RIHANNA HAS OFFERED to donate $1.4 million Barbados dollars (£600,000) so the Barbados government can purchase ventilators to help treat victims of the coronavirus outbreak.

The Barbados-born superstar was praised by Mia Mottley, the prime minister of Barbados, during an address she made in parliament.

The outbreak has also seen furniture retailer Courts, donate quarantine beds and Sagicor has given the government use of temperature scanners – one for the airport and one for the seaport, Barbados’ Nation newspaper reported.

Barbados has 17 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Mottley has announced new measures to tackle the spread of the virus. The efforts introduced to control the spread of COVID-19 include postponement of elective surgeries and reduced and restricted visiting hours at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Barbados’ only general hospital.

Visitors from the UK, Europe and the US arriving in Barbados will be placed in compulsory quarantine for 14 days.

The decision was made after three new COVID-19 cases were identified after arriving on the island from New York.

The government has denied claims that the country would enter a lockdown on Wednesday following reports on social media.

“Currently the country is at Stage 2 and in order to trigger the next stage, a number of factors must be in play. While it’s highly probable that we will reach that next stage, it cannot be predicted. When we do reach Stage 3, the country will be informed on the stepped up restrictions,” press secretary Roy Morris said.