• Suggests relaxation for resorts, tourist amenities
• Hails 48-hour test end as boost for winter business
• Says ‘further ease warranted over period of time’
By NEIL HARTNELL
Tribune Business Editor
nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
A prominent hotelier yesterday urged the Government to consider relaxing COVID mask mandates in resorts and other tourist amenities where the majority of persons are fully vaccinated.
Robert Sands, the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association’s (BHTA) president, told Tribune Business that easing pandemic-related restrictions as The Bahamas’ COVID case numbers continue to decline will further spur visitor demand just as this nation heads into its winter tourism peak and the Easter run-up.
Speaking after the Government agreed to a key request by the industry in eliminating the requirement for visitors to take a rapid antigen test 48 hours after arrival in The Bahamas, he added that “further relaxations over a period of time are warranted” given the country’s progress in suppressing the fourth COVID wave.
With the Davis administration reverting to the pre-Omicron policy of testing visitors “on the fifth day after arrival” in The Bahamas, Mr Sands told this newspaper: “I think the removal of these impediments are a step in the right direction, and it’s important we continue to address some of these protocols that are acting as inhibitors to travel, but this is a very positive move on the part of the Government.”
Asked what “inhibitors” he was referring to, Mr Sands replied: “I believe that as the COVID numbers continue to fall, we’re looking forward to an upgrade by the CDC (US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention) of The Bahamas’ position. That’s very important.
“Secondly, any additional testing requirements, and third, for the Government to address the issue is mask wearing in certain places. Certainly in restaurants, certainly in hotels, where people have been vaccinated and fully vaccinated, they should give some consideration to easing some of these restrictions where persons are fully vaccinated.”
The BHTA president confirmed that 90 percent and upwards of hotel guests are now arriving in The Bahamas fully vaccinated. The Bahamas has been under a mandatory mask mandate since the COVID-19 pandemic began for citizens, residents and tourists, and Mr Sands’ comments mark the first time the suggestion of an ease has been voiced.
Mask mandates have been eliminated in many US states as well as the UK, as countries seek to return to some semblance of normality amid hopes that COVID may soon transition from a pandemic to endemic, and there is growing opinion and pressure for The Bahamas to follow suit with recorded cases on Sunday dropping to 16. Some 42 persons are still in hospital, of whom three are in intensive care.
Hinting at such thinking, Mr Sands told Tribune Business: “I believe that if the US removes their requirements for entry, then that may be an opportunity for The Bahamas to then consider removing that requirement. Every removal of some impediment helps.
“Notwithstanding that there’s still one or two remaining, there’s significant pent-up demand for The Bahamas, and the more we remove impediments the greater the demand for the destination will increase.
“And also it eliminates, from a perception point of view, inhibitors in the minds of the travelling public, and the satisfaction level increases exponentially. They see these things, notwithstanding there are still some safety issues, as a nuisance,” he continued.
“Most people respect safety protocols, but the way we’re moving, further relaxation over a period of time is welcome and warranted. I think that every time we see an impediment removed, we see a boost in business levels.”
Mr Sands said this was witnessed just prior to Christmas 2021, when the Government announced that RT-PCR COVID tests would be mandatory from early January onwards as a response to the Omicron-induced case surge.
That resulted in a “contraction” of business, and the BHTA president said: “The minute the Government made the decision to go to a rapid antigen test, we saw that manifest itself in an upward surge in business. Now we’ve removed the 48-hour testing we’ll see a similar improvement.
“The message is out. We immediately circulated the information, and many different hotel websites have been updated and corrected to reflect the same. Our position is that we will continue to work with and support the Government in removing all these obstacles that may hinder travel to our destination, but cognisant of the fact we want to operate in a safe and healthy environment.”
Comments
carltonr61 2 years, 10 months ago
Most of the world's scientists and medics are in post vaccination data collection as unheralded medical issues are being reported in age ranges unlikely to be seeing classic symptoms. Israel has opened to unvaccinated travelers just simple testing. Their bookings have gone through the ceiling for Easter. We relaxed everything for election. Vaccination is no longer a proof of covid health as mostly they were the ones to get light up from the latest omicron variant. With Gates them talking of new deadlier variants calling for new vaxes it is time for us to follow UK and Germany wise decision. Since we trusted them into lockdown we should trust them out without delay.
rosiepi 2 years, 10 months ago
If the bookings are “through the roof” with the current mandates, then where is the urgency to abandon safety guidelines? And must it also be pointed out that the Bahamas hasn’t as yet followed the “wise decisions” of UK and/or Germany, for example none of the cases and deaths diagnosed from the rapid antigen tests (the same distributed by the gov’t) are reported publicly. That makes the infection rates, the rate of transmission, the number of cases and the deaths from Covid in the Bahamas is unknown. Furthermore why is Robert Sands continuing to steer gov’t health policy?
