The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has corrected an article that linked a variant of Covid-19 to Antigua and Barbuda.
Antigua and Barbuda diplomat Sir Ronald Sanders, who spoke to our newsroom on Wednesday, said the information had remained uncorrected despite British health officials walking back claims that a new Covid-19 variant originated here.
Sir Ronald accused the BBC of damaging the country’s tourism industry.
On the BBC’s website, in an article updated Thursday morning, the company wrote that the story has now been updated to reflect new information on UK variants on the Public Health England (PHE) website.
The broadcast company says PHE previously reported two cases of the VUI-2021-03-01 variant had been found in the south-east of England in individuals who had recently been to Antigua.
PHE now says that despite the travel history of these cases, there is no scientific evidence to determine where this variant first emerged.
Observer reached out to the BBC’s Press Office for a comment but has not yet received a response.
Prime Minister Gaston Browne has already written to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson requesting 100,000 vaccine doses in restitution.