The Tribune

By MALCOLM STRACHAN

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis has revealed he broke quarantine – so is it one rule for him and another for the rest of us?

There has been a rush by the Office of the Prime Minister to suggest Mr Davis didn’t actually break any rules as he hadn’t been ordered into quarantine by a medical officer – so let’s look at the whole story from the beginning.

Mr Davis went into quarantine at around 11.30pm on Wednesday, December 22. His wife, Ann Marie, tested positive for COVID, along with several visitors at a family gathering.

In a broadcast from his place of isolation, Mr Davis said despite testing negative for the coronavirus, he would remain in isolation because it was the “responsible” thing to do.

He said: “I still need to do the responsible thing and self-isolate according to the rules. Being apart from your family is not easy – and is especially difficult during Christmas-time. But the most important part of being in a family is taking care of each other. Let’s all take care of each other in the coming weeks, as one big Bahamian family.”

At the time, then, it seems clear he felt that according to the rules, he had to self-isolate.

On Thursday of last week, the next piece of the story emerged. Mr Davis was at a memorial service at PLP headquarters for Leon Griffin, the former Taxicab Union president who was shot dead on December 23, the day after Mr Davis went into quarantine.

Speaking at the memorial, Mr Davis said he thought he was one of the last people to see Mr Griffin alive.

He said: “I was supposed to be in quarantine and Christmas was nearing as we know and I ordered all of my Christmas gifts and I needed to pay for them so, I called the store and I said, ‘Look, I’m in quarantine and I need to pay for the things, but I can’t be seen out’.

“They said ‘Well, when we close the store, we’ll let you know when the store is empty and you can come by’. So they called the aide about ten minutes after six to say, ‘All clear, come now’.”

Look closely at three of those elements there – firstly, Mr Davis said he was “supposed” to be in quarantine, and told the store that and that he “can’t be seen out”. He then has an aide get involved to tell him when the coast is clear so he’s not spotted.

He went on to say he went into the store “through the side door” and went in to find the store empty apart from the workers and Mr Griffin. He spent some time talking to Mr Griffin, who then walked Mr Davis to the car after their business was concluded.

He said: “I left [and] went to my isolated spot. I got there and, five minutes later, I got this call [about the shooting of Mr Griffin] and I couldn’t believe it.”

It would seem very apparent that whatever statements have been issued by the Office of the Prime Minister, Mr Davis was under the impression that he should be in quarantine, and conscious he shouldn’t be seen by anyone if he went to the store.

This wasn’t a great matter of state that he broke quarantine for – it was to pay for his Christmas shopping. It beggars belief to think the Prime Minister of the land couldn’t find another way to make a payment if it was so desperately needed, or the shop could simply have taken his payment after he emerged from quarantine.

There may have been a scramble to show he didn’t do anything wrong, but at that moment, Mr Davis seemed to think he shouldn’t be going anywhere.

Already, there has been a strong reaction. FNM leader Michael Pintard said the offence was “a very serious one” and a “betrayal of his oath to uphold the law”.

Every person who has abided by quarantine and not gone out for far more essential tasks than Christmas shopping must be asking why they didn’t do as they like and go out. If it’s fine for the Prime Minister, why isn’t it fine for anyone else?

The former Minister of Health, Dr Duane Sands, has gone even further and called for the Prime Minister’s resignation. Mr Sands of course offered his own resignation from his post for his actions relating to six permanent residents who landed in the country with COVID-19 testing supplies and were allowed to quarantine at home before they produced a negative COVID-19 test result.

Following that incident, the chairman of the PLP Fred Mitchell said the party’s position was always that Dr Duane Sands “must go and go now with no excuses, gamesmanship or rumination?”.

He went on: “This is the right decision because Bahamians already feel and are disgusted with what appears to be two sets of rules – one for the FNM and their friends, donors and cronies – and one for everybody else.”

Mr Mitchell also pointed to a case in the United Kingdom, where the chief medical officer for Scotland resigned after breaking curfew rules by twice visiting her second home during the curfew.

Mr Mitchell said: “Like Dr Sands, Ms Calderwood determined that in light of the public rancour, continuing in her position was too much of a distraction to the government’s efforts and therefore untenable.”

He concluded: “This has sent the wrong message to our people as nobody is above the law and everybody should be held accountable for their actions.”

Interestingly, Mr Davis’ behaviour looks very much like the row surrounding UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson over parties held at his 10 Downing Street office during lockdown, with people again claiming it is one law for those in power and one for everyone else.

Two of those parties took place on the eve of the funeral of Prince Phillip, who died on April 9 last year. Government officials offered the Queen a temporary easing of restrictions to allow more mourners to attend Prince Philip’s funeral than the rules allowed. Buckingham Palace declined, as it was felt they should be an example, not an exception.

Whatever the exact letter of the rules that are being closely examined now, Mr Davis fell short of being an example, and all to go and pay for his Christmas shopping. I suspect this is not going to be the last we hear on this matter.