Acting Chief Medical Officer of Barbados has disclosed that nine members from a team of Ghanaian nurses dispatched to work in Barbados have tested positive for COVID-19.
Dr Kenneth George, in a statement, said the nine were part of the country’s 12 new cases recorded last Saturday.
“All cases are asymptomatic,” the Doctor said at a press conference.
He told a news conference that of 248 tests conducted on Friday, 12 returned positive results.
The government in 2019 announced that 120 Ghanaian nurses have been selected to serve a two-year contract in Barbados under a Human Resource Agreement between the two countries.
The team comprised 12 cardiac care nurses, 21 critical care nurses, eight emergency room nurses, six operating theatre nurses, three ophthalmic nurses, and 70 registered general nurses.
Ninety-five nurses were dispatched and arrived in Barbados on Thursday.
In line with Covid-19 protocols in many countries, on arrival travellers are mandated to take a test as part of measures to curtail the spread of the virus.
After the test, nine of the nurses tested positive.
“All of the nurses went into 14-days quarantine on arrival in Barbados,” he said.
Barbados on Saturday recorded 12 new cases of Covid-19.
The new number sends its case count to 122 with 98 recoveries and seven deaths.