WHEN Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis addresses the nation tonight, he faces one of the greatest dilemmas of his administration.
The country has been on a course to continue opening up – bringing with it a surge in tourism and an increase in income for businesses, individuals and for the government coffers.
We are also, however, experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases. Yesterday alone saw another 75 confirmed cases.
All told, more than 14,000 people in The Bahamas have now been confirmed to have had or still have the virus, and sadly one more death in the latest figures brings the total number confirmed to have died from the virus to 285.
There will be many more who have had the virus without knowing – including Lacarthea Cooper whose Olympic dream was ended by a positive test result. She had no symptoms and didn’t know she was positive until she was required to take a test to go to Japan.
By now, all of us will likely know someone who has had the virus, and many of us will know someone who has died from it.
The response to previous surges of the virus has been to tighten the restrictions – but Dr Minnis seems to be determined to try to avoid doing so as much as possible. He doesn’t want to kill the resurgence in tourism when it’s only just started – while also wanting to stop the spread of the virus.
Are those two goals both achievable or must one come at the cost of the other? That’s the challenge before Dr Minnis.
It’s easy for those not in leadership to criticise – and you can be sure the PLP will be quick to do so after Dr Minnis’ address tonight. However, their policy suggestions don’t appear to have any magic wand to prevent the spread of the virus either.
Dr Minnis also has to contend with the discontent that comes when Bahamians see tourists able to dine at restaurants but their own children unable to go to summer camp.
There are hopeful signs. The US Embassy, for example, is reporting strong interest from the workers on its new building in receiving the vaccine, and if that is any indication of a wider interest from the population, that can only be a good sign.
COVID-19 is a destroyer. It has destroyed lives, it has caused our society to buckle – and now it has even destroyed an Olympic dream.
If people look around and see the risk the virus brings to their lives, their health, and even their futures, maybe that is now starting to encourage people to say well, if the vaccine can make a difference then I’ll take it.
That brings another problem for Dr Minnis – securing enough doses, but he has previously said that the vaccine is really the key to finding our way past this pandemic, and he’s right.
Tonight’s address cannot be about waiting and hoping, however. Dr Minnis needs to find a balance to slow down the spread of the virus while finding a way for the economy to keep going.
Threading that needle will be a true challenge.
Comments
whogothere 2 years, 9 months ago
The task is simple - do seropravetlence study of every person in the country. Do it with anomity to encourage participation. Excluded those that are vaxxed if you want. At some point the only way out of this is to acknowledge natural immunity as a contributor if not the only lasting protection against the virus. It's that simple.
Recent survey in India identified that 67% of the nation has antibodies. Which overlaps with the few that have been vaccinated and brings the total with those protection against the disease to 70%. The hallowed 70% Team Minnis has been after since he started jabbing people...
www.indianexpress.com/article/explain...
tribanon 2 years, 9 months ago
The Tribune has fallen far short of the mark when it comes to balanced reporting about the evolving science behind the novel mRNA vaccines with near zero coverage of the health risks associated with each of the various 'branded' vaccines. Apparently The Tribune's editorial staff have decided that it's best from a public policy perspective to suppress any and all negative information about the experimental vaccines.
Then again, it may just be the overall quality of The Tribune's reporting staff and their penchant for cheaply sourced news in the form of politically motivated public announcements and press releases by elected government officials and their appointees. Skilled research and investigative journalists are a non-existent breed in our country today because the major daily newspapers and news outlets are unwilling to pay the much higher salaries they command. This of course leaves the public more vulnerable to all kinds of misinformation, especially of the kind disseminated by a government to suit its own political agenda.
ThisIsOurs 2 years, 9 months ago
It IS easy to criticize if you dont have the weight of the office on your shoulder. But its also very easy to see incompetence.
The FNM needs to stop hoping things will get better. How much evidence do you need? As to the young Olympic hopeful who tested positive this week. The PHA announced they were at capacity on JULY 6th. That means from the second and third week in June their cases were steadily building. Renward Wells did nothing. Minnis did nothing. Blame them for olympic dreams being dashed and for the exponential spread. They did nothing.
Remember Dr Sands? "we have our first case, shut down". Putting aside whether a complete shutdown was the best option, Dr Sands understands what it means to take urgent an immediate action that addresses the problem
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