There’s said to be some downward trend in covid-19 cases in Barbados but health authorities are concerned about the recent deaths of young people, continuing fatalities among the unvaccinated and the potential threat from the new covid-19 variant Omicron.

Speaking at a briefing this morning, Chief Medical officer, Dr. Kenneth George spoke of some dip in the number of cases in recent weeks but is worried about the vaccination rate and believes it’s essential that people with pre-existing medical conditions get vaccinated.

Dr. George is concerned about the vaccination rate and hopes the country achieves a target of having at least two thirds of the eligible population vaccinated by early next year.

Dr. George notes that there’s still uncertainty over how deadly the new Omicron variant is and how effective the vaccines will be against it but pointed out that it is spreading very quickly.

But he warned that this development heightens the urgency for especially the vulnerable to get vaccinated.

He disclosed that Barbados’ borders are on high alert but he sees no sense in travel bans right now.