Association warns irresponsible behavior over Christmas will erode COVID progress
Increased travel and relaxed restrictions could result in higher infection rate
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Irresponsible behavior over the holidays could erode the progress made to keep coronavirus cases as low as possible, according to Consultant Physicians Staff Association (CPSA) President Sabriquet Pinder-Butler.
She said an increase in cases would not be surprising given the increased travel and festive activities associated with the holidays.
“Based on what we have seen and the trends that we have seen with COVID thus far, it would not be surprising if we have increased cases,” Pinder-Butler said when contacted.
“Last year, I don’t think we had as much travel related to Thanksgiving.”
The Ministry of Health announced over the weekend that non-resident travelers who have been to South Africa and seven other African countries in the past 14 days will not be allowed entry into The Bahamas.
The travel ban came amid fears of the spread of a new COVID strain, omicron, which the World Health Organization (WHO) has labeled a variant of concern.
“We’ve seen different variants impact countries in different ways, and so, certainly with us having lower numbers of COVID in country at this moment, and then also being mindful with the holidays approaching and other events relating to us opening up the country, related to travel, and businesses — a lot more things are flourishing now — we know that sometimes these can also be factors that could contribute to increases in COVID cases,” Pinder-Butler said.
“So, we’re mindful of all of those things.
“Certainly, a new variant would automatically be something that we would be paying special attention to, especially when we have seen lockdowns from other countries and then our country similarly follows suit.”
Pinder said irrespective of the threat of a new variant, Bahamians and residents must continue to safeguard themselves.
It remains to be seen what impact Thanksgiving — celebrated on November 25 — and the increased travel associated with the holiday will have on infections in The Bahamas.
Travel is expected to pick up in the coming weeks over the Yuletide season, however, Minister of Health Michael Darville said yesterday the government is considering tightening up travel protocols amidst detection of the new omicron variant.
Meanwhile, Pinder-Butler encouraged residents to become vaccinated, and for those who have taken the jab and are eligible for a booster shot to take that as well.
A third shot is expected to be rolled out for the immunocompromised, though there is strong belief it will be offered to senior citizens and the general public in the weeks to come as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) made the recommendation for boosters for adults recently.
“We need to have more of our Bahamian population vaccinated,” the CPSA president said.
“…When we look at doing things that can potentially cause us to regress, we have to be very careful because that threatens everything for us — our health and not just the health of the country, but the economic situation as well. So, we have to be mindful of those things.”
The CPSA has made recommendations to the Ministry of Health related to “things that might need to be put into place” should there be a lack of adherence to COVID health guidelines.
