NASSAU, Bahamas – Health Minister Renward Wells says the health care system in the Bahamas is a state of emergency, due to the increase in coronavirus (COVID-19) cases.
Health Minister Renward Wells speaking in Parliament“Therefore, it is imperative that we responsibly extend the Emergency Powers Order,” he said in his contribution to the debate on the resolution to extend the Emergency Powers Order.
“It is without a doubt that we are currently facing the third wave of COVID-19 in The Bahamas; the National COVID-19 report bears proof of this fact. We continue to record new COVID-19 cases in the country,” Wells said.
He told legislators that at this point in the third wave the country is seeing COVID-19 infections in the very young and the adolescent population and they are being hospitalized.
Notably, during the entire first and second waves, COVID-19 cases among those aged up to nine years represented only one per cent of the total cumulative cases for each respective wave. But Wells said that the same age group now accounts for 106 cases or three per cent of the third wave COVID-19 cases.
“Recognizing the phenomena of increasing cases among young and adolescents, the government has moved with urgency to secure doses of the Pfizer vaccine which is the only EUL-approved vaccine for administration to the under 18 years age group,” Wells said.
“We have already articulated to this Honourable House that new COVID-19 cases are increasing; hospitalizations are increasing and health worker fatigue is increasing. In addition to these, the Ministry reports that the positivity rate is also increasing.
“From the beginning of April, our positivity rate has reflected a steady increase and now stands at 15 per cent. To put this in perspective, the international recommendation is that the positivity rate not exceed five per cent which speaks to management and containment of COVID.”
Wells said that the likelihood that this phenomenon is as a result of a variant cannot be dismissed.
“Screening of COVID-19 positive samples for mutations that characterize variants of concern at the NRL indicated the possibility of variants in the country. While we await confirmation the changing epi profile is in keeping with the presence of variants, and we are taking action,” he added.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis says the daily curfew in Andros, the Berry Islands and Cat Island will be 8.00 pm to 5.00 am (local time) as of Friday due to the concern for the COVID-19 situation on those islands.
“Health teams are headed to these islands for outbreak investigations and vaccination teams will also be deployed to these islands,” he said, adding “any other additional measures will be announced depending on the findings of the investigation team and these recommendations will be made in the coming week.”
Prime Minister Minnis said changes will be made to Grand Bahama’s daily curfew soon as the island “appears to be turning a corner”
Governor General Sir Cornelius Smith declared another state of emergency for the country that took effect on May 14, citing low vaccination numbers and the third wave of cases in New Providence and Grand Bahama.
Prime Minister Minnis told legislators that when the time is appropriate, guided by public health experts, “we will move to a new regime outside the current emergency measures.
“That time is closer than many realize. Common sense public health rules will remain. However, this regime will be, in time, phased out,” Prime Minister Minnis said, adding that the government has issued US$32.5 million for food assistance to ensure that “all of our people were well fed.
“We issued out US$44 million to private sector businesses to ensure that staff employment was retained, and we issued out about US$118 million for unemployment assistance to ensure our people got assistance. We do not have the power to print or to borrow $3.3 billion,” he added.
