est. 2007

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To BLP Administration: Re. Covid 19 protocols

Submitted by William Parker I wish to congratulate the BLP government on their handling of the Covid 19 in 2020. Now that the various “versions” of the original Virus has reached here and the infection rate and deaths are spiralling out of control it is apparent to some, including me, that the government has no…

Submitted by William Parker

I wish to congratulate the BLP government on their handling of the Covid 19 in 2020.

Now that the various “versions” of the original Virus has reached here and the infection rate and deaths are spiralling out of control it is apparent to some, including me, that the government has no answers and is reacting and not pro-acting.

I understand the need for the current lockdown and we all know that 2 weeks is just a start and it will be needed for a lot longer.

However the shutting on the mini marts and way side vendors leaves a lot of us bewildered as the logic behind it. In the area that I live R&R convenience, Mikes Mini Mart, EZ mini Mart and all the others are closed. These were locally owned shops where the poor, and not so poor, could get a little credit until the NIS cheque arrives, when the Post Office reopens, and walk a short distance home in the fresh air.

Now these people have to get an occasional bus to Massy in Oistins, and mix with those in the shop and be infected not only by the current shoppers but those who were there one or two hours ago. Are you telling us that it is safer for a person, who does not have a car, to catch a ZR and travel to Oistins to get a few items than to visit the corner shop?

The word that I have heard from more than one person is that in the last shut down the Major Supermarkets lost a lot of revenue because people switched to minimarts and a lot of way side vendors started. Is the way to make sure that the large foreign owned companies got more of the pie? It certainly seems so.

You have closed them on weekends so their overall sales will increase and their overheads will decrease. Bajans have been very good in following the new rules, and rightfully so, but there is a growing undercurrent of frustration and if the government is not careful there will be mass disobedience. This will hurt everyone. I hope that you can take a pause and consider the additional hardships you are causing a lot of Barbadians.

Thank you. I am a proud Bajan and supporter of the BL&P in the last few elections.

725 responses to “To BLP Administration: Re. Covid 19 protocols”

  1. David Avatar
    David

    Vaccine priority blues
    AS SEVERAL POLYCLINICS grapple with the COVID-19 vaccination process, some Barbadians are complaining that other services at the polyclinics are either delayed or are being postponed until next week.
    Several people who contacted the DAILY NATION said they were being turned away from appointments or were forced to wait several hours at the polyclinic because the COVID-19 vaccinations were being given priority.
    A 70-year-old wheelchairbound woman, waiting to be seen for her regular appointment, said she waited for hours at the Maurice Byer Polyclinic last week.
    “I got here at 7:30 in the morning and I had to wait outside among all of the people who turned up to be vaccinated,” she said, adding that she never left the clinic until 3 p.m.
    Two pregnant women who had appointments at the antenatal clinics at the Branford Taitt Polyclinic at Black Rock, St Michael and the Glebe Polyclinic in St George said they were both turned away.
    “I went to Black Rock on Monday and I was informed that they were not seeing any antenatal patients for two weeks and that I would have to telephone the clinic at the end of next week to get an appointment.
    Clinic closed
    The other woman who is three months pregnant said she was informed by a nurse at the Glebe to call back on Monday because the antenatal clinic was closed.
    “The nurse told me they were only dealing with vaccinations. I told her that I was not feeling good and she advised me to go to Sir Winston Scott or a private doctor. This is not good enough because my notes are at the Glebe. How could they only be dealing with vaccinations at this time when they were saying that they have all of these additional nurses to do the vaccinations. I thought it was going to be a separate exercise from what was happening at the polyclinics,” the woman cried.
    Others have been complaining about the long waits and delays on radio call-in programmes.
    When contacted, Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Kenneth George said the Glebe, Edgar Cochrane and the St Philip polyclinics were only conducting vaccinations at this time.
    Barbados began rolling out its vaccine programme two weeks ago with 50 000 doses to be administered. So far, more than 22 000 people have been innoculated. (MB)

