Barbados’ COVID-19 Czar, Richard Carter.
Photo by George Alleyne
Caribbean Life, July 10-16, 2020 29
By George Alleyne
‘Just get it on’ is the type
of message Barbados’ COVID-
19 Czar, Richard Carter, has
sent to all of the island’s sport
organizations indicating it is
safe to resume their competitions
— with some precautions.
Following 35 days with no
new infections and a clearance
of the last persons in isolation
on June 26, government
announced its intention to lift
all curfew restrictions, return
almost all businesses to normal,
open the community to
sporting activities, and allow
gatherings of as many as 500
persons in open spaces among
other relaxing measures as of
July 01.
Carter, who government
had appointed czar, or chief of
operations presiding over the
island’s lockdown and recovery
effort since March, said last
week that based on the normalization
of almost all activity,
sports organizations are
free to go full gusto into their
sporting activities.
“We have to live with COVID-
19 until there is a readily available
universal vaccine.
“I did not say just a vaccine
because there are vaccine trials
going on right now and
that sample production of vaccine
is not going to meet the
challenge of availability and
universal availability.”
The czar added that there
were four elements for the safe
return to sports: planning, preparing,
responding and recovering.
“Follow the guidelines of the
government and proceed cautiously
as they recommenced.
“It is incumbent on every
national association to assess
their facilities and to implement
appropriate plans to
accommodate the upgraded
hygiene protocol for COVID-
19,” said Carter.
He pointed out that precautions
are also mandatory for
fans.
“All spectators attending
sports and competitive events
shall wear a face mask.
The directive has the force
of law … therefore, breaching
any one of these directives is
breaching the law. In fact, at
the end of the directive, it says
“any person who fails to comply
is guilty of an offence and
liable on conviction to a fine
or imprisonment for one year
or both.”
He said that government
now has a COVID-19 monitoring
unit that will be patrolling
places where crowds gather
including sport activities.
He advised that a competition
would not be shut down
when few positive tests are discovered.
“If a sport turns up positive
then the government will
state we need to investigate
this cluster. But an individual
volleyballer or netballer or
boxer or track and field athlete
getting COVID would not
be a reason to close down the
sport because it is unlikely that
person would have contracted
COVID in the actual sporting
activity.
“I don’t expect that we are
going to be closing down any
sport because of one or two
cases. I don’t expect that we
are going to see a restriction.”
Sporting events in Barbados
get the green light