Doctors concerned nomination day may have spread virus

As of Monday, August 30, 2021

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

THE president of the Consultant Physicians Staff Association has highlighted concerns surrounding Friday’s nomination day fanfare, saying it could contribute to the spread of COVID-19 while the country’s health system is in a precarious state.

The day drew scores of people in support of various hopefuls as they each submitted documents and paid $400 to officially nominate as candidates vying for Election Day.

Videos and pictures of motorcades and celebratory gatherings, including a Junkanoo contingent in at least one instance, have been criticised by the public as being careless given the ongoing pandemic and fears about the contagious Delta variant.

Dr Sabriquet Pinder-Butler explained yesterday the dangerous impact activities such as were seen on Friday could have on the spread of the virus.

“We do know that not wearing masks, large gatherings, etc, has a tendency to cause further increase in the spread of COVID,” Dr Pinder-Butler said.

“People were hugging, shaking hands – all of those things – and so we’re really hopeful that they were sanitising and keeping those things in mind.

“Unfortunately, we knew from what we’ve seen in other countries that certain events like those does cause further increase in cases and so when we are already in a serious critical state in the country – as we are in this COVID pandemic – and you know severe cases will increase loss of life that we’ve seen certainly in this month of August, that is something that is most troubling.”

There was some public backlash sparked by the scenes outside of Carlton Francis Primary School where candidates for the Bamboo Town constituency nominated.

Health Minister Renward Wells is the Free National Movement’s incumbent candidate.

While they were wearing masks, The Tribune witnessed few social distancing protocols by supporters of respective political parties while at the nomination site.

Dr Pinder-Butler said she did not see clips of this particular event involving Mr Wells, but noted it is very important for people to “lead by example”.

“Certainly, as Minister of Health, certainly as Prime Minister, and all of us who encourage others to do the right thing — we talk about wearing masks, we talk about avoiding large gatherings. We talk about penalties that should be in place for when persons break these laws or preventative measures.

“So, I would imagine there is a video circulating and it is showing Minister Wells or any other persons in those positions to be involved in that, that would be concerning because it also sends mixed messages to our people, which is something that we’ve been challenged with throughout the handling of this pandemic and even worse as we now continue to have people dying every day from COVID.

“We know that the healthcare system is beyond capacity, and we know that physicians, nurses, and everyone else in health is struggling now with what we have. To have events further increase the burden on the healthcare workers is a bit irresponsible at this time.”

Dr Pinder-Butler also questioned what protocols will be in place on Election Day – September 16.

“Are persons going to be able to properly social distance? Are persons going to be in their cars? I know customarily everyone dips in the same ink. Have we given thought to how that’s going to work during this COVID time?” she asked.

Mr Wells has said there will be sanitizer on site to ensure clean hands when voting.

“I don’t know that it would be wise for everyone, and I don’t think it would (be) responsible to have everyone putting their hand in the same ink,” she added. “I hope that all of these things have been given serious thought and if they haven’t they need to at this very moment with the short time that we have left until Election Day.”

Earlier this month, Dr Pinder-Butler said senior doctors along with other medical workers who have shouldered the burden of a COVID-19 induced near collapse of the nation’s healthcare systems were distressed by Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis calling a snap election.

She said not only was the news ill timed, but it was “troubling” because both private and public facilities were already overwhelmed.

The senior doctor said it was extremely “frightening” to come to grips with what now looks like an inevitable skyrocketing of COVID-19 cases in the lead up to the general election.

Before Dr Pinder-Butler’s fears were laid bare, Chief Medical Officer Dr Pearl McMillan told reporters that officials were hoping that people followed measures put in place to safeguard against contracting the virus.

ThisIsOurs 3 years, 3 months ago

From thebmj.com

"Studies in the United States have shown that having a BMI over 30—the threshold that defines obesity—increases the risk of being admitted to hospital with covid-19 by 113%, of being admitted to intensive care by 74%, and of dying by 48%. Public Health England reported similar numbers for mortality, with the risk of death from covid-19 increasing by 90% in people with a BMI over 40."

This is irrespective of age, as being overweight or obese is associated with worse outcomes in younger populations as well. People under 60 years old with a BMI between 30 and 34 are twice as likely to be admitted to intensive care with covid-19 than those with a lower BMI.2 A report from the World Obesity Federation published on 4 March 2021 showed further trends, emphasising that death rates from covid-19 have been ten times higher in countries where more than half of the population is obese.3 And as the world becomes optimistic about vaccines helping us return to some form of normality, a preprint published in February reports that obesity might correlate with a lower immune response to the Pfizer-BioNtech covid-19 vaccine, although the study was small and is yet to be peer reviewed.4 These worrying developments have brought much needed attention to the world’s obesity epidemic.

“The fact it’s chronic is the issue,” says Steve Gortmaker, professor of the practice of health sociology at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. “Nowadays health services are just asking people to maintain their weight, not even lose it.” Gortmaker first published about the US obesity burden in 1987. More than two decades of government programmes have had some impact, but far from enough.

Before the pandemic, around 2.8 million people worldwide died each year as a result of being overweight, from conditions that stem from it including heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Now covid-19 is added to the list. But are countries doing more to tackle this burden? Many experts say no—or at least not as much as one might expect.

ThisIsOurs 3 years, 3 months ago

All of this evidence and noone, noone has said anything about our country, the high rates of obesity and the extreme vulnerability of our people. Its like Christopher Columbus and his small pox carrying immune cruise passengers all over again.

This should be looked at as a national security threat. Thats how critical it is. If you know 10 people you know 6 who are obese. That's our rate. Look at our police force, defence force, prison, at minimum we should be mandating that those guys at least, at all levels, commissioner down, meet a weight requirement

And some will need more help than others, its hard to lose weight and it's hard to get rid of a food addiction. Help them. Imagine if any one of these parties had taken their entire sign printing budget and decided to save some Bahamians. What a wonderful message that would have been. But no staple up the few trees we do have, much better idea.

All we had to do was look at the pics of the deceased. It was right there in front of our eyes