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BU Covid Dash – Getting Back to Normal

Enclosed are the updated charts for the week ending 18th February. All the charts, except Daily deaths, are moving strongly in the right direction but have not yet reached a level where victory can be claimed. Government is initiating a new phase in the epidemic from next week but there is a new Omicron based…

Enclosed are the updated charts for the week ending 18th February. All the charts, except Daily deaths, are moving strongly in the right direction but have not yet reached a level where victory can be claimed. Government is initiating a new phase in the epidemic from next week but there is a new Omicron based variant that needs to be watched closely to ensure that we can quickly pivot and institute any new or modified measures necessary. Government should also look closely at the efficacy of the Vaccination options being used. (Source: Lyall Small)

 

 

197 responses to “BU Covid Dash – Getting Back to Normal”

  1. Vincent Codrington Avatar
    Vincent Codrington

    @ GP
    I concur. In our hymns as well we can monitor the evolution of Man’s perception of God over the centuries/millennia.

  2. Tron Avatar
    Tron

    @Cuhdear BajanFebruary 20, 2022 5:27 PM

    It is high statesmanship to credit our government with all successes and to find a scapegoat for every failure.

  3. David Avatar
    David

    Cases falling!

    —————-

    New COVID cases fall below 200

    https://www.nationnews.com/2022/02/20/new-covid-cases-fall-200/

  4. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    ” New COVID cases fall below 200 ”

    ” As of Saturday, February 19, 190 people tested positive for COVID-19 from 1 050 .”

    https://www.nationnews.com/2022/02/20/new-covid-cases-fall-200/

    A total of 255 people tested positive for COVID-19 from 1 386 tests. on Friday, February 18,

  5. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    @ David,

    Number of tests fell too.

  6. David Avatar
    David

    @Hants

    If people do not feel they have symptoms to present themselves for testing could be the other interpretation.

  7. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    This is a teachable moment.

    To be fair, we were provided with both the number of events and the number of tests. However, placing a heavy emphasis on the number of positive cases is slightly misleading.
    For illustration only
    255/1386 (18.4%)
    190/1050(18.1%)
    As you can see there is little difference in the percentages. When they tell you only five positive cases, you should also look at the denominator..

  8. GP Avatar
    GP

    VINCENT
    THE ORIGINAL BRETHREN WHO CAME OUT OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH BROUGHT THE LOVELY ANGLICAN HYMN TUNES WITH THEM, BUT I WANT TO PUNISH THEM SEVERELY FOR NOT BRINGING THE PSALMS WIT THEM ALSO. THERE IS NOTHING LIKE THE PROPER POINTING OF A PSALM…ABSOLUTELY NOTHING

    I DONT LIKE SOME OF THE NEW WORDS SET TO SOME OF THE OLD TUNES I AM HEARING. THEY JUST DO NOT REACH THE GRANDEUR OF THE OLD HYMNS…..MANY OF WHICH ARE VERY GOOD PARAPHRASES OF SCRIPTURE

    THE HIGH CHRISTOLOGY HYMNS IN A & M ARE IMPECABLY PRISTINE
    I HAVE BEEN ANNOYED LISTENING TO FEAST OF TITLE AT CH CH CH AND NOT HEARING ‘AT THE NAME OF JESUS’ BASED ON PHIL 2.11
    ALSO HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY HAVE FEAST OF TITLE AT ST PAUL’S AND DONT SING WE SING THE GLORIOUS CONQUEST BASED FIRMLY ON ACTS 9, AND AT LEAST TWO OTHER PLACES WHERE PAUL RECOUNTED HIS CONVERSION EXPERIENCE.
    SIR THESE ARE NOT MEMORIES THAT CAN EASILY BE ERASED. I GUESS AND A I JOHNSON AND FC PEMBERTON MUST ROLL IN THEIR GRAVES.

