We are still having challenges at the Princess Margaret Hospital, the Rand Memorial Hospital and until we are satisfied that a lot of the challenges that we are currently faced [with] are being resolved, we will have to move slowly rather than moving quickly. — DR MICHAEL DARVILLE
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Notwithstanding positive signs that The Bahamas is on the tail end of the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Minister of Health Dr Michael Darville said the government will move slowly regarding restrictions as there remains challenges in the nation’s healthcare sector.
“We are moving in the right direction and we are still in the fourth wave, but we believe that we are at the tail end,” he said yesterday ahead of the weekly Cabinet meeting.
“For us, restrictions are not just numbers.
“Restrictions are directly tied into what is happening at our tertiary facilities.
“We are still having challenges at the Princess Margaret Hospital, the Rand Memorial Hospital and until we are satisfied that a lot of the challenges that we are currently faced [with] are being resolved, we will have to move slowly rather than moving quickly because the healthcare facilities are absolutely necessary in order for us to be able to reduce the mortality and also the morbidity as a result of COVID.”
Last week, Darville suggested the government will begin to further relax COVID-19 restrictions in The Bahamas if cases continued to trend downward and hospitalizations improved.
Both hospitalizations and new infections have continued to trend down.
The Bahamas recorded more than 1,600 cases in a single week in mid-January, compared to 123 infections last week.
Yesterday, the Consultant Physicians Staff Association (CPSA) and Bahamas Nurses Union (BNU) recommended the government incrementally ease COVID-19 protocols with a trial period to determine the impact, suggesting an outright relaxation of restrictions could “open the floodgates”.
In some international jurisdictions, restrictions have been eased.
In some instances, facial mask requirements have been lifted or scaled back.
To this, Darville said: “One hat doesn’t fit all.”
He said the pandemic must be viewed in the context of The Bahamas’ situation.
He said there is still a need for infrastructural upgrades in the hospital and to improve manpower among medical professionals as teams remain “burned out”.
“We see other countries dropping all of the restrictions; maybe that’s good for them, but The Bahamas must think in terms of the context that we’re in, and I can tell you and I can tell the Bahamian people that we have a lot of work to do…”
The minister said until the government has a strategy to address the infrastructural and human resources challenges, “we’re going to have to creep before we walk”.
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