    Source: Nation

  2. David Avatar
    David

    Atherley: Govt losing Covid-19 battle
    by COLVILLE MOUNSEY
    colvillemounsey@nationnews.com
    OPPOSITION LEADER Bishop Joseph Atherley is charging that the Mia Amor Mottleyled Government is losing the battle with COVID-19 on several fronts.
    In a scathing critique of the COVID-19 mitigation effort thus far, Atherley said, among other things, that Government had “lost the capacity to ascertain the extent of the spread and counter that spread”.
    “Government has lost perspective. This is negatively affecting its strategising on the matter while inducing an undesirable level of adhocism. Government’s overemphasis on protecting the Barbados brand, as they put it a few weeks ago, while continuing to expose the people and the country itself to the more virulent and contagious variants of the virus coming through our airport out of the United Kingdom and Europe. When it comes down to a matter of lives or livelihoods, life is always priority number one,” he said.
    Atherley further argued that the approach to lockdowns and curfews does not sufficiently take into consideration the dynamics of poverty as they relate particularly to the density or size of urban housing, or the culture around urban village life.
    He said Government is also losing the confidence of sections of the community of health professionals, noting that while this was par for the course to some degree in a health crisis, it was a situation that could not be allowed to fester due to the limited pool of resources.
    Cannot lose confidence
    “That this occurs to some degree in any situation of public health threat is normal and expected. It is happening in both the US and UK at the moment. But Barbados, with its
    current health demographic profile, inadequate resources, limited pool of health professionals with opinions constrained by bureaucracy and or ethics, cannot afford the loss of confidence in Government strategy by our health experts to the extent to which I am informed is the case now.”
    He also accused Government of not being fully transparent regarding the true state of play on the impact of the deadly virus.
    “This Government thrives on properly managing the optics, the public relations and controlling the message. Repeatedly with success, it has done this, until now. Its messaging now has become muddled. Its voice wreaks of pretended certainty and assurance. Truth has been too often delayed. Information unearthed and then responded to rather than being forthrightly offered. Offence taken at reasonable and responsible media query,” he said.
    As for the economy, Atherley said that the management of it during the COVID-19 crisis had given Barbadians little in terms of confidence that the boisterous economic seas were being properly navigated.
    He noted that several of Government’s signature initiatives, which include the Barbados Optional Savings Scheme (BOSS) and the Barbados Employment and Sustainable Transformation (BEST) programme had failed to deliver.
    “COVID as a serious public threat has also exacerbated an already bad economic situation for us. In the absence of private sector economic activity, there would have been increased reliance on Government capital spending, some private capital input, as well as social welfare assistance initiatives to help offset total economic calamity. Government’s BOSS initiative has failed to deliver, its BEST is being returned to the drawing board, its capital spend restricted and private capital enterprise stalled. Much of its promised support to economic sectors
    remain in the realm of promise,” he said.


    Source: Nation

  3. David Avatar
    David

    Overbooking causes chaos at Winston Scott Polyclinic
    THERE WAS MASS confusion at the Winston Scott Polyclinic yesterday as scores of people visited the Ladymeade, St Michael facility for the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
    When a DAILY NATION team visited the area around noon, more than 50 people were blocking the entrance of the polyclinic.
    There was no social distancing, a required health protocol to fight the COVID-19 virus. Some people were sitting on the pavement, while others stood with umbrellas in hand to provide shade from the sun and shelter from intermittent rainfall.
    People complained about the hours it took for them to be processed and at some points tempers flared with one man saying: “This is ridiculous. I don’t understand what is taking so long.”
    An elderly man in his 70s, who did not want to give his name, said his appointment was for 10 a.m. and he was standing outside since 9:30 a.m.
    He said: “Up here is so confusing because a
    lot of people who did not make appointments came down here and messed up the flow of things, putting pressure on the staff.
    “I was to come here Sunday for 2 p.m. but they called and reschedule for me to come Wednesday, so it is a must that I get through,” he said.
    Later that day, the retiree said he was called into the polyclinic around 2:10 p.m.
    where he had to wait for a while before the vaccine was administered. He left at 3:15 p.m.
    In Tuesday’s edition of the DAILY NATION, head of the COVID Communications Unit, Ambassador Elizabeth Thompson said the COVID-19 Immunisation Unit would be rolling out a new application and appointment system to improve the vaccination process.
    Over the weekend, on radio programmes and on social media, Barbadians, especially the elderly, shared their frustrations about not being able to receive the injection because of a flawed system
    that seemed to be overlooking some of those who made appointments.
    (SB)