    I WAS TELLING SOME FOLK IN A BIBLE READING LAST WEDNESDAY EVENING THAT I HAD NO IDEA HOW IMPORTANT THAT FIRST NIGHT MY GRANNY TOOK ME THROUGH THE SIDE WALL AT ST PAULS TO PATRONAL FESTIVAL. THAT NIGHT AT ABOUT AGE 5 0R 6, I HAD MY VERY FIRST AMBITION IN LIFE (achieved at st lawrence at age *) TO BE A CHOIR BOY. I HAD NO IDEA HOW MANY CHURCH CHOIRS I WOULD GET TO LEAD IN SEVERAL COUNTRIES IN MY LIFE AS A RESULT OF THAT SIGHT OF FELLOW BLACK BOYS ADORNED IN THIER LIILY WHITE ELIZABETHAN CHOIRS.

  9. Lawson Avatar
    Lawson

    The world seems to be moving on from the covid crisis and are going to live with it like the flu .To be fair there is a bigger issue right now with Russia, if this caustic banter keeps up between Russia and the USA….how are Nancy Pelosi and Maxine Watters going to have their weekly access to Lenin’s embalmer.

  10. Tony Avatar
    Tony

    COVID ain’t prejudice…?

    The Queen has tested positive for Covid and is experiencing mild cold-like symptoms, Buckingham Palace has announced.

    Your Majesty, 95, expects to continue to carry out light duties at Windsor this week despite the diagnosis.

    A statement said: ‘Buckingham Palace confirm that The Queen has today tested positive for Covid.

  11. John Avatar
    John

    HantsFebruary 20, 2022 5:46 PM

    @ David,

    Number of tests fell too.

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

    Probably find number of visitors returning fell too!!

    Maybe the British Government changed it’s requirements for testing.

  12. John Avatar
    John

    I doubt Britain will be getting back to normal anytime soon.

    Floods!!

    Probably see COVID cases rise in the area affected by the flood in 3 or 4 weeks.

    The water supply will probably be contaminated by sewage and there may well be some other esoteric disease found to be spreading which will be identified as another mutation.

    https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/river-bursts-banks-homes-evacuated-and-trains-are-cancelled-as-third-named-storm-in-a-week-hits-uk/ar-AAU6Eg1?ocid=msedgntp

  13. John Avatar
    John

    Our COVID numbers are determined by Floods, either locally or in countries from which our visitors come.

    … and the Visitors COVID numbers are determined by floods in their own countries.

    Fix the water!!

    https://imgur.com/qsvKoEY

  14. Tron Avatar
    Tron

    @ David February 20, 2022 5:43 PM

    Of course, the numbers are falling because all residents are now either vaccinated or naturally immunised.

    What a great success for our Supreme Leader! She has once again done everything right, thanks to a clever combination of a low vaccination rate and lax Corona measures.

    I therefore strongly recommend our government to lift ALL Corona measures within the country from March at the latest and to settle for a vaccination certificate OR a Corona test when entering the country. Then a fabulous economic upswing is assured for us.

    Tron, year 1 NR, year 4 SL

  15. David Avatar
    David

    We forget the numbers rise and fall with each wave. No need to over analyze it.

  16. Tron Avatar
    Tron

    @ David February 21, 2022 7:40 AM

    Statesmanship consists in selling even random events like rain or regular events like sunrise as successes of our government. The people are naive and believe almost everything. You just have to repeat it often enough.

  17. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    “Statesmanship consists in selling even random events like rain or regular events like sunrise as successes of our government.”

    Wow! Is that original? George Orwell would be proud of such a line.

  18. /John Avatar
    /John

    DavidFebruary 21, 2022 7:40 AM

    We forget the numbers rise and fall with each wave. No need to over analyze it.

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

    What you mean is:

    “We accept the numbers rise and fall with each wave. No need to analyse it, no need to fix it.”

    Guess I never learnt how!!

  19. David Avatar
    David

    https://fb.watch/bji7ekJep3/

  20. Lawson Avatar
    Lawson

    Vincent life is complex lol ya think so
    Today in the paper a Finn competing in the 30k cross country ski race in those horrible conditions in Beijing froze his penis. The Olympic spokesperson said it happened in the mens 30k mass start. Now in my time everybody would have known it was the mens competition but today not so much. Complex indeed

  21. Tony Avatar
    Tony

    @ Tron

    “Statesmanship consists in selling even random events like rain or regular events like sunrise as successes of our government. The people are naive and believe almost everything. You just have to repeat it often enough.”

