The Tribune

THERE is not a soul in The Bahamas who does not want to see the back of COVID-19.

But while some are perhaps looking for the picture to be rosier – for whatever reason – we are fortunate to have steady voices to remind us we should not get ahead of ourselves.

One such voice is Dr Nikkiah Forbes, the infectious disease expert whose plain talking has won plaudits for reminding us of the realities of the world we are in.

Her assessment of our current situation points out some of the little details that get missed as we watch the ups and downs of the daily dashboard – such as there perhaps being less testing during the lockdown which drops numbers of positive cases.

The advantage of course when someone speaks clearly and plainly is that when they do give a positive assessment, you feel you can rely on it more.

So when Dr Forbes notes that we are starting to see a reduction in cases and hospitalisations, we can take it in good faith. Not least of all because of the note of caution that comes with it.

She cautioned that 53 cases per day or thereabouts is lower than a few weeks ago, but added “remember that is way more cases than we had in our highest numbers in the first wave. We must keep our focus and continue to have these numbers come down to get the outbreak controlled in our country”.

Even with the numbers going down further, she warned that COVID-19 is “not going away. It’s going to be here for quite a while”.

So we need to be clear-headed about this. By now, we all know what needs to be done – and anyone stubbornly refusing to follow the simple measures such as wearing a mask and keeping distance is helping the virus to drag us all down. We don’t need to get caught up in the nonsense we’ve seen in other countries, such as the US, where people protest loudly that wearing a mask for the sake of others is an infringement on their freedom. It’s not – it’s a courtesy to our fellow citizens, just the same as they are offering to us.

So let’s not get ahead of ourselves, let’s not drop our guard – and let’s listen to those who tell it like it is.

Donald the brat

It would be funny if it wasn’t so serious.

President Donald Trump gave a press conference yesterday where he gave all the appearance of a sullen schoolboy who’d been told he couldn’t cheat on his homework.

He recited a string of accusations about cheating, complained about polling organisations, muttered about legal measures and looked anything but a man fit to be leading the free world. Notable in his speech was that there were a lot of accusations, but nothing in the way of evidence, and he stomped off before any reporters could ask him for any details. In other words, he had nothing that would stand up to scrutiny.

If ever there was such a thing as the dignity of the office of president, Trump has long since sullied it and he stands in stark contrast to a previous loser in a presidential race – John McCain. When McCain lost to Barack Obama, the crowd began to boo Obama’s name during McCain’s concession speech. McCain shook his head to tell them no.

It is perhaps of no surprise that a politician of such grace became an opponent of Donald Trump despite being in the same party.

It will be of little surprise if Trump’s leaving of his office – if that’s how the vote turns out – is just as undignified as the manner he has shown in its occupation.