BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) – Barbados health authorities have confirmed an outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) at a ward of the Geriatric Hospital on the outskirts of the capital, Bridgetown.

The country’s Ministry of Health and Wellness said it has since suspended visits to the ward and that four patients have tested positive for the virus between Monday, May 29 and June 6.

“The Ministry is closely monitoring the situation and measures have been put in place to control the spread of COVID-19 in the hospital,” the health ministry said in a statement.

The ministry added that it would advise when visits to the ward would resume, adding “any inconvenience caused to family members and friends is deeply regretted”.

The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) has told Barbados and other Caribbean countries that it is important to continue public awareness on hand hygiene, cough and sneeze etiquette, and the importance of social distancing even as they relax the measures that had been out in place to curb the spread of the virus that killed or infected thousands of people in the region since the first case was detected in 2020.