The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business

Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Opposition’s deputy leader yesterday warned that the outbreak of the Zika virus in the Bahamas could “wipe out our tourism industry altogether”, with Canada already having issued a travel advisory on this nation.

K P Turnquest, speaking after the Government confirmed there were now four Zika cases in New Providence, called on the relevant Government agencies to employ an “aggressive” approach to combating and eradicating the virus.

“That is a very big concern,” he told Tribune Business of the announcement by Dr Perry Gomez, minister of health.

“That [Zika] has the potential to wipe out the tourism industry altogether. We hope the Ministry of the Environment and Ministry of Health are on this aggressively. That’s a huge problem.”

Canada has already warned pregnant women, and those planning on having children, to avoid travelling to the Bahamas - a potentially major blow for the tourism industry, given that this nation is one of its major source markets.

In advice that was posted last Friday on the Canadian government’s official website, the Bahamas was added to the Public Health Agency of Canada’s list of countries to avoid as a result of the Zika virus.

The Canadian government is “recommending that Canadians practice special health precautions while travelling in affected countries.

“Pregnant women and those considering becoming pregnant should avoid travel to the Bahamas.”

Such travel advisories are likely to both increase in number, and intensity, especially given that Dr Gomez confirmed that two of the four Zika cases had resulted from transmission locally.

Health warnings are a major deterrent to visitors/tourists travelling to the subject countries, hence Mr Turnquest’s fears for the Bahamian tourism industry, the most important economic sector.

Florida’s tourism-reliant economy has also been impacted by an outbreak of Zika, with Miami Beach among the areas impacted. Businesses in locations identified as ‘zones’ where the virus is present, such as Wynwood in Miami, have complained about a reduction in commerce and visitor numbers as a result of health-related concerns.

The Government, though, appears to have heeded Mr Turnquest’s advice for an “aggressive” approach.

Andrew Thompson, assistant director of the Department of Environmental Health Services, yesterday said officials had already begun mosquito fogging efforts on New Providence, and were focusing on the Pinewood Gardens and Carmichael Road areas.

Zika, which has been linked microcephaly in newborn babies, can be transmitted through sex. As a result, travel advisories such as Canada’s will not only deter women from coming to the Bahamas, but their partners and entire families, too.

Dr Duane Sands, the FNM Senator, while acknowledging the potential economic impact, called for Bahamians to be “concerned without being alarmist”.

“With the potential impact of this Zika outbreak on our tourism product and economy, we should all be concerned without being alarmist,” he told Tribune Business.

“The single most important thing is effective public health and environmental campaigns by the Bahamas government.”

Dr Sands said he had yet to see much evidence of mosquito fogging or the presence of Department of Environmental Health Services (DEHS) personnel on the streets.

“Given the threat to the world economy and the fact we have cities saying they are affected by this thing, we ought to be exaggerating our response,” Dr Sands said.

“People should be seeing the trucks on the streets, and public service announcements to demonstrate what people should be doing.”

He added: “Unfortunately, I think our efforts have not been aggressive enough to demonstrate to Bahamians how serious this problem is.

“We don’t want to alarm people or scare off tourists, but it is important to be vigilant.”