The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunmedia.net

FIFTY-FIVE new COVID-19 cases and one more virus-related death were recorded in the country on Sunday.

The new cases bring the nation’s overall tally to 10,220.

The latest deceased victim is a 45-year-old man from Bimini who died on April 25. His death has pushed the nation’s death toll to 198, according to the latest data released from the Ministry of Health.

Meanwhile, of the new cases, 49 were recorded on New Providence – one of which was linked to travel; two on Grand Bahama, one on Abaco and three on Andros. Forty-four people are said to be in hospital sick with the virus.

Yesterday, Progressive Liberal Party Leader Phillip “Brave” Davis again criticised the government’s response to COVID, accusing officials of continuously turning a blind eye to the PLP’s task force's “science-based (and) common-sense recommendations” in helping to defeat the virus.

Given the nation’s worsening health crisis, the opposition leader said there is a need for greater coordination between the two parties, especially as the country battles its third wave of new infections.

“More than a year into our battle with COVID, the government’s continued failure to have sufficient resources in place to battle the virus is indefensible, especially given what is at stake,” Mr Davis said in a statement. “The PLP’s COVID Task Force has repeatedly shared advice and recommendations for the fight against COVID.

“The FNM government has repeatedly ignored science-based common-sense recommendations from our task force, putting petty politics ahead of public health. But hope springs eternal – and we continue to urge this government to recognise that there are tools in the public health toolbox that they continue to ignore.”

One such recommendation highlighted by Mr Davis includes offering free COVID testing, something the group has been calling for since the onset of the pandemic.

“Thousands of Bahamians have been exposed to a person infected with COVID in the last several weeks, and a great many of them are unable to afford a PCR test,” he said.

“As soon as Bahamians learn they were in contact with someone who has subsequently tested positive, they should be able to learn quickly if they are infected, regardless of their resources or symptoms. Instead, Bahamians calling public clinics are told to quarantine for 14 days, which for many Bahamians is entirely unrealistic, given crowded living situations and difficult economic circumstances.

“The government should be knocking down obstacles to access – widespread testing is crucial to fighting this new wave of cases. Public health officials have suggested that the rising case counts released by the Ministry of Health, as alarming as they are, are an undercount; the real situation is even worse.”

Yesterday, the PLP leader was also critical of the government’s vaccination campaign, which he said was lagging behind compared to other Caribbean countries.

He continued: “The government’s vaccination programme is running behind other nations in the Caribbean. We have been informed that the government received proposals from reputable companies who were prepared to bring in sufficient supplies of Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca by early February to vaccinate our entire population.”

“Indeed, these companies have supplied some of our Caribbean neighbours. Had the government secured these vaccines, we would now be in much better shape in terms of both the public health picture and our economic recovery. It’s never too late to start doing the right thing. We hope the government will act in the best interests of the Bahamian people.”

Speaking on the matter in the House of Assembly last week, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis explained while his administration had received offers from several companies, many of them did not meet the proper requirements as outlined by the World Health Organization at the time.

“Yes, we have had many individuals, and the minister of health will speak to this, who would have proposed propositions, in terms of sale of vaccines,” Dr Minnis said in response to Mr Davis, who raised the matter in Parliament last week.

“However, a lot of them were not necessarily meeting WHO requirements at that time. In addition to that, they must go through this sequence of investigation to ensure we maintain the safety level of the Bahamian populace.”