The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe said the government has not decided whether it will renew the contract for the Hubbcat monitoring system when the programme expires this month.

The system, which was brought in under the Minnis administration, is designed to track people in quarantine.

According to Mr Munroe, the contract is valued at $8,000 or $9,000 a month.

However, it is not clear if the tracking system is being used by officials to date.

This comes after Mr Munroe revealed last November the former administration had been paying thousands of dollars for COVID-19 tracking devices which he said had never been used.

Asked for an update yesterday, he said: “We settled the protocols for use by it. It’s to be triggered by the Ministry of Health. I can check to see if the Ministry of Health had triggered for our people to tag anyone but I think the contract expires this month if I’m not mistaken. If not this month, then next month.”

Mr Munroe said renewal of the system’s contract will depend on several factors but noted the matter is ultimately up for the Ministry of Health to decide.

“That will be determined when they tell me the use of it after the protocols are settled,” he said when asked about the issue, “and ultimately, that will be a matter for the Ministry of Health if they wish to continue it.”

Last October, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville had raised concern about surveillance of people in quarantine, noting the situation as a challenge.

At that time, he also said his ministry was working closely with the Royal Bahamas Police Force to locate another digital monitoring system to better enforce quarantine rules.

Asked yesterday about the current quarantine compliance rate, Mr Munroe replied: “I don’t know what the compliance rate was. That’s a Ministry of Health matter. I know there were issues in the previous administration, and I know them because of my personal exposure to COVID.

“You probably had non-compliance because people were not formally quarantined. As I said previously, I was actually hospitalised, and I left the hospital without anyone directing me to quarantine at all.

“I just voluntarily went because I think it was the responsible thing to do so we ought not to jump to conclusions when you don’t conduct yourself with ​fact-based matters.”

Since the start of the pandemic, The Bahamas has recorded more than 32,000 cases of COVID-19 and more than 750 virus-related deaths.