The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

DESPITE increasing concerns that the Delta variant could be present in the country, one Pan American Health Organization official said there is still no evidence the highly contagious strain is here.

Dr Jairo Mendez Rico, PAHO’s virology advisor, spoke during PAHO’s weekly webinar yesterday where he gave an update on test results sent to a reference laboratory in Brazil for variant testing.

According to Dr Rico, none of the recent COVID-19 samples sent from The Bahamas have yet yielded positive results for the Delta virus.

However, he confirmed the Alpha variant was detected in most of the samples.

He said: “Several samples from The Bahamas have been sent to the sequencing genomic lab in Fiocruz lab in Brazil and more recently also to (a lab) in Panama where complete genomics have been obtained.

“According to the most recent information readily available in our database, the Alpha variant of concern has been detected in most of the samples from The Bahamas together with other variants in less proportion.

“So far, there is no evidence of Delta variants correlation in The Bahamas. Nevertheless, increasing detection in the region has been most particularly in Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Guadeloupe and Barbados in close correlation with others, including Alpha and Ghana.

“Talking about the regional situation, the Delta variant has been detected in at least 44 countries and territories.”

Concerns about the Delta variant have reignited in recent weeks due to increasing infection rates and virus-related hospitalisations.

Local health officials have previously said they believe the variant’s presence in The Bahamas is partly what’s contributing to the country’s worsening COVID situation.

Yesterday, PAHO’s director, Dr Carissa Etienne urged nations in the region to make vaccinations a priority as it is the only way out of the pandemic.

Dr Etienne said in the last week, the region reported more than 1.6 million new COVID-19 cases and nearly 22,000 virus related deaths.

Hospitalisation rates among younger people, including adults aged 50 and below, she added, are higher than ever seen before since the start of the pandemic.

“We need to let public health, not politics, guide our pandemic response,” the PAHO director stressed yesterday.

“As vaccines remain limited, countries should prioritise doses for the most vulnerable, like the elderly, health workers and those living with pre-existing conditions. Too many of these vulnerable groups have yet to be vaccinated, even as vaccination campaigns are reaching others who are less at risk.

“So, we continue to urge countries to follow the science, both by designing campaigns that protect the most vulnerable and by applying public health measures that can bring transmission down.”

Meanwhile, Dr Enrique Perez, PAHO’s representative, said while officials understand countries needs to reopen their economies to recover from COVID-19, they must do so safely and “act with extreme caution” especially as it relates to the cruising industry.

“So, consequently with this all the attempts to re-open the ports to cruise ships it is imperative to act with extreme caution. At the present, as per the WHO’s position paper published in February, 2021, the proof of vaccinations against COVID-19 should neither be regarded as a guarantee of free of infections nor be required.”

According to the latest emergency orders, cruise ships will not be allowed to enter a port in The Bahamas unless passengers aged 12 and older are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 starting September 3 to November 1.

However, the policy said exceptions to the vaccination requirement will be made in cases of emergencies, “in other exigent circumstances approved by the government” or if a passenger has a medical excuse for not being vaccinated.