Sandals Barbados has been delisted as a designated quarantine hotel by Barbados chief medical officer Dr. Kenneth George; this is effective January 5, 2021. It was reported the action was taken after several verified complaints of COVID-19 protocols being breached at the resort with respect to visitors in quarantine; however, Barbados' Ministry of Health posted an update saying that the three tourists held by police for alleged breaches of COVID -19 protocols "were not associated in any way with the Sandals Barbados Resort and Spa, and regrets that this might have been implied in the release."
According to the initial story, minister of health and wellness Lt. Col. Jeffrey Bostic warned that authorities would take firm action against any businesses or individuals who breached protocols.
In a statement, a Sandals spokesperson said, "We understand that the government of Barbados is currently undergoing a process to reassess and update protocols for visitors, as well as the hospitality industry, and we support all measures that can serve to protect our valued guests and team members. We await response from the Ministry of Health as we have offered to make available a more complete review of all our processes clearly outlining the extensive measures in place that are always in accordance with all national protocols. We remain dedicated to continuing to ensure stringent compliance of any and all new processes."
In a separate incident in mid-December, A cluster of 26 positive COVID-19 cases was linked to Sandals Grenada, according to the island’s Ministry of Health. The positive cases included guests and employees, as well as their close contacts. At the time, the resort was ordered to evacuate all guests off the island as quickly as possible and to divert all other expected arrivals to hotels in other countries.
On December 30, the resort posted an update saying that, based on a second round of testing, which was conducted by the Ministry of Health on December 23 (which was within the accepted incubation period from the incident), all 432 employees at the resort returned negative PCR test results. Of the 14 who originally tested positive in the cluster of 26, a dozen has so far received negative PCR test results, with the remaining two still pending.
Of the 11 guests, nine have tested negative since returning to the U.S. Sandals Grenada says, “They had both PCR and antigen tests, which confirmed they do not have or ever had any trace of the virus in their system.” The resort is still waiting on the results from one couple.
Sandals Grenada remains closed to new arrivals at the moment, as it continues to work with the Ministry of Health and the chief medical officer to ensure guests can return safely.
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