The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Health Minister Renward Wells supports the removal of the mask mandate, but regarding the COVID- 19 response he said the Davis administration was simply following the protocols left behind by the former Free National Movement government.

Tomorrow the country’s mask mandate will be largely relaxed with the exception of those accessing healthcare facilities, visiting senior care homes or in an indoor classroom setting. The adjustments to the mask mandate were recommended by the advisory committee at the Ministry of Health and Wellness.

“Well, the mask mandate has been dropped globally in a lot of other countries,” Mr Wells told The Tribune on the sidelines of a parliamentary luncheon at Atlantis yesterday.

“The CDC in the United States had stepped away from the mask mandate so I believe that the health professionals here in The Bahamas would’ve made the particular recommendation, so I am not opposed to seeing the mask mandate lifted.”

Mr Wells believes that the removal of masks is the next step in opening the economy, as the spread of COVID-19 has been reduced, therefore the policies the government implemented to prevent COVID from spreading will lift as it is a “natural evolution”.

Mr Wells was also asked his views about the Davis administration’s performance one year after being elected to office.

In the House of Assembly on Wednesday, Prime Minister Phillip “Brave” Davis praised his administration for the work it has done since September 2021. Mr Davis said over the last year, his administration sought to correct past mistakes, help the nation recover from the COVID crisis while also bringing about transformative changes. He also detailed an expansive list of what he considered his government’s accomplishments to date, from ridding the country of the COVID-19 emergency orders to introducing measures to help Bahamians cope with the inflationary high cost of living.

“Well they followed all of the mandates we left in place,” Mr Wells also said. “The current administration is simply following those protocols and responses that we put in place. Even the bill that was passed earlier this year was the bill that we had left in place in regard to how you manage COVID.”

According to Mr Wells, within the first six months that the current government was in office, 40 percent of the coronavirus cases were “under their watch”, whereas over a two-year span 40 percent was during the Minnis administration. He added that the FNM’s COVID-19 response played a pivotal role in keeping the Bahamian people safe.

“At the end of the day when we speak of our COVID response it is quite evident that the work that we would’ve done kept the Bahamian people safe,” he added. “This administration just simply moved forward with those protocols, as a matter of fact the only thing that they did that was in opposition or against what we did was to simply lift the curfew and allow for greater interaction with persons in the community.”