Health authorities reported on Thursday that an elderly man had died from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and tests had identified 157 new cases of the viral illness in Barbados.
An official media release stated that a partially vaccinated, 95-year-old man lost his battle with COVID-19 on Tuesday, July 5, bringing the number of deaths from the illness to 478.
The health authories also indicated that 71 males and 86 females tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday from the 629 tests conducted by the Best-dos Santos Public Health Laboratory.
The cases comprised 26 young people under the age of 18, and 131 people who are 18 years and older.
The number of people in isolation facilities dropped to 83, but the number of people in home isolation with the illness rose to 1 505 during the reporting period.
The health authorities stated that only 13 people were administered their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine during the reporting period under the national vaccination programme, taking the national total to 162,671 (71.2 per cent of the eligible population).
Only 20 more people can be counted as fully vaccinated in the island, bringing the total number to 153 624 (56.7 per cent of the total population or 67.3 per cent of the eligible population, which represents anyone 12 years and older.
(AR)