The Tribune

By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT

tsmith-cartwright@tribunemedia.net

CLINICS on Abaco are taking precautions to ward off the spread of the novel coronavirus.

“We are taking every precaution here on the island of Abaco,” said clinic administrator, Velty Parker-Carey.

“Our clinics are ready to go. When staff and patients arrive at the clinics, they have their temperature taken and of course they are given sanitiser to use.

“If a person presents with a high fever, they are escorted to other areas and the necessary examinations are given. That is staff and patients alike. No one is exempt from this.”

Abaco is still reeling from the massive destruction Hurricane Dorian brought in September 2019, hence the heightened need for officials to take precautions.

Mrs Parker-Carey said there are separate entrances and exits for those who have flu-like symptoms, isolating them from others who are visiting the clinics and of course the staff who work at them.

“I am just in from Nassau and I am very pleased with the way the Ministry of Health is handling things,” Mrs Parker-Carey said from Abaco.

“We are all on the same page with the precautions. All of our clinics are open here on the island of Abaco. Our government complex is open as well and the necessary precautions are also being taken there also. The only thing closed on this island are the schools.”

Mrs Parker-Carey said the only thing she was not pleased with was the lack of sanitiser at the airports as she travelled from Nassau to Abaco. She admitted she could not be 100 percent sure sanitiser wasn’t somewhere in the airports, however, she saw no evidence of it being there as she travelled.

Meanwhile Michelle Pinder, an Abaco resident, said Abaconians are getting prepared as best as they can.

“We are hopeful that the coronavirus does not come this way,” Ms Pinder said.

“Dorian still has us all messed up. We have not recovered from that as yet and now this. The good thing is that we are not panicking here. I must admit we are like Nassau, buying up all the grocery in the stores. We are not doing this because we are panicking. We are stocking up on grocery just in the event that the boat service is stopped, and we can’t get any supplies coming in.

“It’s best to be prepared. We have Dorian as our reminder. I pray the virus is contained. I think it’s best for us to just shut down our borders like what the other countries are doing. I would feel safer, then. Abaco can’t take anymore.”

Percy Scott, another Abaco resident, said he is unsettled by the presence of the virus in the country, but he is confident that Abaconians are resilient and can withstand any storm.

“No virus can take us down,” Mr Scott said. “We are getting prepared should it come this way. We survived Dorian which was the most frightening thing any human could go through, so we are being mature about this thing. We are taking the necessary precautions, here in Abaco, and that’s it. That’s all we can do. Nothing less and nothing more.”

The Tribune contacted Abaco’s local government office, however, the telephone appeared to be out of order.

On Sunday, health officials reported the country’s first confirmed case of COVID-19 in a 61-year-old New Providence woman who had not travelled outside the country in the past 20 days. She is currently in hospital.

Those affected with COVID-19 can show symptoms of high fever, cough and shortness of breath. The elderly or those with chronic diseases are more susceptible to becoming severely ill from this disease.

As a precaution, the Ministry of Health advises the public to wash hands with soap and water for 20 seconds regularly; use hand sanitiser regularly, stay home when sick and cover one’s mouth when coughing or sneezing.