The US Embassy in Barbados has cancelled visa appointments as authorities on the Island respond to a spike in COVID-19 cases.
On Saturday, Barbados announced 161 cases of COVID-19 at the Island’s Dodds prison.
In addition, Health Officials said they recorded 33 other positive cases within a 48 hour period.
As a result of the developments, health authorities have launched an intense contact tracing exercise.
They have also announced a slew of new measures aimed at containing the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
“Due to changes in Barbados’s general COVID-19 posture, the U.S. Embassy Bridgetown has canceled all visa appointments from Wednesday, January 6 to Friday, January 15, 2021,” the US Embassy announced in a statement.
“Non-immigrant visa applicants having an appointment during this period may reschedule their appointment ps://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-bb/niv.Your MRV fee remains valid,” according to the statement.htt
It advised people with an urgent need to travel to the United States, to send an email to http://BridgetownNIV@state.gov.
The statement was posted Saturday on the official website of the U.S. Embassy in Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean, and the OECS.