The Tribune

By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT

ts-cartwright@tribunemedia.net

A LOCAL health official said if the government can minimise the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak, which occurs roughly 45 days after the first case is reported, the amount of deaths can be reduced.

It was also revealed yesterday that nine nurses are in quarantine due to exposure to the virus.

Dr Melisande Bassett-Collie, president of the Bahamas Doctors Union, said Bahamians need should not panic but watch world trends and follow suit.

“What we have learned from other jurisdictions is that this disease will follow a pattern,” she said at a press conference. “The pattern rises and falls. The peak, which occurred roughly in 45 days, can be mitigated by several things: minimising the amount of hospitalisations, minimising deaths and minimising hospital capacity.”

Dr Bassett-Collie said other countries have managed to bring the curve of that pattern down by practicing the aforementioned three-point method.

“We all know that we cannot tolerate having this country shut down for any extended period of time,” she continued. “So, what we have been suggesting is that we go to the extreme to help the government and country out and get the hotel workers back to work. What works for those other countries can work for us here in The Bahamas.”

Dr Bassett-Collie stressed the importance of social distancing, now recommended at three to six feet between each person, washing hands often for 20 seconds each time.

While doctors and nurses support the government in its plan to fight the spread of the disease, they say they have some concerns.

“We have been in discussions with our members, as well as the government, from the beginning of the year with suggestions and ways to mitigate the disease,” Dr Bassett-Collie said. “We cannot get all of the things (supplies) we would like to have, as we are limited and we have constraints as a country, but we are doing the best with what we have.”

Bahamas Nurses Union president Amancha Williams said nurses are focused on helping the public and saving lives during this crisis.

She admitted that training to deal with COVID-19 threat has been a bit slow, but said there is a schedule and everyone will be trained.

She also defended nurses against speculation they abandoned a patient at the Fleming Street Clinic last week due to fears of the disease.

“Let me clarify this,” Ms Williams said. “No nurse abandoned their post at the Fleming Street Clinic. All nurses remained inside, and this information comes from the nurse in charge at that particular time. Nurses remained on duty and attended to the patient.”

Last week, Health Minister Dr Duane Sands revealed that staff of the Fleming Street Clinic evacuated the facility when someone suggested a patient had contracted the virus. Officials later said that woman tested negative. Expressing frustration with fake news, he said the person who made the remark––a suspected clinic employee––will be fired if found.

However nine nurses are in self-quarantine after they were exposed to patients with the virus. Those nurses were stationed at the Fleming Street Clinic and at the Princess Margaret Hospital. The first confirmed case visited both of those locations.

The Bahamas now has three confirmed cases of COVID-19. The worldwide death toll is now at 8,000.