    Xxxxxxx

    The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those who speak it.

  22. Vincent Codrington Avatar
    Vincent Codrington

    @ Lawson at 10 :24 AM

    Now you will understand why 50% of the men of my generation did an occasional crotch grab. Many thought it obscene ,. Had this athlete done so at regular intervals he would have adverted this crisis. I wish him a speedy recovery.. Lol!! . Cheese on bread!!!.

  23. Terence M Blackett Avatar
    Terence M Blackett

    b

  24. David Avatar
    David

    Below 200 again.

    ————————-

    186 new virus cases

    https://www.nationnews.com/2022/02/21/186-new-virus-cases/

  25. John Avatar
    John

    of tests gone down to I guess!!

  26. TheOgazerts Avatar
    TheOgazerts

    186/947 (19.6%)
    positives down, tests down, percentage slightly up.

  27. David Avatar
    David

    Home isolation way down from 12, 000 a few weeks ago.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CaQcvQUMTeV/

  28. Kammie Holder Avatar
    Kammie Holder

    Morning David, just as we have yearly spikes of viral illnesses during the influx of tourist we can expect spikes. However, how we prepare as well as our responses will tell how smart those in government are in crisis management.

    We have all at some point in our lives heard our doctor say it’s a viral illness making the rounds and not to worry let it run its course.

    Emphasis on vaccinations should be on the immune-compromised and those who have poor BMI as well as those believe in eating everything. We are what we eat at the micro level. Many, are just walking dead’s due to lifestyle. Let’s not forget the sudden deaths in 2019 and 2020. The country no longer focus on the Sudden Deaths that still taking place.

    For the last 36 years I have managed a very large health insurance portfolio. Ask me how many deaths I have had during the pandemic? Heart diseases and other NCDs are rampant in Barbados.

    GOB, needs to use legislative tools to help in getting food establishments to have heathy standards. Do not tell me it cannot be done for governments are malicious and intrusive. BNSI is just not doing it’s job.

    Nobody, really care that over $80,000,000, yes,$80M is spent in Barbados to treat lifestyle diseases. Many still eat crap and then go home and tek two tablets and many also hoard medication because it’s free. #NoSkinInGame. As the PM said recently, persons must take ownership of their well-being.

    How many more new persons in Barbados during 2021 were diagnosed with an NCD? GOB, needs to promote lifestyle change.

  29. Kammie Holder Avatar
    Kammie Holder

    Gone on the days many just accepted what they were to told. Many who were compliant and have had side effects are now turned off by poor insensitive responses to their concerns. How do you build trust when officials are dismissive. Just saw a major recall by Suzuki Vitara but not seeing any advisory in Barbados.

    Trust, when bought, rented or leased always melts like a snow one in the tropical sun. Be fair, listen to the concerns and show genuine care is how perpetual compliance is achieved.

    If we accept that truth and transparency is no longer relevant, we must accept, injustice, corruption, poverty and anarchy as a chain reaction. The world is full of examples.

    Examples are oil and mineral rich countries!

  30. John Avatar
    John

    TheOgazertsFebruary 21, 2022 7:44 PM

    186/947 (19.6%)
    positives down, tests down, percentage slightly up

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

    Testing I would guess is on a foreign population so the percentage will reflect what is going on in their population.

    Looks like our visitor arrivals are half of what they were a month or so ago given the fall in tests.

    Still got plenty visitors around.

    As expected, no inordinate increase in ohmigod cases … a complete dud.

  31. David Avatar
    David

    @Kammie

    The blogmaster respects your position, the concern for us is the relative high percentage of elderly and individuals with underlying conditions being taken out by Covid 19. Agree with you this is where our focus must be with an eye on allocating scare resources.

  32. David Avatar
    David

    Your theory is shot because tourists arrivals are reported to be on the increase. You will get another chance to test your theory when numbers spike next month with the bamby army in town.

