By: Staff Writer
January 4, 2021
The Sandals Barbados will be delisted as a quarantine destination and the Grenada Sandals will be closed until they can get to the root of the latest outbreak stemming from the resort.
Reported in the Barbados Today, Sandals Barbados Resort and Spa has been delisted as a designated quarantine hotel by the Chief Medical Officer, effective January 5, 2021.
This action was taken after several verified complaints of breaches of the COVID-19 protocols taking place at the resort with respect to visitors in quarantine.
Additionally, police have held for questioning at least three tourists in relation to alleged breaches of COVID-19 protocols related to quarantine.
The Ministry of Health and Wellness takes the issue of breaches of the COVID-19 protocols very seriously and will take similar action if other designated quarantine hotels and villas refuse to uphold the rules and regulations that have been put in place to protect workers in the hotel sector, and by extension the rest of the country.
Designated quarantine hotels are advised to take this opportunity to immediately review the standard operating procedures with respect to the prevention and control of COVID-19 in Barbados.
On Monday evening Minister of Health and Wellness (MOHAW) Lt. Col. Jeffrey Bostic warned that authorities would take firm action against any businesses or individuals who breached protocols.
Sandals in a statement shot back at Barbadian officials and said, “We do hope that the Minister of Tourism, the Minister of Health and the Chief Medical Officer, who have not yet been to our hotel to see the protocols in operation, can prioritise a visit to do so.”
Barbados is also grappling with a super-spreader event from what are called “bus crawls” that are unrelated to Sandals, but happened on Boxing Day where officials recorded having went from 356 cases (48 active) on Christmas Day to over 500 cases as of January 2, 2021.
Barbados Prime Minister, Mia Motley, also threatened to implement new restrictions if “people’s behaviour does not change,” in addition to more restrictions for businesses including restaurants and pubs.
Reported in the New Today in Grenada on the other hand, Sandals has been ordered to evacuate all guests as Health officials in Grenada grapple with the country’s worst COVID-19 crisis since March.
It was confirmed Sunday during a press conference that a cluster of 26 cases have been identified at the resort resulting in the number of cases on the island increasing to 71.
Sandals reopened the Grenada resort on October 1, 2020. Grenada also recorded their first COVID-19 death on January 3.
Health Minister Nickolas Steele said they have ordered the all-Inclusive hotel to move their guests off the island as quickly as possible and to divert all other expected arrivals to other hotels in other countries.
The Health Minister also said an investigation is taking place to determine why, when and how the virus was able to spread at the hotel.
The Minister of Health said they will be trying to find out if the outbreak at Sandals was as a result of breaches of COVID-19 regulations or a “flaw” in the protocols.
Guests who stay at Sandals and two other hotels designated as all-inclusive, do not undergo COVID-19 testing as a matter of course and there have been reports of guests mingling openly with staff who in turn return to the wider community after work.
The Now Today also reported, “At least two children from the female Sandals staff member are among the 13 infected from the same household and were in the classroom up to Friday when school closed for the Christmas break.
Three other staff members and nine guests at Sandals have tested positive and there is one additional positive case at an unnamed hotel, a ten year old from Canada.”
While Sandals initially promised to collaborate with local health authorities, it has since come out swinging against government officials in Grenada as well. In an open letter published by several local outlets, Peter Fraser, Sandals Grenada’s general manager, called reports tying the outbreak to his resort “completely unsubstantiated” and expressed his “great disappointment” in government officials for not correcting them.
The Sandals Barbados is listed as still open on the Sandals website, while the Grenada resort is scheduled to be opened on February 3.
