Wednesday 4th March 2020
The Ministry of Health and Wellness has advised that Barbados is braced for dealing with potential cases of passengers arriving with COVID-19. The Ministry is actively following the international recommendations and protocols of the WHO, CDC and IATA, and to date, there are no known or suspected cases locally.
This comes as the Ministry has implemented an alert system as well as a series of screening and testing measures for both of the island’s ports of entry. It is one of the few Caribbean islands with such capabilities.
Barbados, in addition to having access to testing at the regional public health agency, CARPHA, has a local Public Health Laboratory. The equipping and layout of the isolation facility was done in collaboration with technical staff of the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO).
The steps being taken are as follows:
- A multisectoral Health Emergency Operations Centre has been stood up to monitor the international spread of infection and to oversee local public health actions.
- Barbados has reviewed our public health procedures in order to reduce the risk of introduction of novel coronavirus. These processes include prevention measures, active surveillance, early detection, isolation, case management and contact tracing.
- The surveillance measures include utilisation of advance passenger information, immigration screening, and port health monitoring. All current and proposed actions are based on level of risk determined by Public Health Authorities.
- All persons coming to Barbados with a history of having travelled to countries with widespread local transmission are quarantined for a period of fourteen (14) days after last exposure.
- Barbados has a programme for both quarantine and isolation based on the level of risk determined by Public Health Authorities. Both units are guided by standard operation procedures and protocols. Barbados is able to accommodate both high and low risk travellers.
- The mandatory quarantine facility can accommodate fifteen (15) persons and is to be used for high risk persons without symptoms, e.g. individuals traveling from Hubei Province, China.
- Any person with potential exposure who develops symptoms consistent with coronavirus will be admitted to the National Isolation Facility for testing and further management.
The Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. supports the measures being taken by the Ministry of Health and Wellness, as our primary concern is the health and safety of both Barbadians and our visitors. We ask that everyone comply with the instructions of the airport and seaport officials as we work together to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
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For more information, please contact:
Niamh Waters
Senior Account Manager
niamh@travelmedia.ie
+353 86 049 2394