By LEANDRA ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
lrolle@tribunemedia.net
THE Ministry of Health reported 125 new COVID-19 cases and two virus related deaths yesterday, pushing the nation’s overall coronavirus tally to 18,460.
The country’s death toll is now 408.
According to data provided in the Ministry of Health’s August 31 dashboard, 102 of the new cases were recorded in New Providence, eight in Grand Bahama, six in Abaco, three in Eleuthera and two in Abaco. Officials said 3,167 cases are still active, with 169 people in hospital sick with the virus.
Of the two new deaths recorded, health officials said both victims were from New Providence, including a 68-year-old woman who died August 25 and a 45-year-old man who died August 27.
In its August 30 dashboard, the Ministry of Health recorded 10 COVID-19 related deaths, while 27 new deaths were added to the nation’s death toll on Sunday, August 29.
One hundred and twenty-one new deaths were reported this month, which health officials said occurred over a five-month period.
In terms of new infections, 3,540 COVID cases were recorded in August, representing the highest tally recorded in a month since the start of the pandemic.
Director of the National HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Programme at the Ministry of Health, Dr Nikkiah Forbes predicted there will be more deaths as the virus surges in the country.
“We’re still very much seeing an increase in the number of cases,” she told The Tribune on Tuesday. “We still have a large number of cases every day and the healthcare system is under a tremendous amount of pressure because of that and all of the COVID care sites are extremely full and above capacity.
“At Princess Margaret Hospital we’re above capacity and it’s very challenging and that’s exactly the problem when you have a surge with a virus like COVID because if it’s spreading exponentially, spreading a lot, there is going to be a tremendous increase in the number of cases above the capacity that the healthcare system can manage.
“So, that does get challenging because we know that we see an increase in the number of deaths when we are above the capacity of the health system to manage.”
However, Health Minister Renward Wells remains optimistic the situation will improve before this month’s end thanks to the large vaccine supply now in the country.
“I do believe by the end of September, and I personally believe even before the general elections we’re going to see a reduction in the numbers. We’ve seen it fluctuate and so we may see some numbers going down even before that time…. And at the end of the day, as long as we continue to vaccinate, we will get over this,” he told reporters Tuesday.
Comments
whogothere 3 years, 3 months ago
I wonder if The Bahamas is going through the spike that has been witnessed pretty much every where when vaccination programs take off... Cuba, Seychelles, Israel, UK - as soon as vaccinations started people started dying of COVID...Why? Seychelles literally had not had one death prior to starting their vaccination program.. Cuba had maybe 150 covid deaths in 2020 so far in 2021 it's recorded over 5000 since it's vaccination program began...Is it that vaccine programs are super spreader events in themselves...? It's alleged that there is a temporary immune decline directly after vaccination...? Whatever the reason it's been witnessed everywhere and must be considered a collateral damage event that should be thoroughly investigated...
Then again it could just be seasonality and the stupid move to throw a election at the peak of covid outbreak...so much for the politics of "saving lives"...Maybe the politicians are not actually focused best health practices but rather on using the heath as a means to political capital and central...I wonder..?
Bobsyeruncle 3 years, 3 months ago
Hey buddy, how's it hanging?
Have you checked out The Israel Ministry of Health Covid dashboard recently? You might find some of your answers pertaining to Israel on their website.
Maybe the 102 Covid related deaths in Seychelles are all in unvaccinated people ? Maybe it's related to the Beta variant, or when the Delta variant first appeared on their shores ? Maybe it's related to the Sputnik, Covishield & Sinopharm vaccines they have primarily used. Or maybe it's just one big coincidence ?
ThisIsOurs 3 years, 3 months ago
Not a coincidence. Its travel. Same as happened in 1492 when Christopher Columbus showed up in our islands with a boatload of walking virus carriers. 1492 -> "Travel"
ohdrap4 3 years, 3 months ago
But actually, they need to exhume all known skulls of Columbus, as I think he dead from Covid.
ThisIsOurs 3 years, 3 months ago
lol
whogothere 3 years, 3 months ago
Hows my buddy bob? so glad you noticed it's happening everywhere too ; )
Israel doing really well now hey - 1st in the world in Daily cases per capita...in spite of being first to vaccinate 80+% of their adult population and well also now 26% of population with boosters... Cumulative cases just passed a million..It's going really great...Vaccination has made a huge difference to their seasonal burden of respiratory illness. Let's see.... September 1st last year they were at 15 deaths per day (thats with nobody vaccinated) this year they're at around double that...hmmmmm
Vietnam is a textbook example of the post 1st dose vaccination spike - it's been the poster boy for rigorous restrictions. 4.6 million in quarantine centers over 2020, 6 million quarantined at home..aggressive tract and trace..borders shut.. Orwell would have been proud..and to be fair it worked 35 deaths in 2020..dodged the spread of Delta throughout 2021..but since august cases/death have gone bananas - the only thing that is different this summer is a aggressive vaccination program that pickup steam in June...Between July and September nearly 12,000 people have died in Vietnam of covid...
