Health care workers and law enforcement discussing quarantine enforcement

Health care workers and law enforcement discussing quarantine enforcement
(FILE)

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Health officials and law enforcement are still trying to determine the management for the enforcement and monitoring of COVID-19 individuals required to isolate and quarantine, said National Security Minister Wayne Munroe.

Munroe was responding to questions surrounding the government tracking system of COVID-19 positive individuals and noted that officials had a meeting on the matter as recently as last week.

“The Ministry of Health’s position is they are not law enforcement to be dealing with belligerent people,” he explained.

“The police’s position is they are not medically trained people to be dealing with sick people and so we are trying to get the right mix of that in terms of our obligation to our various employees. The government owes a duty of care to its employees. We anticipate that being worked out shortly.”

Last month, Munroe advised that more than $70,000 in taxpayer money was dished out for a contract to monitor individuals in quarantine with 100 tracking devices and accompanying software that never left the Ministry of National Security.

While he did not name the company engaged, the minister said the contract, which will expire in March 2022, was signed 10 months ago and has cost the government $7,000 per month.

Despite the expense and lack of use, Munroe told the media the software has merit and the ministry will seek to roll it out shortly.

In April 2020, the government said it was exploring monitoring bracelets to keep track of individuals who may breach quarantine guidelines.

However, Hubbcat Solution was awarded the contract to facilitate electronic monitoring of quarantined individuals via an application.

Individuals in quarantine were required to download the application on their phones, which would then create a geofencing map that could alert authorities when the individual went outside of the parameters.

Munroe said the program had limitations that made circumventing quarantine feasible and the government sought to bolster the monitoring oversight.

It remains unclear how many people remain in quarantine.

The Ministry of Health confirmed 10 additional COVID-19 deaths that occurred between September 23 and November 11, taking the number of COVID deaths to 695.

Sixteen new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the country on Thursday taking the number of cases in the county to 22,825 with 334 active cases.

The government is considering tightening up travel protocols amidst the detection of a new COVID-91 variant, said Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Michael Darville yesterday. 

The omicron variant has already been found in at least a dozen countries around the world, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany, with reports identifying most of the cases in travelers returning from southern Africa.

The Bahamas has placed travel restrictions on eight southern African countries amidst the discovery of the new COVID-19 variant.

Asked whether there is additional concern regarding the enforcement of protocols amidst the new variant, Munroe said, “The bottom line to it is you have to conduct yourself sensibly in order to remain safe, whether it’s Alpha, Delta, or anything else. You have to seek to comply with the rule that is designed to keep you safe.”

About Sloan Smith

Sloan Smith is a senior digital reporter at Eyewitness News, covering a diverse range of beats, from politics and crime to environment and human interest. In 2018, Sloan received a nomination for the “Leslie Higgs Feature Writer of The Year Award” from The Bahamas Press Club for her work with Eyewitness News.

2 comments

You owe a duty of care to the citizens. If you order someone to quarantine,then it’s your duty to ensure that it happens to keep people safe.

Omnicron is in 38 countries now. Mild symptoms so far. Why is Africa 8 still restricted????

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