The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

HEALTH and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville said churches have acted responsibly and he expects them to continue to do so this Holy Week, when they will be at maximum capacity.

Just days before Easter, it was announced that the COVID-19 Advisory Committee approved churches and other places of religious worship and instruction to increase capacity to 100 percent.

On the sidelines of an event yesterday, Dr Darville explained the rationale behind the decision.

“As the numbers of COVID cases begin to fall in the country, it is the responsibility of the Ministry of Health and Wellness through the EOC to begin to relax the rules. The EOC met and they felt it (was) appropriate to allow churches to meet at 100 percent with necessary healthcare protocols,” he said.

“I believe that this particular Holy Week and the particular season I believe that churches have always acted responsibly and I believe they will continue to do so. With that being said, the Bahamian people must know a responsibility of ours to be able to practice the right protocols and the Ministry of Health is looking very closely at what is happening around the world. We’re looking at the new variant and we will make the necessary decisions when the time comes.”

Regattas are a highly anticipated event on the cultural calendar.

Marine Resources and Family Island Affairs Minister Clay Sweeting had said earlier that he expects several Family Island regattas and festivals will be held this summer once COVID-19 cases remain low in the country.

Dr Darville assured Bahamians that outdoor settings along with wind are advantageous, but there will be some protocols in place.

“The protocols as it relates to regattas are clearly outlined in our health services rules,” the minister told reporters. “It’s outside. They are usually coastal where there’s a very good breeze and so the incidents of possible spread decreases with being in an outdoor environment with a five to six knot wind. Around a regatta site there’s usually a lot of wind and so there’s movement of airspaces, but with that being said the regattas committee are aware of what the protocols are and there will be some protocols in place.

“COVID police will be there to make sure the COVID protocols are maintained but we believe the time has come to let’s get on with life, particularly now that the cases are low. “Regattas are lifelines for those communities in the Family Islands and they need actually to gain resources and so we support them in conjunction with the COVID police and to ensure that protocols are maintained at those sites.”

He also announced that the Cabinet has approved some 278 workers throughout Family islands, inclusive of clerks, handymen, and maintenance staff.

“Our doctor counts, I’ve said it before, in the last few months we’ve hired some 15 doctors that are presently under training to go into the Family Islands.”

This comes as six new cases of COVID-19 were recorded on April 11.

Dr Darville spoke about issues with delayed reporting of new cases, which leads to higher case counts in the daily Ministry of Health dashboard.

The minister explained: “We’re watching all of the cases, some are travel related. we’re a tourism country and we have to open our borders in order for people to come to spend and to get those tourism dollars. Our responsibility at the Ministry of Health and Wellness is to be able to manage our COVID in the country and to be able to did it effectively.

“We are concerned anytime that there’s an increase in numbers, but what we will realise is the increase in some cases in some days are directly related to reporting being delayed for that day and accumulation of two to three days. So we’re working diligently with our labs to ensure that the cases are reported daily so we can have a direct number that correlates with the specific date on (our) dashboard.”