    Source: Nation

  4. David Avatar
    David

    Travel concern
    Fears region could miss out on pent-up demand
    WITH FORWARD holiday bookings on the increase following Britain’s announcement that their restrictions on international travel is slated to be lifted on May 17 while all lockdown restrictions will be removed June 21, the region is being warned they could miss out on this pent-up demand for travel, due to uncertainties in a number of jurisdictions.
    This was the consensus among four veterans in the international tourism marketing sector, who during a panel discussion hosted by the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), lamented that there were simply too many unknowns among regional destinations as it related to what degree they would be open.
    One such view was espoused by managing director of Resort Marketing International, Colin Pegler, who cautioned that unless the fears of tourists are allayed regarding concerns over issues such as quarantine and opened borders, destinations such as Mexico were waiting in the wings to fill the void.
    He revealed that 48 hours after United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson made the announcement, bookings had gone through the roof, mainly for the cheaper Mediterranean beach-type stays.
    “Be proactive, be open, be visible, these are the most important things right now.
    The Caribbean is a crucial region for so many markets.
    For the American and Canadian market, it is a way of escaping right in their own backyard while the British and the European market share incredible cultural links that go back many centuries,” explained Pegler.
    He added: “There is a pentup demand, people want to go, but at the moment there is a fear factor of just what you are going to get when you get to those islands. Are you going to be welcomed?
    Are you going to get put in a quarantine hotel? If these islands want to benefit from the surge of bookings that we are now receiving, they are going to have to be welcoming otherwise the business is going to go to places like Mexico. If you look at the boxes that tourists tick, it is sunshine, great accommodation, cultural activities and there are other places that offer those things.”
    Barbados was not singled out in the comments but a number of the concerns raised fit within the ambit of the current protocols, which include a mandatory quarantine, release from which is contingent upon receipt of a second negative PCR test. Up to the beginning of this year the lab encountered logistical issues resulting in a severe backlog, which resulted in some persons having to spend double-digit days in quarantine, which for some was the duration of the entire vacation. As a result, Government took the decision to compensate individuals for their extended stay in quarantine while offering a return ticket to some tourists who were unable to leave their rooms.
    Vivian Mur, vice president of Cruise and Leisure Sales said uncertainties of this nature would factor when people plan their
    future vacation in anticipation that the restrictions in their home jurisdictions would soon be lifted. She argued that the region needed to get out front of these concerns with a marketing strategy that addresses these uncertainties. “We need to feed that funnel now, we need to go after those people who are thinking of vacation right now, all the way down to those who are ready to travel right now. Millennials are truly picking up and travelling. They are not as safety conscious as the older population. . . . The competition has changed for the Caribbean, in the past it used to be other tropical destinations, now the new competition seems to be a local beach in the summer, or it is going to be the state of Florida. So we really need to look a things differently,” she said. (CLM)

    Source: Nation

  5. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    Here is a deceptive defence of an abuse of office by the chief magistrate, by a senior prosecutor. The claim that msot other offenders were fined also ignores that most of them were tourists and white.
    The Jamaican was not fined. The chief magistrate made an assessment that he could not afford any fine, so he sent him to jail.
    The correct procedure was to fine the man, and if he failed to pay within the set time, then other punishments should be considered.
    Even if he were right that the man could not afford the fine, that does not mean a good Samaritan would not step in and pay for him.
    Our criminal justice system is not fit for purpose and many of the office holders need urgent re-training.

    Here is the extract from the Nation: “However, Senior Crown Counsel Oliver Thomas argued the Chief Magistrate has always been consistent in his approach to sentencing quarantine breakers and it just happened that all the others were in positions to pay fines…..(Quote)

    How disgraceful.

  6. John A Avatar
    John A

    Let me say here that i agree with the author of this article 100%

    I too agreed with how the goverment was handling the virus up to the end of December. From there it was all down hill to me and I say that based on the below facts and not political fiction.

    The more contagious strains raised their heads in October 2020 with the one in South Africa and the other in the UK shortly after. Our borders should have been closed as a result from January 1st.

    Then we move to the fiasco of the lockdown, where the whole island was forced to shop at a handful of outlets on only 5 days a week. So what did that mean? Well you took thousands of people who instead of being able to shop at say 200 outlets both large and small island wide 7 days a week, were now crammed Into shopping at a handful of outlets only 5 days a week. To make it worst wunna then reduced the hours hence increasing the shopping density in terms of crowd. Then you wonder why the long lines? Who with 2 grains of common sense could of expected any different? But wunna wasn’t done there.

