The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Senior Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

EMPLOYEES of Atlantis said yesterday that they were overwhelmed and excited to return to work for the first time in months.

Atlantis executives welcomed 2,500 employees, applauding them as they entered the resort grounds.

Glendina Williams, 33, said it was exciting to return to work after months of uncertainty. Ms Williams works in the human resources department. She has not been to work since March 21.

“It seemed like a new day has come,” she said yesterday.

“It was something to look forward to. It was something that gave me hope. It was the best feeling in a long time. It’s good to be back and I’m happy to see a lot of persons and colleagues.

“There are bright eyes and the tone is different because it’s great seeing fellow colleagues and knowing they too survived this pandemic.

“Being away was a difficult time for everyone,” she added.

“The loss of salary was a common problem. The stresses of not knowing how the economy will rebound, the mounting bills financially was a trying time for everyone and then when there were multiple days of the borders opening and closing and your job is directly tied to tourism, that ultimately affects you, your household and your family.”

The return of thousands of employees to Atlantis this week is the best news the Bahamian tourism industry has had in months. It comes as COVID-19 cases in the country have dropped considerably even after relaxed restrictions kicked in at the start of November.

Kara Saunders, 29, said she was mostly off from work from March, though she worked from home a bit between April and July.

A designer in the marketing and public relations department of Atlantis for three years now, Ms Saunders said she “did some art work, tried to get healthy and just stayed positive” during her break from the job.

“I was significantly affected, but I’m definitely in a better position than the rest of the country,” she said. “Our leaders were very good with always communicating with us and addressing us when there were rumours going around and always trying to send out a positive message to the team members.”

As for returning to work recently, Ms Saunders said: “Today especially was exciting – I won’t lie. I had prepared my mind that we weren’t going to open this year at all. I was pretty sure Atlantis would not open at any time in 2020 at all.”

Antonio Johnson, the assistant director of entertainment and special events at Atlantis, said he returned to work on November 16 in preparation for the reopening. Even for him, however, yesterday was an exciting day.

“It was like I just came back to work today because a lot of people came back,” he said. “Today was like the first day at school. You got a chance to see all the people you haven’t seen in a while.”

Mr Johnson, who had been off since March 26, said he used the time off in productive ways like sharpening his professional development.

“I joined a few organisations and I got involved in a few organisations I was previously a part of,” he said. “I spent a lot of time with my family and got to be involved with my church. It was a good break. I picked up a new hobby, I started to cycle just to keep myself fit. On a normal day of work I walk a lot and I’m very active so that hobby was helpful.”

He said: “My family was impacted (by the pandemic). I had to assist them and me not being to work, I had to redirect my savings and spend a lot of my savings.”

Atlantis kicked off its partial re-opening yesterday following a near nine-month shutdown due to COVID-19, with the Royal Towers, The Reef and Harborside timeshare complexes among the facilities that will open first.

Earlier this week, Russell Miller, the Paradise Island mega resort’s executive vice-president of hotel operations, said the property is operating under a “safety zone concept” to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

“So every guest that comes into the country for government protocols will have to have the PCR tests,” he said this week.

“When they check in, we’ll need evidence of the PCR test plus the travel visa. But in the bubble, they will not have to have any additional tests. So if they are here beyond five days, they do not require to have the fifth day test. They can enjoy the facilities, all of the amenities we have in place, and just have a great vacation without any additional test requirements.

“When you walk through the property, you’ll see that we have a number of sanitising stations set up, and protocols in place for the employees coming back. It’s been now about four weeks that we’ve started doing this. Every employee from the top level all the way down through the ranks has to have an antigen test on a weekly basis.”