  33. John Avatar
    John

    The Brits are waking up!!

    https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/water-crisis-a-ticking-time-bomb-environment-agency-chief-says/ar-AAUa4cT?ocid=msedgntp

  34. John Avatar
    John

    DavidFebruary 22, 2022 9:32 AM

    Your theory is shot because tourists arrivals are reported to be on the increase. You will get another chance to test your theory when numbers spike next month with the bamby army in town.

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

    I’ve witnessed through my window where I work on a day, a diminishing number of flights arriving at GAIA.

    Previously, numerous passed every hour from morning to night, now there are not so many.

    The drop is noticeable, the sound of jet engines is nowhere as regular as earlier this year when upwards of 2,000 tests were conducted.

    Maybe they are arriving by submarine or packed like sardines in the fewer planes … or just staying longer!!

    The UK is not the nicest place to be with all the storms now.

    I’ve been interested in planes arriving at the airport from boyhood when it was Seawell and my eyes and ears are not deceiving me now.

  35. John Avatar
    John

    Until I was 9, I lived in the flight path of planes landing at Seawell.

  36. John Avatar
    John

    Fully vaccinated passengers no longer need to take a COVID-19 test when arriving in the UK. Major changes to the UK ‘s coronavirus (COVID-19) travel rules have come into force today (4am, 11 February 2022). … The relaxation in requirements is thanks to the success of the UK ‘s vaccine and booster rollout.Feb 11, 2022

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

    Another possible explanation!!

    If so it means about half of the visitors from the UK are NOT VACCINATED but met our requirements of a negative PCR test 2 or 3 days before flying.

  37. John Avatar
    John

    The drop in testing and the drop in cases have nothing to to with the prevalence or lack thereof of cases in Barbados.

    Simply an administrative thing a ma bob.

    The “home”/hotel isolations also have dropped precipitously as a result of a decision.

    Check the blue line on the graph, from over 12,000 to under 4,000.

    That tells you that the majority of the “home”/hotel isolations were vaccinated!!

    The 12,000 plus were taking up beds which was fine with the Hotel/Hospitality sector but meant the airlines could not keep flying as there was no place for the visitors to lay down.

    So the decision from the UK is understandable as it can get its planes flying again and collect its taxes as the isolations are cleared and beds freed up.

    Both the UK and Barbados benefit.

  38. John Avatar
    John

    I am getting told by families I know that many young people they know are getting COVID, home testing, staying at home and recovering …. or until they test negative.

    They thus don’t appear in the statistics trotted around and about.

    The benefit of the visitor/imported stats is to keep the local yokels fearful and distracted when all eyes should be focused on the Constitution!!

  39. John Avatar
    John

    The Brits may be starting to twig.

    https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/dismay-as-floods-hit-fields-where-dozens-of-new-homes-will-be-controversially-built/ar-AAUacdH?ocid=msedgntp

  40. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the government will issue refunds to Ontarians any licence plate renewal fees paid since March 2020.

    120 x 2 sweeeeeeeet!!!

  41. John Avatar
    John

    I see the Alberta Premier is suing Trudeau.

  42. David Avatar
    David

    The 12, 000 dropped because there was an admin problem issuing release certificates.

  43. NorthernObserver Avatar
    NorthernObserver

    @Hants
    120 x 2 sweeeeeeeet!!!
    You keep telling us yah single, wha you doing with 2 cars lol

  44. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    @Hants
    What’s that sound you hear? Election calling

    $240.00@ 2 in this household

  45. David Avatar
    David

    Happy Birthday Kammie!

  46. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    @NO
    It looks like @Hants has one vehicle so that figure is correct for 2 years

  47. Kammie Holder Avatar
    Kammie Holder

    @David, thank you for the birthday wishes as I continue my journey on this physical plane we call earth.

    I was wondering what useful purpose the main news item daily of Covid-19 infection on Starcom serves?

    Asking for a child. Can we have the number who contracted HIV, Hepatitis A, B, C, TB or sudden deaths that occurred?

    BBC just rebranded their Ginger Ale Frutee with 16g to a Schweppes Ginger Ale with 32g of sugar. #Corporate Social Responsibility has died.