    You then said wunna work from home and proceeded to close every computer supply store and every cellular outlet on the island. So pray that the computer or cell phone didn’t break down in the 4 week work from home period. Now the balls up ain’t done there either, no please. The cargo sheds full now of imported goods too, cause remember customs was only clearing emergency items so wumma got 4 weeks of cargo to clear and unpack. So let me give wunna my score card.

    Handling of virus up to December 2020 wunna get a B+. But be Christ between January 1st and February month end wunna hold a F.

  7. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ John A

    By leaving opened the borders the government was putting the nation at unnecessary risk. Lives before livelihood.

  8. John A Avatar
    John A

    @ Hal

    Yes and what was the result of the lockdown in the end? The economy lost over $150 million dollars they claim. I also woukd not be surprised to see a spike in cases now based on the massive crowds that were forced into the handful of open businesses, which were operating on reduced hours.

    To me the whole thing was poorly thought out and a knee jerk reaction based on panic, which started when the prison outbreak presented itself.

    I keep saying that book smart ain’t street smart. There is the theory of what they thought would happen and then there was the logistics of increased shopping density due to a reduction in establishments open. So if I needed a bulb instead of going at the corner shop or hardware with low density, I was forced to go and get in a long ass line at Massy or pricemart and expose myself to hundreds of potential carriers, as opposed to maybe 6 at the corner shop.

    Total and complete madness. But i don’t just blame the goverment. No please, the spineless chamber of commerce got to hold piece too. Cause instead of saying yes maam and bowing the head in silence, they had a right to speak out and explain the folly of the plan to both goverment and the general public. So F In dem tail too!

  9. John A Avatar
    John A

    Also wunna can brace for price increases over the next few weeks based on storage fees and demure charges that the goods sitting down at the ports are racking up. Even if goverment was to wave the storage fees, the demure charges will still bite based on the fact that these are out of goverment s control.

  10. angela cox Avatar
    angela cox

    Doc invited
    PM MOTTLEY WILLING TO TALK WITH CRITIC
    A Barbadian molecular biologist with expertise in gene therapy research to treat rare diseases has penned a harsh rebuke of the Mia Mottley administration’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak, prompting the Prime Minister to invite the researcher to meet with her.
    In an opinion column for the non-profit Antillean Media Group, Dr Melissa Goddard, an expert in molecular biology, physiology and pharmacology, sided with the Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners (BAMP) which has been at odds with Government over some COVID-19 policies.
    Dr Goddard made clear that despite the clinicians’ warnings, Barbados maintained a “too-short two-day quarantine” for incoming travellers and inadequate testing protocols when the borders remained opened last July.
    In response, Mottley said she does not “necessarily agree” with the research scientist but declared she has no intention of “rubbishing any perspective or idea” from Barbadians at home or in the Diaspora.
    Mottley said: “We want to hear the views of our people, whether resident here or abroad. We will listen. We are in this together and I have always said that many hands make light work. I want to see all views contending as the country grapples with COVID-19 and the range of health, social and economic issues that it has spawned.
    “In relation to an article I recently read, which was penned by Dr Melissa Goddard, I must confess that while I don’t necessarily agree, I believe she has a perspective that needs to be heard. I wish to use this opportunity to invite her to meet with me in the near future, so I can hear what she has to say in greater detail.”
    In the article, titled COVID surge in Barbados points to policy failures, Dr Goddard said: “When the primary concern should have been to prevent the importation of new cases, the decision was made to institute a too short two-day quarantine for incoming travellers, far below the then scientificallyestablished standard of two weeks.”
    Dr Goddard continued: “Reports on how difficult it was to keep tourists in isolation flooded the region, raising questions about the ability to effectively curtail the movement of potentially infectious visitors. Still, authorities resisted change, insisting that two negative qPCR COVID tests – one prior to travel and a second at the exit of quarantine – were an adequate countermeasure.”
    She raised concerns that the negative tests, together with a short quarantine which was later extended to five days, raised the possibility of false-negative tests a person can have and transmit COVID-19.
    Dr Goddard’s central criticism was the reliance on testing incoming travellers while failing to carry out “regular, widespread testing of the local population”. She suggested that Government must ramp up testing of the population and deliver effective and concise communication to the public.
    But Prime Minister Mottley declared Wednesday that not much could be gained from focusing on the “rearview mirror” as she turns her attention to Government’s vaccination campaign which has so far seen over 22,000 people receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine.
    Mottley said: “In a week’s time, I am confident that I will be in a position to give Barbadians even better news as it relates to that. So, I look forward to meeting with Dr Goddard and hearing her perspective – whether virtually or actual face-toface.
    “Barbadians in the Diaspora are Barbadians, and the position of this Government is that they have a role to play in the developmental process of this island. So, we welcome their views and perspectives and will create the right mechanism or facility where their voices can be heard, and their views analysed by persons in decision-making positions in Barbados.”
    Since obtaining her PhD in Physiology and Pharmacology from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, Dr Goddard has led research studies at Genethon, a French not-forprofit research centre that was created by France’s Muscular Dystrophy Association (AFM). Généthon is now a centre for global preclinical and clinical research and development in the field of gene therapy, with a goal to deliver gene therapies to patients with rare diseases, particularly neuromuscular diseases like muscular dystrophy. (SD/PMO)

