(Barbados nation) Five Barbadians in New York died of the coronavirus on Monday, reported Barbados’ Consul General Mackie Holder.
That brings the number to nine in just over a week. Among those who succumbed yesterday were Anthony Hall, secretary of the Barbados Ex-Policemen’s Association, and Marlene Hinds, president of the Barbados group at St Gabriel’s Church in Brooklyn.
“It is devastating,” said a sombre-sounding Holder. “Several people on the phone are just bawling. The Barbadian community is in grief.”
He added that what made the deaths so difficult to bear was that relatives and friends could not be with the sick individuals during their last moments, neither would they be able to attend their funerals given the restrictions in place to limit the spread of COVID-19.