  48. David Avatar
    David

    Our key business markets have been totally relaxing Covid protocols, where does this put Barbados? Do we have a choice? Our economy is mostly dependent on the outside.

    Doc’s caution
    by COLVILLE MOUNSEY
    colvillemounsey@nationnews.com
    PRESIDENT OF THE Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners (BAMP), Dr Lynda Williams, is cautioning Barbadians against getting carried away with the falling number of COVID-19 cases in recent days.
    Responding to recent calls from stakeholders urging Government to get a move on in terms of a decision on the Crop Over Festival this year, she said that given the low number of people coming forward for testing, one could not truly assess where the country was at in its battle with the Omicron variant.
    Barbados recorded under 200 positive cases both Saturday and Sunday from an average of 1 000 tests daily. On Monday, there were 222 new cases from 1 315 tests.
    Williams said that even though the number of cases had fallen, the positivity rate was still hovering at just over 20 per cent, which indicated the virus was still very prevalent in the communities.
    Last weekend, some entertainment promoters and retailers voiced concern that Government was cutting it too close in making an announcement about Crop Over. They said every day a decision is delayed, the greater the likelihood that people will shift their plans to other destinations that were out of the blocks early with their carnivals.
    The argument put forward was that with Trinidad Carnival now slated for late August, while St Lucia, St Vincent, Antigua and The Bahamas had also announced theirs for the summer period, competition for overseas patrons, artistes and raw materials is likely to be fierce.
    However, Williams said that while she fully understood why various sectors wanted relaxed measures given the ease granted to others, from a purely health perspective the information now available was not adequate enough to make such a call.
    “Persons are predicating their calls on everything remaining as it is. The question we have to ask ourselves is, will it remain the same? If everything remains the same, then we will have to consider these things. However, if we don’t ramp up testing, there is no way of knowing where we are and that is the point that we have been making
    over and over again.”
    She added: “It’s okay for persons to say, ‘Look, the COVID numbers are low’, but look at the test numbers, look at the number of people testing in Barbados per day, less than a thousand. So, if you signal that the threat has gone and people don’t come out and test, we still won’t know where we are.”
    Accurate picture
    The BAMP president told the
    MIDWEEK NATION that if officials truly want to get an accurate picture of the prevalence of the virus, simply relying on people turning up for testing on their own volition is not going to help.
    “Unless we have a plan to survey people, we can’t say that the surge is over and let’s go back to where things were. . . .
    “We are relying on people to come forward to test as opposed to going to them to figure out where we are. That has always been our strategy, but that strategy is a poor one. We need to have a certain amount of testing going on regardless of what is happening,” said Williams.
    “For example, in the schools they are trying to set up a surveillance system and they are telling the parents that a certain number of the children need to be tested, but then they are saying to the parent that they need parental consent in order to do it.
    “Well, let me tell you, I do not know ten parents in Barbados who will be willing to say go ahead because it hasn’t been explained to them why this testing needs to continue in this fashion. The teachers also need to be made aware of why there needs to be this continuous testing,” she said.

  49. John Avatar
    John

    I see the BWA has problems at the DeSal Plant and blaming it on an islandwide power outage but the BL&P (not the BLP) are saying they know of no such power outage yesterday.

  50. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @David
    Our key business markets have been totally relaxing Covid protocols, where does this put Barbados? Do we have a choice? Our economy is mostly dependent on the outside.
    ~~~~~~~~~
    What exactly are you suggesting here David?
    That we are nothing more than mindless morons? …whose actions, morals, …indeed, whose acceptance of right and wrong are all dictated by our ‘outside markets’?
    Is THIS why we shut down our country for the last two years when our total death and illness rates were NOWHERE near any levels that warranted such PANIC?
    Is this why our politicians were DEMANDING that every BB accept an untested MRNA experimental portion into their veins?

    WTH!!!
    The wicked flee when no one pursuit….

    A brass bowl is a vessel with almost limitless potential. It can be long-lasting, resilient, beautifully polished, and a sight to behold … but only when managed and cared for by an intelligent and caring mind…..
    Left to wonder aimlessly, ebbing with the ‘outside market tides’, … it is nothing more than a topsy…

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