  11. angela cox Avatar
    angela cox

    Meanwhile govt officials are at there wits end
    People who have been tested awaits results and are being told to go home and quarantine
    There are barbadians as well as Caricom nationals who are living on the island whose home might not have adequate living spacious arrangements hence returning to their homes would increase the spread of the virus
    That is another area where govt protocols failed in not recognizing human conditions actively involved with the virus and the power with which the virus hold for contamination

  12. angela cox Avatar
    angela cox

    Meanwhile on the economic scale
    Questions of govt having to secure three times the Astrazena vaccine for the populace
    A massive financial feat which govt once started must complete to secure the safety of all citizens

  13. David Avatar
    David

    @John A

    Your position is supported by the Grenada experience. The shut down because of the Sandals flare up in December which coincided with increased tourist traffic and appearance of the UK variant.

  14. David Avatar
    David

    @John A

    After harming on the missteps where do we go from here?

    Cant the government waive port fees?

  15. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    @5:22
    It is well established that our system of justice is not blind. Our ponderous and indecisive system often reacts with alacrity when confronted with the less fortunate in our society.

    Sadly, though this has been pointed out on several occasions, this type of behavior remains unchanged .

    It is amazing how we can educate someone from cradle to university and at the end of the process, we end up with someone best suited for a much earlier time.

  16. John Avatar
    John

    If the virus is in the water supply at one single pumping station in any concentration that raises the possibility of a single consumer being affected, community spread will do the rest.

    The concentration levels in the underground water around the pumping station will rise because no lock down can be imposed on bowel movements.

    The result is a reservoir of the virus that continues to infect localised members of the population from whom it will spread by the accepted method of contagion to many others.

    It will never go away until the water supply is addressed.

    It is the exact same problem every country in the world faces.

    We can spend time like other researchers searching for it in water samples and perhaps finding it like other researchers in the world or perhaps not.

    Or, we can lock down the most obvious possible offender, the “desal” plant and ensure it upgrades its treatment to reduce even further the possibility of the virus being spread.

    We can contract experts from Singapore to come and advise us in our water treatment as they have got it right.

    Once the virus is in the sewage it will be in the underground water, this is a simple un-controvertible fact.

    No lock down will ever work, in fact it could make the situation worse by increasing the sewage load on pumping stations.

  17. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ Angela,

    The president is not a scientist, yet she is disputing a scientific opinion; while at the same time, she is resorting to her old modus operandi of inviting the young lady for a meeting, the seduction tactic.
    Here is a page from her play book: Dr Goddard will be invited to a meeting; she will be offered a position and a title; then the president will issue a statement saying how well it went – that is setting the agenda, since she would have closed down Dr Goddard by giving her a job.
    It is n old trick, which the president seems to think works.

  18. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    David

    Guvment getting some hot licks at home and abroad!

    Not unexpectedly. This covid crisis on top of an economic recession was always destined to be a political minefield even with 29 plus 1 in parliament.

    In these circumstances a feckless population is more likely to swing the pendulum in an opposite direction, in 2 years. At least resurrect the position ante.

  19. John Avatar
    John

    The appearance of esoteric new variants and the spread of the virus, whether it is variants or not, are two completely separate and distinct issues.

    How many of the “cases” in Barbados are of the new variants and how many are of the old type?

    Who in Barbados can even differentiate?

    The point is it does not matter.

    All that matters is that there is a mechanism that allows the virus to spread.

    Lockdowns have not worked.

    Time to consider other means of virus spread.

    “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.

  20. David Avatar
    David

    How one country battled the virus.

