An 81-year-old man is the first person to die from the coronavirus on the Caribbean island, the government reported yesterday.
The patient, a Barbadian man, returned to Barbados on March 22 following a visit to the UK.
He tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday.
His 83-year-old wife has also tested positive for the virus.
In a press briefing, health and wellness minister Lt Col Jeffrey Bostic said the man died from COVID-19 related pneumonia and complications from diabetes.
Bostic also praised the brave Barbadians working as medical professionals putting their lives at risk as part of the COVID-19 response.
Amid the tragic news, the government also shared some positive updates.
A total of six people who recovered from COVID-19 were released, Bostic revealed.
“I am very pleased to announce to the nation that in the midst of all the distress, dislocation and the sad news of persons being infected, and our first death from COVID-19, we will see the emergence from isolation today of six persons who have recovered from COVID-19,” he said.
A cohort of more than 100 health workers from Cuba arrived in Barbados on Sunday (April 5) to join the country’s fight against the coronavirus.
Barbados has 56 confirmed COVID-19 cases to date, the majority of which have been imported.
As part of its efforts to stop the spread of the virus, a 24-hour curfew has been imposed until April 14.
Elsewhere in the Caribbean, Belize also recorded its first coronavirus death – a 55-year-old man with preexisting health conditions – yesterday.
In St Maarten, a 24-hour curfew has been imposed for a duration of two weeks. The country has reported 25 cases and four deaths.
Trinidad and Tobago has recorded seven COVID-19 deaths and one recovery. It has 105 cases of which 49 can be traced back to individuals who recently returned from a cruise.
As of Friday, Jamaica had 53 confirmed cases of the coronavirus. A total of seven people, including the country’s first COVID-19 patient, have recovered, the government has reported.
