The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

DESPITE operators of the annual Christmas Carnival announcing their return to the country this holiday season, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville said yesterday the government has not yet decided whether it will allow the event to operate this year.

Dr Darville spoke after carnival operators, Midways by McCafferty Enterprises, announced in a statement on Facebook on Monday their plans to return to The Bahamas this Christmas.

“Hello, Nassau. We are coming back to The Bahamas this year for our annual Christmas Carnival. We will update you as soon as we have our definite opening date,” the statement read.

When asked about the matter yesterday, Dr Darville confirmed carnival officials had requested permission from the government to operate this holiday season.

However, he said his ministry was still reviewing that request to see whether it was “feasible” or not given the potential health risks associated with large public gatherings.

“First of all, we are aware that the carnival has made a request to come into the country,” Dr Darville told reporters before attending. “We in the Ministry of Health need to look at whether or not it’s feasible at this particular time and where we are with the pandemic.

“We’re watching our numbers and things are looking good for us this time, but we need to be vigilant because the possibility of the numbers going up exists and so. yes, they have applied and we are looking to see whether or not it’s feasible for them to come into the country at this particular time.”

Last year, the Minnis administration decided to not allow the holiday carnival to take place due to the pandemic and potential risk of further spread.

However, this year’s request to host the annual event comes as daily COVID-19 cases and hospitalisations are trending downward.

Still, the move could raise concerns about COVID spread, particularly among children, since the holiday fair is usually well attended by this group.

Presently, only children between 12 –17 years of age can receive the Pfizer vaccine in The Bahamas.

Dr Darville told reporters that officials were still in negotiations with the United States government to procure the paediatric doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which was recently authorised for emergency use in five to 11-year-olds by the US Food and Drug Administration.

“We are in negotiations for the child vaccine with Pfizer,” Dr Darville said, adding it’s unlikely the country will be able to secure the doses by the end of the year.

“We have made a request to the American government to ask if they could assist us in the next tranche we are about to receive and we are hopeful but we’re also using other diplomatic areas in order for us to be able to have access to the vaccine,” he said.

The minister also cautioned that while overall infection rates are declining, the country is still not out of the woods noting the possibility of a fourth coronavirus wave.

“I think thus far, we are doing a relatively good job,” Dr Darville said of the nation’s COVID-19 situation. “But with that being said, we can’t take things for granted. “It’s always a possibility of a (fourth) wave around the corner and my job as the minister of health and wellness is to ensure that we prepare the country for the possibility of a fourth wave.

“But, we are pleased and Bahamians are going back to work. Bahamians are now being able to take care of their own financial commitments and that is good news for The Bahamas at this time.”

He also said: “We’ve made it very clear that this government will roll out free testing throughout The Bahamas. We’re still in the pilot project phase and there’s a few more islands where we want to conduct free testing in and as we speak, we’re in negotiations with IT companies in order for us to put in place a digital platform that’s directly related to testing and contact tracing. Testing without contact tracing, I’ve always said, is like bread without butter. The two must coincide in order for it to be effective.”

Since the start of the pandemic, The Bahamas has recorded 22,544 cases of COVID-19, with only 275 of those still active.

Twelve new cases were recorded on Monday.

There have also been 661 COVID-19 deaths, while 67 other deaths remain under investigation.