Barbados government authorities are expanding their covid-19 isolation capacity as they become increasingly concerned about a surge in cases here.
This surge is believed to be linked to community spread of the highly-contagious covid-19 variants.
Figures from the Ministry of Health indicate a spike in covid-19 cases in recent weeks, including more than twenty cases a day on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Health authorities are making a desperate push to get more people vaccinated with tents being set up at schools and other locations to facilitate this.
But Starcom Network News has learnt that at the same time more isolation capacity is being created for the sick, including the critically ill.
The capacity at the main isolation facility at Harrison Point in St. Lucy is being increased including more oxygen equipment, a field hospital is being set up and more beds are being installed at Blackman and Gollop Primary School which is to once again become an isolation center.
Meantime, the Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners is concerned about community spread of the covid-19 variants here and is calling for a tightening of the restrictions.
President of BAMP, Dr. Linda Williams, says they had warned that this could happen.
Dr. Williams stops short of calling for a return to lockdown but believes the curfew hours should be extended and in-house restaurant dining banned.
The social partners are to meet shortly to discuss what new restrictions may need to be implemented.