The only thing thats difference is a vaccination program...weird..!?
https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus/…
Bobsyeruncle 3 years, 3 months ago
Ok, here we go
Israel doing really well now hey - 1st in the world in Daily cases per capita.
Nice try! Nice to see you're still cherry picking. On 9/2 they were 3rd; 9/1 - 1st; 8/31 - 9th; 8/30 - 3rd. Hopefully you realize the daily infection rates change every day, for every country? Also, IMO this is a meaningless statistic since smaller countries are always going to be at the top. Same applies to the Total confirmed cases per Capita, where Israel is 11th on the list behind a host of other small countries.
Let's see.... September 1st last year they were at 15 deaths per day (thats with nobody vaccinated) this year they're at around double that.
Ok, I'll give you this, but the death rate between April & July this year was in the low single digits per day. It's really only since the beginning of August that it has been increasing to the high 20's per day. Hopefully you noticed that this was also when the number of severely ill unvaccinated patients started increasing at the same rate, but the severely ill vaccinated patients remained pretty constant. Unlike you, I won't read too much into this as I don't believe correlation always means causation.
Have to admit, I don't know much about the Vietnam numbers, but my guess is they were a victim of their own initial success. By all accounts, since they had very low infection rates, vaccine uptake was not seen as urgent by the government or health authorities, and they were looking to develop their own version of a vaccine. Subsequently, they are now in a mess and the 170 million doses they ordered are not scheduled to arrive until the end of the year, and their own internally developed vaccine is still in the works.
whogothere 3 years, 3 months ago
Oh bobby, you're funny...almost cute with your "gotcha - nice try" antics lol It's actually called news - growth, followed by a incredulous peak - Israel has been the in the top 5 since August 20th, top 10 since august 8/9th, top 20 since August 4th...irrespective massive vaccinations that were heralded as an end of COVID etc etc
This is the first time it's on top the list which is why it's 'news' not cherry picking..
Of course there is a fine line between the two (which 'god knows' the media is soooo guilty of) which is why I substantiated my point with a point that you have had to concede and acknowledge, which is irrefutable - comparatively speaking at this point in time highly vaccinated Israel is not doing better in terms of cases than completely unvaccinated Israel at this time in their 'flu' season last year...
I wish it wasn't the case, I wish vaccination would bring an end to the insanity...but it seems....virus is gonna virus...
But keep on trying dear.. You'll 'gotcha' me soon ; )
Yeah check out Vietnam it's a head scratcher...I'm sure there is another factor but the vaccine program is the obvious differential...
Bobsyeruncle 3 years, 3 months ago
Haha, I did getcha didn't I
Once again you're not looking at the whole picture. What we don't know is whether the deaths are in the vaccinated or unvaccinated, right ?
And how come you don't seem to be able to see the graph & data on the number of seriously ill/hospitalized patients who are unvaccinated ? Am I the only one who can see it, or are you afraid to "see it" ?
I'm guessing research isn't your strong suit. The problem is very few people have enough science education to do research themselves. They are not researching, they are looking for confirmation. They only "research" confirming material as it It gives them permission to keep their opinion.
whogothere 3 years, 3 months ago
Oh bobby what did you get me on? You haven't provide any substantive research whatsoever (oh wait I just remember you don't like to cite your sources - silly me) to support any position - what is your position, by the way? Are you saying Israel's covid crisis has improved in spite of 80+% of their population receiving some form of vaccination? If so back it up..."show me the money!!!" As it stands (and it might change) average daily deaths are the same as they were this time last year and cases are considerably higher...toodle do sweety pie ; ) I'll wait...
oh one more point - you are forgetting to account for one more factor - it's not a binary vaxxed/not vaxxed comparison as their many persons that are elderly whose preconditions prohibit them from tolerating the vaccine - period - those same pre-conditions make them more vulnerable to fatality from covid...those persons continue to make up the bulk of covid of deaths. So a more suitable comparison would be those under certain age and perceived good health.. Age stratified vaccinated data is hard to come by but the Uk does provide it - check it out tell me your findings darling..
Still no gotcha bobby, I'll let you know when you do ; )
whogothere 3 years, 3 months ago
By the way touché thisisours ;)
ThisIsOurs 3 years, 3 months ago
No has everything to do with a massive influx of travellers. Why? Because we saw the exact same pattern in July last year when there was no vaccine
This is not rocket science. In 1918 they linked the global spread of the flu to "travel". Een nothing new
whogothere 3 years, 3 months ago
Vietnam have closed their borders for more than year..
one big change this summer: the beginning of a mass vaccination program. Vietnam didn’t depend on Chinese vaccines, either (not surprising, given the long history of conflict between the two countries). It has mostly used the AstraZeneca DNA/AAV vaccine, along with the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines - the same trio that have dominated Europe.
As of early June, almost no one in Vietnam was vaccinated. Today, almost 20 percent of the country has received at least one dose and 12k died of covid versus 35 in all 2020...
The pattern is exactly the same as we saw in Israel and Britain in January, and many other countries over the spring. The first dose of mass vaccination campaigns is associated with a huge spike in cases.