    India was in crisis months ago. Why have its Covid cases plummeted?

    https://cnn.it/3bCneXR

  21. David Avatar
    David

    @Pacha

    We got complacent.

  22. John Avatar
    John

    There was an outbreak of Typhoid in the Mile and a Quarter area in 1917.

    With no epidemiologists or experts the source was traced to a single source of water in the Farmer’s Gully.

    It was shut down and the outbreak ceased.

    This is not rocket science.

  23. David Avatar
    David

    @John

    Does it matter? We know the UK variant is present and we know it is virulent.

  24. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    Confusion everywhere. UK is a total mess. Whites will soon start running for their lives, the ones who can get away. Now Jamaica.

    https://www.facebook.com/116087685213012/posts/1922247691263660/?sfnsn=scwspwa

  25. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    David
    Sorry to hear that. Barbados could not have afforded the luxury of complacency.

    Maybe, economic pressures played a role as well.

  26. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ John A

    Forget the nonsense about what the economy has lost. It is like the police claiming they have seized drugs worth millions. It is fiction.
    If an unproductive person has been placed in lockdown, the employer cannot claim that they lost any amount of money. Unproductive when the factory was opened, unproductive when placed in lockdown.
    This is a brief summary of the government failed management of the virus. In the early days they thought they were invincible and kept the borders opened, mainly under pressure from hoteliers and mandarins; then as the numbers increased they panicked over what was a cluster and what community spread.
    Then they tried blaming a bus crawl, prison officers, people under quarantine who refused to obey the protocols, then they blamed ordinary Bajans, especially limers and small shop keepers. Shifting the blame became the official policy.
    Now there is the propaganda of the vaccine and the implied belief that this will eradicate the virus. It will do no such thing. All the vaccine will do is reduce the harm the virus can do. Instead of a victim having to go in to hospital ICU, they will treat the virus as the same as a common cold.
    Had there been a lockdown in the early days of the virus, March/April, it would have created a circuit breaker, giving government an opportunity to measure the extent of the spread.
    Policy would then have flowed from that early outcome and lives would have been saved.. We are where we are now and I suggest a complete relaunch under the direction of the governor general, with the support of all civic and uniformed leaders and of the main opposition parties.
    The emergency legislation should also be amended to control the abusive and out of control magistrates, by imposing mandatory fines and sentences.

  27. John Avatar
    John

    Incidentally, underground water from that source in Farmer’s Gully is extracted today from Trent’s pumping station, well downstream.

    The zoning regulations ensure bacteria has far enough to travel to ensure their concentrations levels have fallen to acceptable levels.

    As a final coup de grace, the water is chlorinated and any remaining bacteria is killed.

    Typhoid is thus a disease of the past.

    Viruses from what I am reading are different and respond differently to chlorination.

    They may appear at the pumping station at Trents but do so in concentrations which are tiny because the zoning regulations ensure a large volume of water reaches the pumping station before any is extracted.

    The desal plant has no such zoning regulations around its pumping station.

    Housing densities are high around it.

    It is assumed that the reverse osmosis process overcome this impediment.

    Get some experts here who know.

  28. David Avatar
    David

    @Pacha

    A good opinion is we lack the discipline at all levels to have been able to sustain a relevant/fit for purpose policy/behaviour. In this regard we are not alone.

  29. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    So it never occurred to the “experts” that one or two clinics should be DESIGNATED SOLELY for the elderly, who should have home visits anyway….and pediatric and other cases that will still be around LONG AFTER THE VIRUS….faux experts.

  30. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    Mia is in trouble and she knows it. She should seek advice from the medical experts, listen to everyone and use their ideas to get out of this mess. India had other things going on, so their infection rate dropped significantly without the vaccine.

  31. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    There is no greater mismanagement of Covid than that exhibited by Boris Johnson.

    And the ugly man from England could cuss Mugabe daily but not one fecking word about Boris Johnson who represented a more immediate threat to the useless life of Halton Austin than Mugabe ever will.

    So we surmise that these ad hominem attacks on Mugabe derive from a vengeance properly located within. a perverse self-hatred.

  32. David Avatar
    David

    The recovery likely isn’t due to vaccinations, either. India has started its vaccination program, with the goal of inoculating 300 million people by August, but it’s still lagging compared to wealthier nations. So far, the country has administered less than one dose per 100 people, according to Our World In Data, a data aggregation website run by researchers at the University of Oxford.

