NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Arawak Cay Conch, Fish, Vegetable & Food Vendors Association president Rodney Russell said yesterday defended the popular cultural hub amid social media posts suggesting that COVID-19 social distancing protocols and the wearing of masks were not being enforced.
Russell told Eyewitness News that it was evident that Bahamians had been eager to return to the popular hang out.
“We had some issues initially when police decided that they weren’t going to open the gates to let customers in as if they didn’t get the order,” he said.
“After people started coming in I felt that everything was going great. People couldn’t wait to get out of the house and back to the fish fry. Then, I received something via WhatsApp saying that persons were on Arawak Cay not wearing masks and not practicing social distancing.”
Russell added: “That was not the Arawak Cay side. What happened was on the area to the east of fish fry, towards the beach they were having parties and posting it to Facebook. It created problems for us because people were saying it happened at the fish fry. The police were letting persons onto fish fry but you had to have a mask. On the other side however there didn’t appear to be any sort of restrictions in place.”
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced that restaurants can reopen on June 12th but with outdoor seating only.
This includes restaurants at the Arawak Cay Fish Fry, and Potter’s Cay Dock – all of which must follow COVID-19 protocols and guidelines. The country has been in a state of emergency since March 17.
