COVID-19 Update Barbados:Quarantine breakers will face severe consequences

The recent case of a visitor to the island breaking quarantine while awaiting results of a COVID-19 test, has resulted in stricter security measures being put in place.

That’s according to Alvin Hart, Manager of Quarantine Facilities.

Speaking during a television programme ‘The People’s Business’ on Sunday night, he noted that anyone who breaches quarantine or attempts to break isolation will be arrested and charged, in keeping with the Quarantine Act and the COVID-19 regulations.

“What you saw with this person being taken to court was the policies that were implemented at work, and that is one of the consequences of breaching quarantine. This person was at one of the Government approved quarantine facilities,” he said.

Hart added, “What we have done since then, especially at the outer facilities other than Paragon, there have been a lot of meetings with these facilities and their owners and we have implemented new stricter security measures for these persons.”

The Quarantine Facilities Manager, said that the process of keeping track of persons coming into the country starts at the airport, such that when they arrive they will be given a hand band.

“They are given a band so if you see somebody in a red band or a green band – automatically you know what category you fall in… When you get to the airport you also sign a form stating you understand you have to wait, you understand you have to go into quarantine; and when you sign that you are saying ‘yes I know this is what I have to do’. So when you breach that and we are informed that someone breaches it, we inform the Royal Barbados Police Force and the rest is history like what happened with the young lady,” he stated.

Hart’s comments came as he said that it is important that persons understand that the need to be placed in quarantine “is very serious” and they should not seek to breach it.

“We quarantine because you might have been exposed to the disease and we want to monitor you, or we want to quarantine you to follow you for a number of days to see if you would develop symptoms of this disease, and we have already had people who have developed it while in quarantine,” he noted.

Speaking earlier in the programme, Songee Beckles, Director of the Best-dos Santos Public Health Laboratory explained that approximately two-thirds of those coming into the country have the requisite negative COVID-19 tests. She explained that where they do not, or the test is invalid, they are tested on arrival into the island and those results can be available in as little as six hours.

She explained that the turnaround time is based on the number of samples received. Beckles went on to say that the lab endeavours to process first the tests of those waiting at the airport, so they get the results as soon as possible and are able to leave the airport. That process, she indicated, can take about six to eight hours to complete. The Director added that for those who opt to wait at one of the holding facilities, results are made available within 24 hours.

Story via The Barbados Advocate