The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Senior Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

FAMILY Island residents worry they are unprepared for COVID-19 despite assurances from the government.

Their concerns were heightened yesterday after Kim Johnson-Rolle, a mother of three who was airlifted off Bimini and brought to New Providence, died after displaying what Health Minister Dr Duane Sands said were symptoms consistent with COVID-19. Officials are awaiting her test result.

However, infectious disease expert Dr Nikkiah Forbes suggested last night that Mrs Johnson-Rolle’s arrival to New Providence took long because it was difficult getting aircraft operators to transport her to the island.

“I was there when the lady came to the hospital and unfortunately this patient was critically ill, she did have symptoms that could overlap with COVID-19, cough, fever and shortness of breath…” she said in an interview on Behind the Headlines with Clint Watson. “The sad part is in this situation where we’ve never been in before, there is fear and stigma, we are seeing where people are afraid to even offer care and do the usual. On an every day time outside COVID-19 we have support, we have ways to get patients from the Family Islands if they require care in Nassau to get care. Because of fear, those fell through, not because of efforts that we didn’t make. We made the best efforts to get her here and as Minister Sands said, the defence force should be congratulated for getting this patient here so that we can do all that we could for her. Unfortunately, she was having significant distress and difficulty breathing and by the time she got to us there was nothing we could do for her. That was not in any small part because of fear for transporting this patient and the level of care that she would’ve needed.”

Myron Saunders, a Bimini resident, said his community is waiting to hear if Mrs Johnson-Rolle was COVID-19 positive or not.

“With the flights, hearing what happened to her, it took too long for her to get to New Providence,” he said. “I think once you’re at that level where you need assistance breathing, you should be flown out immediately.”

Former Grand Bahama Minister and Progressive Liberal Party Senator Dr Michael Darville echoed his sentiment.

“On close examination of the timeline I am constrained to ask why it took the government some 30 hours to respond to this emergency,” he said in a statement. “Pointedly, are the facilities in the Family Islands equipped to attend effectively to persons who exhibit extreme respiratory distress? If they are not, what alternative arrangements has the government made to give urgent medical support to such persons?”

Terrence Davis, the Harbour Island Chief Councillor, said health officials on his island have had multiple meetings to prepare for a crisis. However, he said he has not yet been given a definitive answer on how long it would take for someone with respiratory distress to be flown to New Providence. Usually, he said, the local doctor can get an emergency flight in and out in a reasonable time.

“If there is a possible case,” he said, “what would be the timeframe of getting from here to Nassau? Honestly, we haven’t gotten a conclusive answer as yet and that’s something we were supposed to (find out) today. I would hope that it would be somewhere between one and two hours after someone is diagnosed and there is speculation based on that person having symptoms. I would hope it would be two hours the most but it’s something we should get definite answers for.”

Yesterday, Dr Sands confirmed that ventilators, an essential resource for people with severe respiratory challenges, are only available in New Providence and Grand Bahama. Moreover, samples can be collected from people on Family Islands but must then be transported to New Providence to be tested.

These caveats worry residents on islands like South Andros, according to former Family Island administrator Francita Neely, 74, who said her island does not have a resident doctor and people wonder if action can be taken quick enough to save lives during emergencies.

“We only have the nurses that we are depending on so it’s really hard,” she said yesterday. “God forbid if we have something consistent with a breakout of the case here, it would be really hard on the nurses to handle situations and right now, if you want to go to Nassau you can’t move because the boats are not being allowed to carry passengers and the airline has been put on temporary hold until further notice.”

Mrs Neely said she is obeying Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis’ social distancing orders, staying away from people, not venturing outside her yard and relying on her stockpile of goods to see her through. However, she worries about her health and that of her husband, who is 77 and asthmatic.

“This community is depending solely on prayers and the protection of God. If something happens God forbid I don’t think we are prepared,” she said. “They have a room in the clinic in case anybody shows symptoms, they have a place where persons can be carried without them having to come in the outer part of the clinic, that is good, but what do we do when we don’t have the life-saving equipment?”

Another South Andros resident, Joel Rahming, 52, said the government’s shutdown of the island has helpfully prevented the arrival of foreigners who might be carriers.

“But what if it’s already here?” he asked. “We operate food stores and a gas station and people are moving. Those on the island are moving around to the food store, the bank, the gas station and those essential places. If it’s on the island, sooner or later you would have a multiplication of cases and what we gon’ do? How many people can they airlift at one time if it comes to that?”