NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Free National Movement (FNM) yesterday called on the government to modify its screening policing for reentering the country, suggesting that The Bahamas appears to be entering a fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic and there is a need for increased measures to safeguard the public.
Just over a week ago, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism Chester Cooper announced the elimination of travel health visas for Bahamians and citizens reentering the country.
“We are recommending that the government modify the screening policies that it has for persons entering the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. We understand clearly that COVID does not only take lives, but it destroys livelihoods,” Pintard said at the FNM’s headquarters on Mackey Street.
“We are interested in the country clicking on all cylinders, generating jobs and opportunities for all Bahamians.
“However, if the country is overrun by COVID, the variants that we have long been familiar with or the new variant that is more transmissible, the livelihood that we presently enjoy is likely to be strangled.”
He continued: “And so, we have to be wise and we have to be cautious and we have to have candid conversations with the population about what the risks are. Countries around the world are modifying the requirements for reentry. They are requiring a PCR test in most cases for persons to come into their jurisdiction. Those who had relaxed it are going back to it.”
The removal of the travel health visa was among the PLP’s campaign promises.
But the FNM leader said the government ought to be cautious about pandering to popular views and focus on expanding vaccination and fulfilling its promise of free national testing, which remains in the pilot stage on a handful of Family Islands.
A full rollout is expected next year.
Pintard stressed that rapid antigen tests were not the test expected as part of the program, and if so, it shows a “lack of understanding in terms of what is the gold standard for testing to determine whether somebody is COVID positive or not”.
