Current state of emergency set to expire on August 13
“I recognize this can be frustrating, but this is the nature of a pandemic”
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said yesterday that whether the state of emergency and emergency powers set to expire on August 13 will end was still being discussed.
But he assured the government will do “all possible” to ensure Bahamian residents remain safe as cases of the coronavirus surge and push the healthcare system to the brink.
Responding to questions from Eyewitness News on whether the current COVID situation gave the government pause over extending the emergency orders, the prime minister said: “With respect to the emergency orders, that matter is under discussion and you will be further advised.
“But be assured that government will do all possible to ensure the safety of the Bahamian populous — and we recognize that those who are hospitalized, those who are dying and those who are becoming sick are the non-vaccinated.
“Therefore, if we are to improve in our hospitalizations, decrease the death rate and decrease the sickness, it is essential for us to move even more aggressively in vaccinating our people as quickly as possible.”
During his remarks following the arrival of 33,600 AstraZeneca doses through the WHO’s COVAX Facility, Minnis said countries have to be willing to adapt and adjust as “quickly as possible to circumstances”.
“Indeed, the best medical and scientific experts in the world have cautioned that because the virus that causes COVID-19 continues to change very quickly, that governments have to be prepared to constantly and quickly respond to ever-changing circumstances,” he said.
“I recognize that this can be frustrating, but this is the nature of viruses.
“This is the nature of a pandemic.
“We have to be willing to adapt and to adjust as quickly as possible to circumstances within individual countries.
“Just about every country in the world has had to continue to make adjustments throughout the pandemic.
“This is also why we often have to be able to adapt and to adjust quickly to the circumstances and needs of our individual island groups in The Bahamas.”
Minnis said he believes the public has listened to healthcare professionals and is recognizing that unvaccinated individuals continue to get sick, require hospitalization and die.
He said the “one cure is vaccination” as well as adherence to health measures.
Parliament remains recessed until September 22 despite the set end date for the state of emergency.
The state has a number of options to renew the orders.
One such means is for the governor general to issue a new proclamation of emergency as cases and hospitalizations surge, as has been done four times since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020.
In May, the governor general issued a fourth proclamation declaring a state of emergency, noting that despite the ongoing vaccine distribution program, there remained a “low percentage of fully vaccinated persons in The Bahamas”.
That remains with case with around 26 percent of the population receiving at least one jab and just 11 percent of the population fully vaccinated.
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