The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

The whole idea of public health is predicated upon knowledge. Knowledge based on years of medical understanding. Knowledge of a pandemic. Knowledge of how and who to test, to quarantining, to isolation and lock downs, all of it is knowledge driven. That is why I am absolutely confused and angered by the stance taken by this government’s COVID Surveillance Unit.

I live on Andros. When I called our local “clinic” yesterday to find out where any of the confirmed COVID-19 cases on Andros were, I was told that that information is not available. Our nurse said she too, was frustrated with the lack of information coming from our Ministry of Health. Our own health clinic here is unable to tell us where these cases are? Though I tried calling the COVID-19 Surveillance Hotline number listed in this paper, I could not get an answer after 16 calls.

On one hand, it is important to know if we have come in contact with a COVID positive person, and yet our government’s surveillance team refuses to disclose who, and where these positive cases are, even to our own health officials here. The operative word here is “refuse”.

If someone has tested positive for COVID-19, I would be in favour of each of those people being required to wear a T-shirt that has a big scarlet “C” on the front anytime they are in public. I don’t give a hoot about stigmatisation. This isn’t AIDS, where it is sexually transmitted. This is a highly contagious virus.

My job is to protect myself, my family and others I come into contact with. I want to know who has COVID-19. Not just a Brave Davis or a bishop. I want to know who, if someone in my community has COVID-19.

Further, after speaking with a police officer here, they expressed their grave concern they were unable to do their jobs, such as enforcing quarantine measures, if they do not have access to the information.

For the government to withhold information on who has COVID is, in my mind, a criminal act. That the government feels it has the right to withhold the names and addresses of those who have tested positive is unacceptable.

By withholding this information, they are assuring the public that every other effort made to combat this serious virus is useless. Perhaps this is why we are seeing escalating numbers of cases, hospitalisations, and deaths.

While it was beyond all logic to allow Bahamians to travel to Florida, a known COVID hotspot, and return three days later, without taking a COVID test, this withholding of information tops the cake. And, what good is quarantining people coming to Andros from Nassau, when they are picked up by their relatives, go home to their relatives, and then their relatives are then mingling among the rest of us.

Minnis and company get an “F”. And, if we were truthful about it, it could be said they have blood on their hands.

PORCUPINE

Andros,

October 21, 2020.