2021 3:05 PM ” our natives at the bus-crawl-orgy. I advise everyone to take a private test. It is clear that all participants of the bus-crawl-orgy should be sentenced to long prison terms and penal labor. ”

    I see that you haven’t bought your cialis yet. Run along now before the pharmacies close for the day.

    I can tell you that not a fella who went on the bus crawl gine get a day. Damn, foolish, bad behaved tourists breached quarantine. I mean what is wrong with such people. When I was under 60 and was locked in a nice hotel room with my sweetie, with room service delivering 3 meals per day I would not regard it as punishment.

    The next time we have to quarantine tourists I have advised the government to provide every couple or triple with a 10 day supply of Cialis. Should keep them inside and busy. Put some in the vaccine too.

    Foolish people leaving quarantine to buy beer.

    How stupid can people be?

    Stupssseee!!!


  50. lawson did your Scots friend leave the loot to his black boyfriend?

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