NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Health officials will continue discussions with the Ministry of Education this week on whether schools will be given the green light to open face-to-face.
Minister of Health Dr Michael Darville told reporters yesterday that he is “optimistic” and believes it is time for those students to return to the classroom.
“We are very concerned about our schools and the fact that we must move quickly to get them open,” he said.
“Discussions will be ongoing today again with the minister of education and even at the Cabinet-level.
“I remain optimistic. We are looking at the numbers and we are beginning to see some signs that we may be moving in the right direction but with that being said things can change.
“But I am of the view, like many people throughout The Commonwealth of The Bahamas that the time has come for us to be able to have some sort of face-to-face, whether it be a hybrid model or direct for our kids and I look forward to our kids getting back to school as soon as possible.”
Schools across the country opened on Tuesday to a difficult start with many teachers and students complaining about challenges accessing the Ministry of Education’s Learning Management System.
Public schools were set to reopen for hybrid learning on January 11, with students doing intermittent face-to-face learning.
However, the opening was postponed by two weeks after the country began seeing record new COVID-19 cases just days before the Christmas holiday with hundreds of new infections in the New Year.
Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis has said that unless advised otherwise by the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education will be moving ahead with the resumption of in-person learning in schools within the next two weeks.
The health minister noted that discussions will continue today and have been going “relatively well.”
He underscored that in order for this to happen several protocols must be put in place.
“We have to ensure that free testing is available because that will be a part of the protocol if we happen to have a child or children who become positive, what are the strategies for testing,” Darville said.
“We need to make sure our teachers are safe. The Ministry of Education made sure that the schools are ready and I need to make sure that our hospital system remains open in the event that we do have kids who may be positive.
“As you can see we have brought in additional nurses, we are ensuring that we provide sufficient bed space.
“All of these things are necessary and it’s a group of things that need to be in order, in order for us to give the greenlight and we are moving towards that.”
The Ministry of Health recorded 271 new coronavirus cases on Monday, comprising of 163 on New Providence, 46 on Grand Bahama, 11 on Acklins, 11 on Andros, 10 on Exuma, five on Eleuthera, four on Abaco, four on Cat Island, three on Bimini & Cat Cay, three on Inagua, three on Long Island and eight with locations still pending. The total number of recorded cases is now 31,376, with 7,265 active
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention yesterday changed its travel notice for The Bahamas to Level 4, encouraging people to avoid travel to The Bahamas.
