The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Senior Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said officials have not decided whether to extend the country’s state of emergency beyond May 23.

“I couldn’t say at this point in time,” he told reporters in Exuma over the weekend.

“We’ve been watching the statistics, watching the hospitalisations, watching the response. Our main objective and goal going forward is to ensure we come out of what we are going through as quickly as possible so I would discuss with physicians, hear their view, discuss with my colleagues, and come up with a final determination on what is best for the nation.”

The Minnis administration has drafted legislation that would give the government power to enforce COVID-19 related rules without declaring a state of emergency.

“We have been working on a new legislative framework, but I don’t know what direction we will take at this particular time,” Dr Minnis said. “Whatever direction we take, we will take one that is best for the nation.”

Despite Dr Minnis’ comments, Attorney General Carl Bethel confirmed last month that whether a new statutory framework is implemented, or the state of emergency is extended, “there will be some legal framework” to restrict physical contact until the country obtains herd immunity.

“The argument over, ‘well, you know this emergency powers and it’s over a year’ and whatever, that is really a debate as to form, not to content. The content will continue to be that, as a responsible government, we have our duty to do everything in our power to enable the Bahamian people to protect themselves and the only way that this could be effectively done is to set rules, so it is clear to everybody what the standard of conduct is,” Mr Bethel said.

Progressive Liberal Party deputy leader Chester Cooper emphasised his party’s view that new statutory framework should replace the state of emergency.

“We are well documented on record as saying that we had all this time to develop laws that would help us to manage the health and safety of our people and the public health of our country,” he said. “We are well documented on record in saying that a constant state of emergency is unhealthy for the economy, is unhealthy for the psyche of our people and unhealthy for industry, particularly tourism. We advise the government to really amend the necessary legislation that’s already on the books so that we can move to a state of a new normal.

“Yes, we will continue to have to wear masks and have to sanitise, but this issue of the competent authority being the sole authority in our country needs to go away and needs to go away quickly. We need to get back to the executive and the parliamentary democracy running the affairs of our country and the idea of the state of the emergency continuing beyond May 23 is really a non-starter for the Progressive Liberal Party,” Mr Cooper said.