96 Ghanaian nurses have arrived in Bridgetown to start work in Barbados as part of the country's efforts to boost their medical industry in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, Ghanaguardian.com can exclusively reveal.

The Ghanaians arrived in the country over the weekend after the government of the Caribbean country approached their Ghanaian counterparts for help to boost their medical field.

Two ministers of state and other high ranking government officials welcomed the Ghanaian nurses at the Grantley Adams International Airport, showing the high desire to have health workers in the country.

Minister of Tourism Senator Lisa Cummins, Minister of Health Jeffrey Bostic, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Janet Phillips and the executive chairman of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Juliette Bynoe-Sutherland were all the airport to meet the arriving health workers from Ghana.

The small island had been left seriously reeling in search of medical staff following the outbreak of the disease and sought the help of Ghana to get them qualified staff to help plug the gap.

The contingent of 49 female and 46 male nurses was warmly greeted by a delegation of health and tourism officials shortly after arrival at Grantley Adams International Airport aboard a chartered Azores Airlines flight.

The ecstatic group of Ghananians waved national flags and repeatedly chanted “Ghana” as they alighted the three buses transporting them from the aircraft to the terminal building, while the welcoming sounds of steel pan music filled the air.

Minister of Health Jeffrey Bostic described their arrival as “a momentous occasion”, pointing out it was a continuation of an initiative started by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley for Barbadians to reconnect with their brothers and sisters in Africa and with Ghana – the ancestral home.

The nurses will be quarantined for 14 days at three St Lawrence Gap hotels before being deployed between the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the geriatric hospitals and the polyclinics.