The little island of Barbuda’s close-knit communal spirit helps individuals to survive after they test positive for COVID-19.
Protocols and curfew restrictions were implemented, much as they were in Antigua, to slow the spread of the virus. The number of people who tested positive for COVID was estimated to be about forty.
When John Mussington, the principal of Barbuda’s lone Secondary School, and his wife were quarantined for contact tracing, he reflected on his encounters with this community-driven culture.
“We wouldn’t survive here in Barbuda if it weren’t for the close-knit community,” Mussington said. “People would go shopping for them and bring them items they needed when they were under quarantine. To aid that person, the entire country would join together.”
“For example, my wife and I used to go to a church where the Pastor died from COVID,” he expresses. So far, he is the only person to die in Barbuda. The entire congregation, on the other hand, was placed under quarantine for contact tracing purposes.
“My wife and I obtained help from community members to perform bank transactions for us,” he adds. ” We were able to put our faith in them enough to offer them our bank account PINs for them to assist us in our time of need.”
“This is how close we are here in Barbuda.”
Although 90% of the population of Barbuda has been vaccinated, individuals who test positive for COVID-19 are at risk due to a lack of medical services.
“We don’t have a hospital here that can handle major cases,” says the High School Principal. “So you’re sent home to be isolated, and in life-or-death situations, you’re then sent to Antigua for treatment.”
