The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The South Andros Chamber of Commerce president yesterday said the area may just as well have been placed under COVID lockdown too because its residents are now unable to leave the island.

Joe Rahming explained to Tribune Business that while South Andros was not included in the 14-day restrictions imposed on the rest of the island from 8pm on Sunday night, its residents are now unable to access COVID-19 RT-PCR tests because that was all being handled in North Andros. As a result, he added that no one can obtain the necessary negative tests required for inter-island travel.

“According to the prime minister on Sunday, it’s really for North and Central Andros, but we are handled the same way. For what reason, we don’t know,” Mr Rahming said. “We are being treated this way because we need a PCR test to go out of Andros to Nassau, or to any place and to come in, so you know that’s difficult for us.”

While essential services, including healthcare facilities, are supposed to be open in North and Central Andros, Mr Rahming reiterated: “The thing about it is we don’t have a way to go and get our tests done to travel.

“This is expensive. Suppose you are sick and you have to come to Nassau to see a doctor? You have to do a PCR test to go, and a PCR test to come. You’re looking at $300 plus a ticket. There has to be a decision made on the pricing of these RT-PCR tests, because if you have to visit a doctor that is difficult and hard. You can’t get tougher than that.”

Dr Hubert Minnis, in a televised address on Sunday, said Cat Island, the Berry Islands and North and Central Andros will undergo a 14-day lockdown to curb the spike in COVID-19 cases in those islands.