Health minister says enforcement not his purview; expresses confidence in nat’l security
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Michael Darville has called for more enforcement of the COVID-19 protocols as cases continue to rise in the fourth wave of the pandemic.
Darville was responding to reports of a large party that allegedly occurred at Club Luna on Saunders Beach last week.
He advised that no approval was given to the venue or promoters to host the event.
“The law is clear. The Ministry of Health has the final approval for mass gatherings,” Darville said.
“If an event has not been approved by the Ministry of Health and the promoter cannot produce evidence of that, I think the event should be shut down.”
Asked about enforcement of COVID-19 protocols, the health minister said his ministry is responsible for policy, not enforcement.
“I am convinced that my colleague, the minister, the Royal Bahamas Police Force and COVID police have the ability to enforce events. But it is not in my purview.”
He added, however, that his ministry is always concerned about any unauthorized event.
“More enforcement is always better and I am pushing for more enforcement to get the necessary manpower resources in order for us to accomplish this,” Darville said.
Health officials confirmed 401 cases of COVID-19 on Friday. Of those cases, 344 were on New Providence, 21 on Grand Bahama, three on Abaco, three on Bimini, eight on Eleuthera, two on the Berry Islands, 14 on Exuma, three on Andros, one on Cat Island and two with locations pending.
Another 195 new cases were reported on Saturday, taking the number of cases in the country to 30,850 since the start of the pandemic.
Of the new cases, 163 were on New Providence, 24 on Grand Bahama, one on Abaco, one on Eleuthera, three on Exuma, one on Cat Island and two with locations still pending.
Up to Saturday, there were 6,889 active cases, with 132 hospitalizations.
There were also 157,582 fully vaccinated people in the country, including Bahamans and residents who received their jabs abroad and registered with the Ministry of Health.
