The devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism globally has fuelled the need for ramped-up testing to detect and control the spread of the deadly virus.
As Barbados reopened its ports of entry to visitors, the demand for such testing grew exponentially, putting pressure on the sole Government testing facility, the Best-dos Santos Public Health Laboratory.
Hotelier Paul Doyle has responded, investing in a state-of-the-art lab at his upscale Crane Resort in St Philip that is easing the pressure on existing facilities and offering an alternative in testing services to visitors and Barbadians.
Doyle spent over $1 million to reconfigure and outfit the hotel’s former art gallery, creating the private Barbados COVID Lab. It was a natural development, the hotelier told the DAILY NATION, since the Crane is an approved isolation and quarantine centre, where a separate wing is outfitted with features such as security cameras on doors that alert dedicated security personnel when they are opened by quarantined guests.
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