Dr Duane Sands. Photo: Donavan McIntosh/Tribune staff
By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT
tsmith-cartwright@tribunemedia.net
FORMER Health Minister Dr Duane Sands sent a strong message to young people yesterday, calling their disregard for COVID-19 rules and feeling of invincibility towards the virus “just plain dumb”.
He said younger people are falling ill and being admitted to hospital with the disease, while stressing that COVID-19 health facilities in New Providence are approaching capacity.
Dr Sands spoke to journalists outside of the House of Assembly on Wednesday just after Speaker Halson Moultrie chided the government for ignoring requests to quarantine the House’s staff, who were exposed to the COVID-19 virus.
Speaker Moultrie subsequently adjourned Parliament.
Dr Sands warned young people that they are not invincible as far as COVID-19 is concerned. There have been numerous videos and photographs making rounds on social media lately, showing young people at parties and other large gatherings practising no social distancing and not wearing masks.
“No disrespect but it is just plain dumb,” the former health minister said. “If you believe that you are going to survive because you are young, understand that with the new variants out there young people are being struck down with COVID. People in their 30s in The Bahamas are now being hospitalised with COVID … seriously ill from COVID.
“So this is not just the disease of older people or people with comorbidities. As we determine the phylogenetic status of the COVID virus that is in The Bahamas, we might come to find out that we have some aggressive strains. But why wait until then? A word to the wise is sufficient.”
He said The Bahamas is in a very serious situation in terms of the recent spike in confirmed COVID-19 cases.
“I think we are in a very difficult place. I’ve been saying this now for several weeks,” he said. “The number of cases in The Bahamas has exploded and if you look at the caseload for April compared to the caseload for March, The Bahamas is not in a good place.
“In addition to an increase in the number of cases, we’ve had increased deaths and hospitalisations. So much so now that in Nassau all of the COVID facilities are approaching the full capacity. There are serious concerns and there are a number of people with COVID symptoms that are still not being tested.”
He said the country in its fight against COVID has a serious issue with enforcing the protocols.
“I think what we have is an issue of adherence and enforcement,” he said. “And, perhaps as written they would suffice, provided we adhere to them, and I say ‘we’ or if ‘we’ enforce them. We are all in this together and it is more than just writing a set of rules down and gazetting them. It is each of us living them daily.
“Each of us reminding somebody else who happens to be breaching the COVID restrictions that, ‘hey you are a danger, not just to yourself but to me and to my family and I would wish that you stop doing it.’ Vaccination is a critical part of the fight that beats COVID, but so is prevention. So the public health measures … social distancing, mask wearing, hand sanitisation, avoiding large crowds and treatment.”
Asked his thoughts about what occurred earlier in the House of Assembly with Speaker Moultrie exercising his authority to adjourn Parliament, Dr Sands did not get into the details of it, but instead explained the speaker’s role.
“I think we are looking at the expressions of autonomy of co-equal branches of government,” he said. “We have a legislative, we have an executive and we have a judiciary and the Speaker of the House is an autonomous constitutional entity and he expressed that constitutional authority and I have nothing else to say about that.”
He noted that Bahamians only need to look at the tragedy of India to see what can happen in an instant if they do not follow the Ministry of Health’s protocols designed to ward off the virus. Despite recently declaring victory over the virus, India is now experiencing a surge in cases that is threatening to overwhelm its healthcare system.
“We’ve stopped doing this and I think Bahamians believe that because we have soldiered on for so long that this thing is just going to go away,” the Elizabeth MP said.
“It’s not going to go away. We only need to look at India and see the collapse of (the) healthcare system and the absolute carnage in terms of people that are dying because they don’t have oxygen, because they don’t have treatment, etcetera.
“Bahamas, this thing can change quickly on a dime. We’ve seen it all over the world where today you’re doing okay and tomorrow you are in trouble. So I stand in solidarity with public health people. I stand in solidarity with the doctors and nurses and respiratory technicians, the staff of the Ministry of Health, the minister of health and the competent authority. We all need to be in this together and if we stay together maybe we are going to survive this.”
Dr Sands said even if someone has not been vaccinated as yet, they can protect themselves by wearing their mask, by washing their hands and by avoiding people that they don’t know outside of their circle.
Comments
carltonr61 3 years, 6 months ago
Why are we watching India when the CDC next door to us in our hemisphere just lowered protocol. This is insane and alarmist that will only allow another six months of one man rule and what ever he decides to shaft us with.
carltonr61 3 years, 6 months ago
https://www.rt.com/usa/522295-mask-conf…
Why is government now afraid of CDC rules in this hemisphere. We do not have massive lung disease from air pollution as in India.
professionalbahamian 3 years, 6 months ago
Please, with all due respect - if you are going to bother speaking to the press and typing an article give us some detailed current statistics relative to the Bahamas to be able follow your current narrative!
pablojay 3 years, 6 months ago
Their seems to be a negativity disease going around whenever it comes to responding to these articles. Here we have a prominent physician,who has first hand knowledge of the situation ,telling what he has observed and hardly anyone believes him ,especially those not of his political persuasion. Even if he were to give statistics, they would still be disputed.