Too many countries have seen this trend for it to be called coincidental. The question is what’s causing it. Possibilities include post-vaccine behavioral changes (hot vaxxed summer!), vulnerable people clustering together at vaccination sites, or (most likely) some short-term vaccine-driven suppression of the immune system.
Bobsyeruncle 3 years, 3 months ago
Actually from what I've read, they only ordered the Pfizer, Moderna, AZ & Sputnik vaccines in June, and haven't actually received most of them. They weren't supposed to arrive until the end of 2021 or early 2022 (170 Million doses in all).
Also, I think the Pfizer, Moderna and J&J vaccines were only approved for use by Vietnam in July, so they were pretty late to the game.
whogothere 3 years, 3 months ago
Does that change the outcome? As they transitioned from that less than 3% first dose in July to 20% to now - cases and deaths exponentially increased like they did every where else..."why" is the question..and will/is The Bahamas suffering from a similar phenomena?
Bobsyeruncle 3 years, 3 months ago
Your problem is that you are looking for one particular thing to blame - the vaccine, when in fact it is more than certain that it's a whole combination of factors. If it were just one thing (the vaccine), you'd be seeing exactly the same pattern if every single country, bar none. You really have no desire whatsoever to do real research, do you ?
Oh, and I just found this info "As of Tuesday, August 24th, Vietnam had fully vaccinated just 1.9% of its population, while 15.8% of the country’s 98 million citizens have gotten at least one jab"
whogothere 3 years, 3 months ago
Bobby you're not reading my posts - I didn't say 'fully vaxxed' at all.. nor did I say I was blaming the vax...Details buddy.. try to keep up.. I am talking about first dose spikes in vaccination programs around the world. (Vietnam is actually at 18ish% as of September 1st daily sure it's 20% at the minute but thats a minor deet) I-T--H-A-S--H-A-P-P-E-N-E-D--EVERYWERE (mostly ; D) !
But for simplicity and cherry picking sake ; ) let's look at Cuba, Vietnam and Israel...
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/shar…
https://ourworldindata.org/explorers/co…
ThisIsOurs 3 years, 3 months ago
The administration IGNORED all sensible advice on reopening protocols and continue to ignore. Renward is confident the cases and deaths will dry up by election day, we just have to wait it out. Their decisions have led to 120 dead people in 2 months
whogothere 3 years, 3 months ago
True but if they did something it would the same as if they did nothing.. so either way come end of the month we'll either have a corrupt government or a incompetent one...I don't which party best embodies either sentiment...I guess they're just two parts of the same coin..and we're screwed either way..
John 3 years, 3 months ago
I BET they won’t tell you that despite the rhetoric the weekly average for new cases in The Bahamas is down by 200! Because lame duck Minnis is still on his vaccines agenda. And as a medical doctor he is ignoring the science because of other ‘obligations’. SIMPLY the DATA shows that that 200 persons LESS tested positive for Covid than the seven days prior. And this is when 90 percent of the countries in the same survey showed either increased numbers of new cases or no change in the numbers of cases. Stay woke and awoken Minnis is a sellout! Fire him! Renward Wells is talking more sense than him and Duane Sands.
ThisIsOurs 3 years, 3 months ago
Its a false comparison. We're not testing. Comparing our infection rates to countries that offer widespread free is somewhat meaningless. Deaths on the other hand are irrefutable.
John 3 years, 3 months ago
BUT WE ARE TESTING! BAHAMIANS and RESIDENTS who work in the hotel/tourism industry must be tested weekly. And that’s part of the reason the numbers shot up so high over the past month or so. Other jobs are also requiring tests. Bahamians have been duped into believing if you have a cough or cold or even sneeze they have Covid. So they go get tested. And sometimes they get a false positive and are advised to go get vaccinated. If you come in close contact with someone who is vaccinated, you will also show mild symptoms. And are advised to get vaccinated. And the fact that you didn’t get sick is more reason why you should NOT get vaccinated. Minnis dem digging a deeper hole for Bahamians trying to get everyone vaccinated, despite the makers of the vaccines and other experts now advising that this is not the route to take. Persons who develop natural immunity (recovered) should not be vaccinated. Who is Minnis pandering to ? The cruise ship operators.? Some mad scientists who want to see the effects of a fully vaccinated country?
John 3 years, 3 months ago
Explain how the US that is the greatest advocate of vaccines see their numbers of nee cases continue to climb? They now have FIVE TIMES more daily new cases than any other country. And the mad scramble is about the third (booster) shot. The vaccines wear off in six months. But most manufacturers say don’t administer a third shot before eighth months after ba person is fully vaccinated. Joe Biden (sleepy and senile) says he will start vaccinating Americans at five months despite the science. Well his withdrawal from Afghanistan tells all
John 3 years, 3 months ago
Will this country have enough vaccines to offer third doses in a few weeks or will they now have to pay the piper
carltonr61 3 years, 3 months ago
According to international standards if you die after one shot you are not considered vaccinated. Now Fauci has advocated that should you die without the shot you are considered not vaccinated. I wonder which criteria we use in The Bahamas.
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