Ventilators for Barbados held by US

A batch of ventilators bound for Barbados as a philanthropic gift were diverted by the United States, according to the Caribbean island nation's top health official. He said an investigation is underway.

Barbados Minister of Health and Wellness Lt Col Jeffrey Bostic said at a news conference Sunday that a batch of 20 ventilators donated to the Barbados government were barred from export.

"They were seized in the United States. Paid for, but seized, so we are trying to see exactly what is going to transpire there," Bostic said.

"But I remind you that ventilators are one of the most in-demand items in the world today, and Barbados is merely wrestling with the other 203 countries and territories around the world seeking to secure as many of these pieces of equipment as possible," he added.

Bostic had earlier indicated that the 20 ventilators were part of a donation pledged by Barbados-born pop star Rihanna. He later corrected himself to say that the diverted ventilators were not from Rihanna but from a separate unnamed donor. He added that five ventilators that were donated by Rihanna would soon reach the country.

The health minister did not specify where in the US the appropriation took place. According to Barbados Today, similar actions made news as recently as Friday in New York, where Governor Andrew Cuomo vowed to seize unused ventilators from private entities through an executive order in the hard-hit city.

The Barbadian authorities' response is still unclear, Barbados Today wrote. But Bostic said Sunday that the 48 ventilators currently on the island appear to be more than enough to handle the country's 56 coronavirus patients, only three of whom were in need of ventilators at the time.

Barbados has a population around 288,000. As of Wednesday, it had 63 confirmed coronavirus cases and three confirmed deaths.

As the number of cases in the Caribbean and Latin America continue to escalate, many countries are facing shortages of everything from test kits and ventilators to medical gear for healthcare workers.

Haiti recently requested from China $18 million worth of medical supplies for COVID-19 treatment. Haiti, with a population of 11 million, currently has 24 confirmed cases.

According to Haitian Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe, this first request includes some 2.5 million gloves, 300,000 sterilized gowns, 10 biochemistry automatic analyzers, 100 ventilators and 1,500 hospital beds.

Cuban officials also recently complained about the US preventing aid from getting to them, citing the US' six-decade embargo, according to The Miami Herald.

Alibaba founder Jack Ma recently announced that his foundation was shipping 2 million masks, 400,000 rapid test kit and 104 ventilators to 24 countries in the region, including Cuba, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Dominican Republic and Peru.

But Cuba's shipment never made it, according to Cuba's ambassador to China, Carlos M. Pereira.

Pereira said on his blog that Ma's foundation tried to send Cuba 100,000 face masks and 10 COVID-19 diagnostic kits along with other aid including ventilators and gloves, but the airline would not transport them, citing the US embargo, according to The Associated Press.

Cuba currently has 350 positive cases and nine deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.