BARBADOS BARRICADE: Mottley orders lockdown amid COVID-19 community spread, confirmation of UK variant
/ Our Today
administrator
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados
With Barbados reeling from news on the weekend that it had entered community spread – as well as the revelation Tuesday night that the Eastern Caribbean nation had confirmed it recorded three cases of the United Kingdom variant of COVID-19 – Prime Minister Mia Mottley has announced the nation would be going back into lockdown for a two-week period starting February 3.
The lockdown, which will run until February 17, will included an 11-hour nightly curfew – running from 7:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. – in an attempt to bring the COVID-19 outbreak under control.
During the lockdown, only supermarkets, pharmacies and gas stations will be allowed to open, and only essential activities in the public and private sector will continue. Supermarkets will open from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. but will close on Saturdays and Sundays.
Addressing the nation, Mottley said three of 10 samples tested at the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) had come back positive for the UK strain.
The prime minister said the country had to “act decisively” after the confirmation of community spread and the deaths of three elderly persons within a week.
During the lockdown, she said, village shops, bars, restaurants and gyms will be closed while banks will be closed from February 3 to 9.
The wearing of masks in all public places will also be mandatory.
Barbados at last count had a total of 1,427 confirmed cases and 10 deaths.
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