SKN not in low-risk bubble
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THE easily transmitted and more deadly Delta Variant of the Coronavirus has made its way into the region, as Barbados has recorded three cases of the new strain.
Health officials on the island recently confirmed its presence through a series of tests on samples from visitors from overseas.
During a press conference in Bridgetown yesterday afternoon (June 19), Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic announced the discovery of the three cases along with one patient who had the Gamma variant.
“Three positive cases of the Delta Variant...have been identified. Two of those positive cases are a father and an eight-year-old son who arrived in the country on the 21st of April…The other confirmed Delta Case is a person who arrived on the 14th May, tested positive on the 24th May,” the island’s Minister of Health disclosed.
The Delta Variant is being blamed for the mass outbreak and high death rate in India. It is also being said to be present in the United Kingdom and was recently found to be prevalent in the United States.
According to Bostic, all of the patients would have made a full recovery and have left the island.
He has assured that neither of the two has been found in the communities outside of the Alpha variant, which is the initial variant.
Health officials in Barbados are working to outfit one of its health laboratories to test for the variants.
The island has recorded single-digit cases over the last six week; a positive sign which has now prompted new travel measures by the Government.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced during the press conference that a number of new measures, including the removal of the curfew from June 30, 2021; promoters would be allowed to have parties limited to 150 people in one location; and the resumption of spectators at sporting events from July 16th.
Meanwhile, the PM announced that the island would create a bubble for fully vaccinated passengers from low-risk Caribbean countries.
According to the Prime Minister, all fully vaccinated persons travelling from those territories with a negative PCR test would immediately enter the island.
St. Kitts and Nevis has not made it onto the list, which includes 10 territories.
“We are establishing a bubble for vaccinated persons coming from countries that have been deemed very low risk by the Ministry of Health and those countries are Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Anguilla, Montserrat, BVI, Turks and Caicos, Cayman Islands, and Bermuda. We hope that in the near future we can add as I said after the bilateral discussions at how we can help other countries,” Motley revealed.
