The Tribune

• ‘Prudent’ to push fully-vaccinated mandate beyond Nov 1

• Says Gov’t must act quickly given industry’s booking cycle

• Praises measure as ‘disease mitigator’ on ship and shore

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Nassau Cruise Port’s chief executive yesterday urged the Government to swiftly extend a cruise passenger COVID-19 vaccination mandate that has brought “peace of mind” to the tourism industry.

Michael Maura told Tribune Business it would be “prudent” for the Davis administration to extend the requirement that all passengers aged 12 years and older be fully vaccinated before they embark on a cruise beyond its November 1, 2021, expiration.

Arguing that it served as a COVID-19 “mitigator” both on board ships and when passengers are ashore in The Bahamas, he added that time was running out to extend the measure - either via the existing Emergency Orders or some other mechanism - given that there are less than five weeks before it ends.

Mr Maura said the urgency to do this was made more pressing by the cruise industry booking cycle, with passengers typically selecting their trips a month in advance, as The Bahamas could not risk causing any sudden last-minute shocks for visitors via a sudden change in health protocols.

“This new administration will have to look at extending it or simply adopting something similar to what the US has done,” the Nassau Cruise Port chief said, referring to the Biden administration’s requirement that all adult travellers to the US be fully vaccinated come November.

“I think it’s prudent for the administration to extend it. Five weeks is not a long time when you’re dealing with an industry that purchases voyages a month in advance. We don’t want to be surprising customers or passengers a few days before they arrive with new protocols. It’s best to extend it specifically with the requirement that eligible cruise passengers must be vaccinated.

“It’s been effective. It’s materially limited the number of passengers on the ship that become ill. It makes sense that it should be continued and extended... The hope is that the administration will consider extending it for a period of time. A decision needs to be made.”

The newly-elected Davis administration has previously voiced misgivings and scepticism about the COVID Emergency Orders used by its predecessor to regulate Bahamian freedoms and movement during the pandemic, and suggested it will seek to replace them with legislation and other mechanisms. 

The cruise industry provisions, contained in the Emergency Powers (COVID-19 Pandemic) (Management and Recovery( (No.2) (Amendment) (No.8) Order 2021, which came into effect on August 19, were to last from September 3 to November 1, 2021.

These prohibited cruise ships from calling in Nassau, Freeport and other Bahamian islands - including the lines’ private islands - unless all passengers aged 12 years-old and older were fully vaccinated before they embarked the vessel at its original port of departure. Cruise ships also have to submit a health manifest on all passengers and crew before arriving in port, and comply with measures previously agreed with the Government.

“That’s the essence of it; everybody aged 12 years-old and up that is eligible for a vaccine must be fully vaccinated,” Mr Maura told Tribune Business. “It’s effective as a health measure and disease mitigator on the ship.

“It reduces the potential for an occurrence where we have a number of passengers becoming seriously ill because they are unvaccinated. It brings peace of mind to the tourism industry to know a large portion of the cruise industry and our travel industry are fully vaccinated.

“It’s a very responsible step on the part of the cruise industry to require this, and is a responsible step on the part of the Government to demand it. It needs to be continued. It’s due to expire in five weeks, and there is no reason for it not to be extended, especially when you consider the Biden administration has come out with a policy that as of November all foreigners visiting the US eligible for a vaccine must be vaccinated.”

The ‘full vaccination’ mandate was introduced as an alternative to requiring cruise passengers to apply for, and submit, a health travel visa and accompanying COVID test to gain access to The Bahamas. Essentially, it was a compromise designed to relieve the logistical burden on the cruise lines and Ministry of Tourism from having to scrutinise, and check, hundreds of health travel visas at a time.

Mr Maura had said in June 2021 that “there is an opportunity to create greater efficiencies” with the COVID-19 related health questionnaires and documents that cruise passengers must complete.

He argued that The Bahamas’ health travel visa should be incorporated with the cruise lines’ medical forms to ensure passengers do not have to provide the same information twice when visiting this nation for home porting or on transient cruises.

“I do believe there is an opportunity to create greater efficiencies in the health documentation,” he explained. “By that I mean when persons have to fill out cruise industry questionnaires they also complete Bahamas health travel visas, so that they only go through that process once and that information is transmitted to the cruise line, Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Health.

“If they have to do it for the cruise lines, incorporate what The Bahamas requires, and if you’re doing it for The Bahamas, incorporate what the cruise lines want so that people are not uploading the same information twice just to take a vacation.” Through such a system, Mr Maura argued that The Bahamas and cruise industry can eliminate waste and duplication on health protocols, and improve consumer convenience.

While fully vaccinated persons can still catch COVID-19, evidence in The Bahamas and elsewhere suggests they are largely protected against suffering severe, life-threatening illnesses that could result in hospitalisation and even death. The vaccines also reduce, but do not eliminate, the ability of fully vaccinated persons to pass COVID-19 on to somebody else.