“Full economic activity cannot resume unless we have the virus under control”
Bahamas state of emergency set to end next month
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Dr Carissa F Etienne said yesterday that countries should prioritize health, well-being and public health measure before resuming full economic activity.
During PAHO’s weekly press briefing, Etienne noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a triple crisis of health, social protection and the economy.
“Balancing public health measures while reopening the economy has been a challenge for every country in the world,” she said.
“But countries should avoid thinking that they must make a choice between reopening their economies and protecting the health and well-being of their people. We believe this is a false choice.
“We have seen time and time again that full economic activity cannot resume unless we have the virus under control and [to] attempt otherwise places lives at risk and extends the uncertainty brought by the pandemic.
“Health and well-being must be prerequisites for reactivating the economy in the context of COVID-19. If the pandemic is not brought under control, economic reactivation will be very difficult.”
Etienne noted that public health measures work to control the spread of the virus and each country needs to be responsive to its national and local context.
“Reactivating our economies must be done gradually and must be based on the evolving data about the virus spread [and] about the health system’s capacity,” she said.
The PAHO director underscored the need for countries to invest in strengthening their health systems.
The Bahamas remains in a third wave of the pandemic, with unknown variant strains of the virus posing concerns for health officials.
According to Minister of Health Renward Wells, the government intends to move forward with ending the COVID-19 emergency orders when the current state of emergency ends on August 13.
The country continues to await the delivery of an additional 33,000 doses of AstraZeneca and some 57,330 doses of the Pfizer vaccine through the COVAX facility.
PAHO Assistant Director Dr Jarbas Barbosa noted the COVAX facility continues to face challenges in receiving vaccines from some producers.
Barbosa noted that despite a contract with the Serum Institute of India to deliver 161 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines, only some 29 million have been delivered to date.
The Indian government is refusing to allow the export of jab as the country itself tackles the Delta variant of COVID, which has caused a significant spike in cases.
Barbosa also underscored the challenges some producers of the AstraZeneca vaccine face in getting emergency use authorization from the World Health Organization.
In The Bahamas, vaccination appointments have been significantly decreased over the past two weeks amidst a global shortage in vaccines and delays in regional deliveries.
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