BVI News

Yates Construction director upset at Health Ministry’s treatment

Director at Yates & Associates Construction, Chad Emanuel.

A director of Yates & Associates Construction, the company at the centre of a recent COVID-19 spike, has expressed severe disappointment at the Health Ministry’s response to the plight of his workers.

More than two dozen positive cases were discovered at the company last weekend.

Chad Emanuel, one of three directors at Yates, said in a radio interview on ZBVI this week that he became upset after Chief Medical Officer, Dr Ronald Georges said in a government media release that the workers were accommodated in ‘barrack-style quarters‘.

He said he was further upset by subsequent postings on Facebook that berated the accommodations of the workers; suggesting that the workers were all sharing quarters.

But Emanuel said these allegations were entirely false. 

“This is completely not true. We have guys sharing rooms,” he acknowledged, “[but] each room has a bathroom, kitchen and some of them have double beds,” he said. 

“So it’s nothing about barracks-style — one communal kitchen, one communal bathroom — that’s untrue.”

And while insisting that the workers living arrangements did not contribute to the situation, Emanuel expressed that he could not say what was the origin of the virus at the worksite.

He said it was not the workers’ fault that they came into contact with the virus.

Poor response from Health Ministry

He expressed further dismay at what he said was the Health Ministry’s response and the actions of the Environmental Health Department.

The director said no worker from the Ministry of Health came to assess his positive workers’ well-being. Instead officers from the Environmental Health Department came and carried out inspections of the quarters.

The director questioned the approach and said he didn’t feel this was the order of how things were supposed to be done.

“I think the first idea is saving lives and keeping people comfortable in a situation like this, not make them uncomfortable [with] people walking through their rooms checking to see how they live instead of checking to see their vitals to see how they’re doing,” he added.

Emanuel said he did not feel this was the way to deal with lives.

The director further said he sent an email to the Health Ministry expressing his disappointment that the entire workforce — comprising well in excess of 100 persons — had been quarantined for a 21-day period.

Background to the accusations

In explaining the background of the events, Emanuel said the situation had been ongoing from September 17 when an initial case was first discovered. 

He said since then, he reached out to the Ministry of Health in hopes of being able to assist with the situation. Emanuel said it was the duty of the company to do its best to protect the Virgin Gorda community.

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22 Comments

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  1. Popcorn boy says:

    If he offered the Minister of Health a hammock, pina colada and popcorn on the beach….I’m sure he would have been treated better. P.S Did you guys hear about people using the Minister’s name and was requesting money for different causes??? Apparently, people have been using his name to SCAM money from BVI residents.

    Like 4
    Dislike 1
  2. Living with Covid says:

    Since when are we quarantining the healthy as well as the sick? This is utter nonsense! Surely we are at the stage now where we should be living with Covid. If the workers have taken a rapid test and it has come back negative, then they should be allowed to return to work and simply not be in contact with those who have tested positive, until they are cleared.

    Like 24
  3. lol says:

    The place is a collection of untidy dilapidated temporary building. He has 30 positive workers mostly vaccinated and he expects business as usual?

    Like 9
    Dislike 7
  4. Blame Game says:

    I will add Yates to the list of people the VIP Government blame:
    1. NDP
    2. Irma
    3. UK
    4. Covid
    5. COI
    6. Yates

    Like 32
    Dislike 3
  5. Well Well says:

    Thanks for that laugh. bernie mack

  6. No Lights says:

    Haven’t you heard? You will own nothing and you will be happy.

    It’s time for Yates to have nothing. The list will be longer by the time all this is over.

    Like 2
    Dislike 3
  7. Model Company says:

    Yates & Associates is 92% vaccinated. Why is our government encouraging vaccination if they are going to ignore the benefits? This absurd action against Yates is punitive and counterproductive, designed to encourage people to stop reporting symptoms.

    Like 16
    Dislike 1
  8. Barracks says:

    Health Dept. needs to visit the other *** barracks on VG. Mostly villas and apartments being repaired or built since Irma where these foreign workers live in cramped conditions for years.

  9. Vaxxinated says:

    Wait wait…these workers must all be vaccinated because a few months ago it is alleged that workers from this company was being given an ultimatum to take the vaccine or get no schedule for work. Alleged I I say …it could just have been a rumor…but tell us BVInews….were these people vaccinated..fully…partial a few days…what??

    Like 4
    Dislike 1
  10. The Nation speaks says:

    So vaccinated people seem to be super-spreaders. CDC going to be slow to tell you that

    Like 10
    Dislike 3
  11. SO HOW COME says:

    the fighting lady from VG ain’t saying anything on that ( IN HER OWN FRONT YARD AND NOT A WORD

  12. Got a tape measure? says:

    Them building the workers in are 10’ x 10’ (that’s 100 square feet…inside that you got a kitchen, a bathroom and bunk beds). If you want to take a look, just drive over to the Store. It’s in plain sight.
    Not a good place to quarantine….next!

  13. Dr G is vindictive beaurocrat says:

    Less crowded than 10,000 ppl living setup in Tola.
    Run like proper business. If you fools at gov were 10% as organized as Yates, we wouldn’t be broke and fkd up society that circus fools (hoa) gave us.

    Like 1
    Dislike 4
  14. Mr Shovels says:

    So many “rare” breakthrough cases in one place. Interesting…

  15. 321 says:

    thats a supper spreader company. more to come.

  16. Hmmm says:

    I wondered about construction workers really. I have seen so many of them (not sure if any belong to the same group) without face mask and just chilling in groups. It’s like business as usual. I am a covid survivor and that virus is no joke. Its either you fight it and win, or you fight it and lose. Either way, the men I see on the side of the streets in the little corners, by road side bars etc. without masks, clearly don’t understand that….or maybe they don’t care about their families or each other.

    Like 1
    Dislike 1
  17. ?? says:

    Hmmmm God don’t sleep & doesn’t like ugly. Treat others as you wish to be treated. Only the smoke that is. What goes around comes around.

  18. My stories says:

    If this have any truth some body can sue the authorities for false information

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