Small businesses waiting to see what will happen when emergency orders end August 13
Turnquest: We want the country to balance economic and health mindsets but “we do not advocate for severe curfews and shutdowns”
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — A well-known small business consultant said yesterday there is “no reason” spas should be required to close under the latest amendments to the emergency powers order, arguing that forcing them to close while hotel spas remain open is “discriminatory”.
Mark Turnquest, president of the 242 Small Business Association and Resource Centre, said: “There is no reason why the spas should be closed. Over the past several months, they have developed great protocols to combat COVID-19.
“The prime minister has discriminated against local spa owners by allowing hotel spas to remain open.”
As the nation experiences a surge of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths, the government on Friday announced new restrictions to control spread of the virus, including a longer curfew period on New Providence, Grand Bahama and North and South Eleuthera, including Harbour Island.
Spas are not permitted to operate, while businesses like gyms, cinemas and restaurants may only operate at 33 percent capacity, with restaurants in particular only being allowed to offer indoor dining to patrons who can prove they are fully vaccinated. These restrictions do not apply to hotel properties.
Turnquest said many business owners have been eagerly anticipating the end of mandatory curfews, while noting that a balance must be struck between economic and medical concerns.
“When it comes to restrictions, we always want the country to open with the mindset of accomplishing two competing factors — the economic factor and the medical factors,” Turnquest said.
Noting that Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis is expected to give an address tomorrow regarding steps being taken to address the surge, he added: “We eagerly wait to see what the prime minister has to say on Wednesday.
“We do not advocate for severe curfews and shutdowns.”
Back in May, Minnis had expressed hope that increased vaccinations and adherence to COVID-19 mitigation protocols would allow the government to remove emergency powers and end the state of emergency before August 13, the date the current order is set to expire on.
However, with surging COVID-19 cases putting a strain on the country’s healthcare system and concerns over vaccination hesitancy as well as limited vaccine supply, Turnquest said an end to the emergency orders may not be on target at present.
“A lot of small businesses are interested to see what is going to happen on August 13th,” said Turnquest.
“Obviously we see what is happening now, so it will be interesting to see what the prime minister says on Wednesday. Ninety-nine percent of our businesses are what you would dub ‘non-essential.’”
He added: “I encourage our members that they eventually should get vaccinated. It is a decision everyone has to make for themselves, however, that’s the only way we can recover significantly.
“We know that the government’s philosophy is vaccination. A lot of policies in the future will be geared toward encouraging people to get vaccinated. It will soon be almost mandatory to be vaccinated in order to do certain things.”
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