tribanon 3 years, 6 months ago
Perhaps Sands can explain to us why Florida has managed to fare so well throughout most of the pandemic to date compared to The Bahamas, even before the US began its vaccination program in earnest. And Florida is a state with a huge population that is also loaded at any given time with hoards of tourists from all over the world. It has hosted the Superbowl crowd, has had spring breakers galore, it has kept its schools open, it has shunned lockdowns and curfews, and even relaxed mask wearing to the maximum extent possible. So why isn't Florida any longer experiencing the kinds of problems we continue to experiencing with the Wuhan virus and its variants? I would submit its mainly because of its excellent leadership compared to our most dismal and failed leadership. Their leadership has learned from their COVID-19 mistakes of the past. They plan well, executed well and are now on top of monitoring the situation when it comes to ensuring adequate medical facilities and supplies, and the targeting and monitoring of the effectiveness of their vaccination/testing programs and limited available resources.
At no time has the leadership of Florida engaged in fear mongering to divide its people and pit them against each other for the purpose of wrongfully taking advantage of the pandemic to seize and hold on to extraordinary powers that heavily infringe on or defeat the most fundamental rights and liberties of the individuals governed. Unlike our own incompetent, dismal and failed leadership, Florida's leadership has always put the interests of its people first in a common sense and pragmatic way that earns trust and respect. And for Floridians, the excellent leadship they enjoy has already rewarded them handsomely and continues to pay huge dividends in the new world we live in today.
By stark contrast, Minnis is consumed by his own political survival, insatiable appetite for power and sinister police state agenda. He is pitting us against each other as evidenced by his ever growing army of unlawful COVID-19 ambassadors, his creation of a new vaccinated class of citizenry with rights the rest of us have had taken away by him, and he has directed his AG to draft new legislation that would allow him to not only keep many of his existing emergency powers through a tribunal controlled by him, but also acquire new dictatorial powers over us.
Yes indeed, successfully fighting this pandemic and bringing our economy back to life will mainly be all about competent and trusted leadership that puts our people first. And that's something we are guaranteed to be without as long as the megalomaniacal and tyrannical Minnis remains PM.
proudloudandfnm 3 years, 6 months ago
Florida has done well???? Are you insane????
tribanon 3 years, 6 months ago
I see you're still living on that other planet. You should travel to earth one of these days and visit Florida.
TalRussell 3 years, 6 months ago
Hasn't taken even a fired health minister to flip over like a dime, kickin off his Elizabeth Constituency's reelection campaign by blaming the younger within his own constituency for spreading COVID. But, according to his own successor's health data, fewer from the PopoulacesCommoners' is being admitted into the realm's hospitals. Who's data is incorrect.
What we sure as hell don't need is a whole new set of comrades that peddle fake data, yes? Also, take note, the Elizabeth member, remained all silent during House Speaker's attempt to fix this COVID thing from spreading up in the HOA, but left alone - all exhausted - by his Elizabeth colleague, yes?
SP 3 years, 6 months ago
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and yet children were allowed back in schools to infect each other and spread the virus to family members!
The government isn't serious. As usual, they're talking out of their mouth and hip at the same time and doing the exact opposite with their actions.
Now infections are forcing schools to shut down immediately causing confusion and frustration among parents that suddenly have to find emergency daycare for children.
Had pig-headed minister of education Commandant Llyod listened to my common sense warning that schooling children would inevitably cause another Covid wave, and closed schools, parents would have been able to plan daycare for their children in advance.
What is the "real" harm of closing schools and children missing 1 year of schooling?
Hypothetically, If schools were opened throughout the pandemic and 100% of children miraculously passed with A+ averages, where would these children go after graduation? Regardless of the bullshyt government feeds us, the economy is totally stagnated, unemployment is 40%+ and 90% of the new graduates have absolutely no chance of finding employment anyhow.
The Bahamas educational system simply does not have the resources of U.S. school systems. We CANNOT effectively implement social distancing protocols in schools.
Close schools, roll back curfew to 8:pm, and limit the number of people allowed on beaches and gatherings.
tribanon 3 years, 6 months ago
The scientific data that keeps coming in on the serious physical, social and mental harm being done to kids by keeping them out of school and cooped up at home is not looking good at all. Sacrificing our young ones in an effort to save the more vulnerable elderly among us should really no longer be an option.
SP 3 years, 6 months ago
@ tribanon......Understood, well and good. However, when children infect parents causing them to lose income by not being able to work or GOD forbid die due to Covid, who will take responsibility for the children's wellbeing? Government? (NOT)
There is no easy solution. However, obviously, sticking our heads in the sand and pretending all is well is just plain s-t-u-p-i-d!
ThisIsOurs 3 years, 6 months ago
they've started believing their own lies, that's why the cases are going up.
It was clear from early March what was happening. First they pretended like nothing was amiss. when they couldn't pretend anymore they started saying talk of a 3rd wave was premature. So basically they let everything blow up in their faces. now they'll blame it on the party and say don't touch the tourists cuz they can't have covid.
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