  33. David Avatar
    David

    “large numbers of people exposed to infection and thus protected,” said Shahid Jameel, a virologist and director of Ashoka University’s Trivedi School of Biosciences.
    Researchers are still studying Covid-19 and how its immunity works. But a US study published in Science earlier this month suggested that after contracting the virus and developing antibodies, patients could be protected against catching it again for at least eight months.
    India has reported more than 11 million cases and 156,000 deaths since the pandemic started, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

  34. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    David 07:26

    Agreed. We see the same trendlines almost everywhere.

  35. WURA-War-on-U Avatar
    WURA-War-on-U

    “There is no greater mismanagement of Covid than that exhibited by Boris Johnson.”

    cousin Boris nearly killed his own self playing fast and loose with a deadly virus.

    what countries have to stay on top of is the influx of white british people running for their lives…there is so much more going on. Pacha… it’s bad.

  36. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    This is not a cultural trait unique to Bajans and their leadership. Unlike what stinking Halton Austin would have weak-minded people believe.

    It’s human. But even that is contested.

  37. John A Avatar
    John A

    @ David

    On the fees from the delay In clearance at the port here is how it works.

    Once goods land You have 5 working days to clear them or the storage fees cut in. Now the storage fees are charged by the port so the MOF can appeal to the port to consider waiving a percentage of these charges.

    The demure charges however is nothing to do with the port but is the shipping line charge. So let’s say you brought down a 20 ft container of goods, the shipping line basically rents you the container with the understanding that if the container is not returned in 5 days you start paying demure charges. These charges on a 20 ft container over 30 days can run into hundreds and for a 40ft thousands of dollars. It is that charge the importers will have to pay even if the storage is discounted. Also remember even if the port opens Monday the backlog of containers must be cleared, so an importer could find himself having to pay thousands in demure charges on a single container.

    As i said i blame the spineless chamber of commerce for not making a stand on this lockdown. They behaved like a bunch of 10 year old alter boys obeying a priest! They failed miserably in representing the interest of their memebers and the general public, who sadly are the end consumers and will bear the brunt of the higher cost of imports now.

    As i said there is enough blame for all them involved to hold piece.

  38. John Avatar
    John

    DavidFebruary 25, 2021 7:41 AM

    “large numbers of people exposed to infection and thus protected,” said Shahid Jameel, a virologist and director of Ashoka University’s Trivedi School of Biosciences.
    Researchers are still studying Covid-19 and how its immunity works. But a US study published in Science earlier this month suggested that after contracting the virus and developing antibodies, patients could be protected against catching it again for at least eight months.
    India has reported more than 11 million cases and 156,000 deaths since the pandemic started, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    … and of course there is the issue of water supply.

    India has cholera and a host of other diseases which are spread by water!!

  39. John Avatar
    John

    PachamamaFebruary 25, 2021 7:56 AM

    David 07:26

    Agreed. We see the same trendlines almost everywhere.

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Except of course Singapore and New Zealand who do have control of their water supply.

  40. angela cox Avatar
    angela cox

    COVID-19 Vaccine May Cause This Alarming Side Effect In Women
    KEY POINTS
    The coronavirus vaccine may cause swollen lymph nodes
    The side effects mirror signs of breast cancer
    Experts recommend taking a mammogram before getting a shot or four weeks after the second dose
    For more breaking global news visit IBTimes.com

    https://www.ibtimes.com/covid-19-vaccine-may-cause-alarming-side-effect-women-i-panicked-3151686

  41. John Avatar
    John

    Some of the waterborne diseases in India!!!

    https://www.indiawaterportal.org/faqs/waterborne#:~:text=Waterborne%20diseases%20such%20as%20cholera,viral%20hepatitis%2C%20typhoid%20and%20cholera.

  42. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    John
    Certainly. We said almost. But even if those two countries relaxed behaviours the trendlines seen elsewhere are likely to appear in them as well.

  43. John Avatar
    John

    However here is the silver lining for India!!

    https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/02/01/962821038/the-mystery-of-indias-plummeting-covid-19-cases

    … and it has all the medical, immunological and epidemiological experts baffled!!

    “They’re trying to figure out what Indians may be doing right and how to mimic that in other countries that are still suffering.

    “It’s the million-dollar question. Obviously, the classic public health measures are working: Testing has increased, people are going to hospitals earlier and deaths have dropped,” says Genevie Fernandes, a public health researcher with the Global Health Governance Programme at the University of Edinburgh. “But it’s really still a mystery. It’s very easy to get complacent, especially because many parts of the world are going through second and third waves. We need to be on our guard.”

