Where Research Meets Response: Supporting the Fight Against Covid-19 in Barbados Direct Relief calculated increased vulnerability to Covid-19 in Barbados, and responded accordingly with support to the Barbados Defense Force. Barbados, shown in Direct Relief's Covid-19 International Vulnerability Index map. (Direct Relief image) For months, Barbados avoided a major outbreak of Covid-19. At the end of 2020, the island nation – with a population of about 287,000 people – had seen fewer than 350 cases, and only seven deaths, said Lieutenant Colonel Junior Browne of the Barbados Defense Force. But then, tourist season started. “With more people coming in, there was a greater chance of something happening, and that led to community spread eventually,” Browne said.