ThisIsOurs 2 years, 10 months ago
I thought we'd already established 2 hard and fast facts based on ~800 deaths:
Tourists are our greatest risk
Full vaccination is not protection
Can we please move forward based on a different appreciation for data based evidence. Removing masks because tourists are fully vaccinated is a very bad argument
whogothere 2 years, 10 months ago
You argument is based on the fallacy and 'opinion' that masks make a difference...data based evidence is clear in this regard -they don't.
The risk of COVID is over; Omicron is not threat; ere go tourism is not a risk - great or otherwise.
ThisIsOurs 2 years, 10 months ago
As I said below, I don't know that we have any data based evidence that they don't work. Results in a community could very well be related to misuse. At the same time I can't say that they do work. My point is removing because everyone is fully vaccinated is a really bad justification
I dont know if the threat of COVID is over. Not sure how you do. We haven't had one peak travel season as yet without a spike If we pass Spring Break without a spike it MIGHT be over. I note that Asia had an outbreak of SARS a year or more after the initial outbreak
whogothere 2 years, 10 months ago
We have two years of data which demonstrate they don't work. Yes the tarnished results are related a) misuse b) no distinction between effective types and c) bold faced silly contradictions eg. mask on for the 1 minute walk to your restaurant table and masks offs when eating and drinking at that table for a 40-60mins. But these real world practicalities are exactly why prior to March 2020 it was never advised to have mask mandates in community settings.
Of course we know covid is over 11,000 people tested positive between Mid December to now less then 53 people died (many of those deaths mined from another wave). Of the the total 770 you like to quote we don't clearly no who died of or with covid as that distinction was only started when it was clear that Vaccinated persons were being hospitalised and dying as well... So we're not even sure COVID risks were as high as they were made out to be and without excess death measure the conversation is mute. Where I agree with you is that vaccination rates or status are meaningless - the removal of restrictions should be reflective of the ending of mass hysteria and acknowledgment that restrictions were not scientific or supported by evidence to begin with.
ThisIsOurs 2 years, 10 months ago
I'll speak with more confidence after March. So far we've had 5 separate waves all related to peak travel and all ended with cases going to negligible counts. So the mere fact that one wave fizzles doesn't mean another can't start
whogothere 2 years, 10 months ago
What’s a wave? Are you talking about cases? Hospitalization? Death? Who cares if it’s cases?…runny noses are not a health emergency…if we were only looking at death and hospitalized we didn’t have a Christmas ‘wave’
GodSpeed 2 years, 10 months ago
Masks don't do a damn thing anyway.
ThisIsOurs 2 years, 10 months ago
Who knows about COVID but there's a reason doctors wear them. Again move to evidence based decision making.
whogothere 2 years, 10 months ago
thisisours - fail buddy - false equivalence argument...airborne virus (covid) versus salvia discharge / blood splatter protection (Docs masks..) It's well documented - before the pandemic - in community settings masks do squat. CDC as backward as it is has already moved on - cloth and surgical masks don't cut the mustard. N95s protect the wearer but not for source control...so really it's boils to personal choice as it should have been for everything to with COVID restrictions..
ThisIsOurs 2 years, 10 months ago
So like I said, data and evidence based. I don't think there's any reason to argue over why physicians wear masks, it's well documented. Different classifications for different purposes the N95 being specifically for respiratory protection
"An N95 respirator is a respiratory protective device DESIGNED to achieve a very close facial fit and very efficient filtration of airborne particles. Note that the edges of the respirator are designed to form a seal around the nose and mouth."
Actually from the 1918 pandemic at least, medics wore masks specifically to protect against airborne viruses. They were those beak like masks often used in horror movies.
As I said, I don't know about the efficacy against COVID because someone would have had to have kept very detailed data on consistency of and proper use in various settings and the outcomes. That does not presuppose that they don't work.
The problem with assessing mask efficacy in the community is and we've seen the photos, a COVID infected person can "say" I always wear my mask, but nobody has evidence of how they used the mask. That's why I said "who knows about COVID". One piece of evidence we know for sure cases of the flu dropped dramatically and it was more than just everything being diagnosed as COVID
whogothere 2 years, 10 months ago
The "problem" you're describing is exactly why there is no logical reason to universally mandate them as tool contend with a overall mild disease that only acutely affects a very specific segment of the population. It's as impractical as mandating that every person learn to walk on their hands to stop covid - different situations, body types, habits and innate propensity will determine compliance. That is why there is no discernible different between states in the US that have mandates and those that don't. It has always been pointless particularly when if your knees are bent in a restaurant you can take off your mask...not to mention that air you breath out doesn't magically disappear just because you're wearing one. Common sense is all one needs to clearly perceive that masks are a waste of time..
Prior to COVID the Who, Cdc, and many many studies have concluded and observed little statical difference made by masks against ILIs...
Sign in to comment
OpenID