    Scholars are examining India’s mask mandates and public compliance, as well as its climate, its demographics and patterns of diseases that typically circulate in the country.”

    Maybe people are boiling their water!!

  44. Ricardo Avatar
    Ricardo

    Quarantine = Death of Tourism and end of Barbados

    https://barbadostoday.bb/2021/02/25/re-visit-quarantine-to-welcome-vaccinated-visitors/

    Mur said the Caribbean was still lagging when it came to interest from international travellers seeking destinations to visit, adding that a lot of them were seeking places that had less restrictions and good prices.

    All this nonsense about negative covid 19 test and asking for vaccinated toursists is a joke. Mexico and Costa Rica have NO PCR test requirement. Every American and Canadian will be flying there.
    Not to mention I find it quite humorous that a country such as Barbados would have a policy of asking for tourists to have a vaccine, BUT in the local population only 60-70% of people will take it. What is good for the goose should be good for the gander?

  45. John A Avatar
    John A

    @ Ricardo

    The road we should be looking to travel when we reopen is a simple one.

    Vaccinated travellers only who must be fully vaccinated ( 2 shots or more if booster required) a minimum of 14 days prior to travel.

    A rapid test administered at airport on arrival with all negative allowed to go in without quarantine. All positive will be quarantined pending a confirmation of status by a lab test. Mask wearing and protocols to be adhered to by all with serious fines in place.

    The country can bear no more lock downs and set backs. We must now go forward and learn to exist with the virus as it is going no where in any hurry.

  46. ks Avatar
    ks

    Despite the PM, General Bostic, the AG, Auntie Liz, & the rest of government machinery trying their best … too many ‘bad calls’ are being made….. many outlined (above) by previous comments.

    It would appear that rules & guidelines are not trickling down properly, and the result is confusion.

    Why should I stay at home, for weeks, waiting for a call to tell me my “vaccine appointment is at 10:00am tomorrow at the Polyclinic”? ….. when I can simply go to the Polyclinic and get the vaccine done, WITHOUT AN APPOINTMENT !!!

    Covid is now spreading within the homes, not by walking on the beach, jogging, riding bike, swimming, driving in my car, etc…… yet we now addressing the home quarantine problem, according to Mr. Alvin Hart, Manager of COVID-19 Quarantine Facilities. Well, Mr. Hart. the horse already bolted!!

    Try and sort out the vaccination confusion and open-up various businesses to reduce high density of shoppers.

  47. Ricardo Avatar
    Ricardo

    This article is spot on. Closing open air fruit vendors and fish vendors and forcing people to go into an airconditioned price smart or massey is just baffling.

    Regarding India, there is no magic. What you are seeing are the Covid propoganda health czars who have been telling you to mask up, social distance and other nonsense is their Denial of the truth and reality…….HERD/POPULATION IMMUNITY. India never had a real lockdown and since June the country is completely open, daily farmer protests with tens of thousands of people, a mass Hindu Festival that drew MILLIONS – not one person with a useless mask or social distancing.

    The health nazis can’t admit that sars-cov2 is a cold virus like any other and you will get population immunity in a few months by not telling people to hide in their rooms from others.

    And after their mask and social distance nonsense is debunked they have to push the vaccine to countries that did lock people in their rooms, and they don’t want to tell them all they had to do was go outside and get the natural infection and 99.99% of the entire population would be fine….but there is a buck to be made on the vaccine now so thats the final health nazi propaganda piece.

  48. Ricardo Avatar
    Ricardo

    @ks, well sort of right….more like open everything up, stores and schools. Use your seek and save and 40 thousand anti-gen tests to monitor older and vulnerable people if they get the sniffles and put actual sick people in isolation and treat them.
    Let everyone else live life and get natural immunity or go get the vaccine if they so choose.
    Covid crisis would be over in 2 months guaranteed with full island immunized natural or vax.

  49. John A Avatar
    John A

    Also incorporate the private doctors Into the vaccination process. Let those that can afford to pay and choose to pay go to their GP’S TO administer the vaccine. One would pay for the doctors services but the actual vaccination would be free.

    This would ease the load on the policlinics and give those that go there less of a wait.

    Lord wunna start thinking it ain’t rocket science.

  50. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @ John A

    And those who cannot or do not want to pay?

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