Health minister: Protecting rights of vaccinated and unvaccinated a “juggling act”
“I can assure you that the Ministry of Finance will not be taking monies that are necessary to fight COVID away from the Ministry of Health”
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Michael Darville said yesterday the government was considering a potential requirement to be vaccinated to attend certain events in The Bahamas.
This comes as the government seeks to maximize on upcoming sporting activities while striving to create a safe environment.
However, the minister made clear no final decision has been made.
“This has been brought up because there are some events coming to the country, sporting events, and we know from other parts of the world they can create a bubble,” Darville said in response to questions from the media at the Office of the Prime Minister.
“…Our team is looking [at] ways we can create a similar environment for these types of events.
“It’s not completed and we want to ensure that we do not hinder our tourism sector and our economic growth, but we want to ensure the safety of Bahamians is paramount in the legislation that we’ll bring forth.”
Vaccination remains voluntary in The Bahamas, though some employers in the nation have incentivized vaccination.
Darville said the government has sought to balance protecting the rights of the vaccinated and the unvaccinated and “it’s a juggling act”.
At last report, around 38 percent of the population was fully vaccinated.
According to the minister, Cabinet is finalizing draft legislation and regulations to guide the public in lieu of the emergency orders that have been in place since March 2020 but will come to an end in November.
Some of the government’s recent initiatives to tackle the pandemic include free COVID-19 testing in Inagua — a program that is expected to gradually expand nationwide.
COVID spending
Yesterday, Darville said despite a budget reduction for the Ministry of Health and Wellness, there will be no reduction to pandemic spending to save lives.
According to the government’s supplemental budget, the allocation for the ministry has been reduced from $297 million in this fiscal period to $283.8 million in the 2022/2023 period.
The bulk of the over $13 million difference comes from the removal of a $10 million allocation “provision for COVID-19 contingencies” from the ministry’s budget.
But Darville pointed out two Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) loans for the ministry — a $40 million loan for medical infrastructure and a $20 million loan for COVID management — as well as its budget for capital expenditure.
“That particular money, I cannot give you exactly where it is, but I can assure you that the Ministry of Finance will not be taking monies that are necessary to fight COVID away from the Ministry of Health budget,” he said.
The capital expenditure allocation is $36.6 million, down $14 million from the $50.6 million allocated under the previous administration.
While the $19 million allocation for the Rand Memorial Hospital Tower was removed, the government increased the $5 million allocation for hospital and medical facilities to $18.3 million.
Darville said he will provide further details on that when Parliament debates the supplementary budget on Monday.
