Health authorities deny diplomats given exemption from COVID tests

BRIDGETOWN (CMC):

The Barbados government has denied suggestions that foreign diplomats from countries deemed medium or high risk have been exempted from taking a second COVID-19 PCR test as the island deals with the impact of COVID-19.

Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Kenneth George, said the protocol requiring that a second test be taken four to five days after passengers arrived with an initial negative test result, applied to everyone without exception.

He said that there was “absolutely no truth” to allegations in a voice note which circulated on social media last weekend that there had been a reversal in the protocol as it related to the diplomatic community, in response to a protest by an unnamed diplomat about the need for the second test.

“This protocol mandating that a second test be done within four to five days of the first negative test for persons coming in from high and medium-risk countries has been put in place by the Ministry of Health and Wellness and can only be amended with the consent of the chief medical officer. No amendment has been requested nor has any been approved by me,” he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, a relative of the housekeeper who tested positive for COVID-19 on September 30 has been diagnosed with the viral illness, according to the latest statement issued by the health authorities here.

Six members of her family have now joined her in isolation at the state-sanctioned quarantine facility.

The total number of persons confirmed with COVID-19 in Barbados has reached 200. Recoveries remain at 182. Eleven people are now in isolation. The island has recorded seven deaths and the public health laboratory has completed 24,849 tests.