By RASHAD ROLLE
Tribune Senior Reporter
rrolle@tribunemedia.net
THE Bahamas reached the grim milestone of more than 1,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases yesterday as government offices continued to shut down after exposure to the virus.
The forty-seven new cases include a single-day record 40 for New Providence. There were also five cases confirmed on Cat Island, one on Abaco and one on Exuma. New Providence has recorded 144 confirmed cases in the last week.
Cabinet Office announced that the Ministry of Health headquarters on Meeting Street was shut down for deep cleaning and sanitisation after officials learned that a staff member there tested positive for the virus. That person had not been to work since July 28.
“The Ministry of Health has initiated contact tracing to determine the level of exposure to employees and visitors to the buildings,” the statement said. The ministry is expected to reopen on Monday. Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Delon Brennen said in lieu of the closure health officials will connect virtually rather than face-to-face.
Cabinet Office also announced that the administrative building at the northern compound and the security office of the Ministry of Public Works were closed for cleaning and sanitisation.
Meanwhile, the Public Hospitals Authority announced in a statement that yesterday at 12 its corporate offices, including buildings A and B, were closed for deep cleaning and sanitisation with operations to resume at 9am on Monday.
The authority said: “The PHA implemented its COVID-19 response plan yesterday when the positive result was reported. The Ministry of Health Surveillance Unit has initiated assessment and contact tracing and all national COVID-19 protocols are being followed to ensure the health and safety of staff.”
The temporary office closures came after the Cecil Wallace-Whitfield Centre on Cable Beach, which houses the Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Finance, closed after a worker there tested positive for COVID-19.
Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest and Education Minister Jeff Lloyd have all voluntarily self-quarantined out of an abundance of caution after the buildings in which they work were exposed to the virus.
Comments
DWW 4 years, 2 months ago
I am amazed that only 12% of the cases have recovered since March. Is it more dangerous to the Bahamian physique than it is to other nationalities?
tell_it_like_it_is 4 years, 2 months ago
Lol, I'm detecting sarcasm here😁... I'm sure they just don't follow up to see who has recovered. Government proving they are just lousy as usual.
ThisIsOurs 4 years, 2 months ago
you may have a point about "physique", this virus does not like Big Sexy
SP 4 years, 2 months ago
No surprise here. As I repeatedly suggested at the outset of this foolishly self-inflicted second wave, the surge would begin between the 12th and 18th of August.
We should expect elevated amounts of cases for the next 2 to 3 weeks before seeing any stabilizing or decrease in cases.
Why they told us to expect a 2-week lockdown with 100's of cases when it actually took 3 months to get the initial first wave with single-digit cases under control is yet another mystery. They should have told the people the truth so as many people as possible could plan as best they could for at least another 3 months minimum lockdown.
I don't know what criteria the COVID task force is using to make decisions, but obviously common sense isn't one of them!
ThisIsOurs 4 years, 2 months ago
It is sad to note that you did. We are suffering but it's not because nobody knows what to do or noone could have ever imagined. Brensil Rolle told us yesterday that he couldn't do anything different to prevent the lines at the stadium. Who knew? who could have imagined?. These aren't unintelligent men, I'm not sure what's happening to them.
tribanon 4 years, 2 months ago
Why is Minnis still PM?
Why haven't D'Aguilar, Wells and Turnquest resigned from their cabinet posts?
mandela 4 years, 2 months ago
At this point in time, all the lockdowns and curfews in the world can not and will not get us back on the right track as before opening the border, just like all opportunities if you are not prepared when it comes, if you fall asleep when you have it, if it is not taken advantage off when you have it, it will be lost and the chance to get it back is long gone. When we opened the border and ran after money instead of health we lost the opportunity to stay healthy and now we are more in debt than before, the money we will now have to spend to get healthy, we could have used that same money with closed borders to stay healthywhile enjoying the beach on days like today. 35 degrees F. The person or persons responsible for the terrible handling of our affairs (the Bahamas) should be held responsible and disciplined. Let's say someone owns a business e,g laundromat, doctor's office, airline, and their CEO loses on opportunities to keep the company running and healthy they will have a lot of explaining to do or like Trump likes to say "you're fired" they would be on their way out, gone.
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