The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

Industries impacted by the government’s tightening of COVID-19 restrictions have lamented the return to “the old norm” and warned that small businesses will increasingly struggle to survive.

Cindy Coakley-Knowles, the Bahamas Bridal Association’s president, told Tribune Business that smaller wedding operators will be impacted the most while large event planners will carry on unaffected by the measures taking effect from today.

Weddings, funerals, spas and gyms are among those that will be hit. For weddings and funerals, only 30 persons maximum will be allowed to attend such ceremonies either indoors or outdoors. For gyms, capacity will be restricted to 33 percent and exercise groups limited to ten persons.

Spas for massages, waxing, threading and facials will be closed. However, there was no mention of any restrictions being imposed on other industries that attract large gatherings, such as movie theatres.

Ms Coakley-Knowles said: “It’s sad because we know that only the small businesses will be affected. Those small destination businesses will be affected because the hotels and big conglomerates and event destination management companies, they’re still going to move forward with their large numbers and doing their events as they have been doing for the past ten to 12 months. It’s only the small businesses that are hurting with this back and forth with the numbers.”

Dr Kent Bazard, owner/operator of Empire Fitness, said that if the government keeps restricting business operations it needs to develop a solution that would offset some of the overhead costs they still have to pay regardless.

He said: “If they are going to decrease the amount of income or revenue a business can make, then they need to look into how they’re decreasing these business expenses, otherwise the economy will fail. It’s just that simple. You just can’t keep decreasing a business’s income and not address the expenses at all in no way, form or fashion. It’s really unfair.”

Kirsch Ferguson, president of the Bahamas Funeral Directors Association, said that as professional caregivers they “have to do what the law says”, but it is “disappointing” that the industry is back to the “old norm. This will be a heavy burden on families moving forward who have funerals already in place now for services within the next week or so”.

Acknowledging that it was expected due to the increase in the COVID-19 cases and hospitalisations, Mr Ferguson said the “government is doing every effort to mitigate the spread from expanding any further”.