Sands’ Plan To Beat COVID-19 Include Lockdowns Done Right
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Former Minister of Health Duane Sands does not support the continuation of the Emergency Order. He reiterated that the Bahamas is underperforming in the fight against COVID-19 when compared to other countries, so the country should enact a few of his recommendations.
Sands said unlike sports which the Bahamas has championed, the Bahamas is behind and losing to COVID-19, because the strategy implemented by the government is ineffective.
“The process that we have engaged in over the 6 to 8 months have not worked. They have not worked, Mr. Speaker. We are underperforming as a nation. We are underperforming to all of our peers in the region–as it relates to cases, 80 percent of the rest of the world, and as it related to deaths, 89% of the rest of the world.”
Why it matters
Parliamentarians met in the House of Assembly on Monday to debate the extension of the state of emergency to November 30. The Bahamas has been under an emergency order since March 18 because of the rapid spread of the deadly virus.
Sands’ Recommendations
- Build a modular COVID-19 facility of approximately 100 beds for the concentration of COVID-19 patients
- Conduct 1000 antigen and RTPCR tests per day
- Publish a plan quickly and educate the public
- Implement effective lockdowns, not on-and-off lockdowns
- Bring back participatory government
- End the role of the competent authority, which opposes participatory government
- Promote exercise among the public as a large percentage of Bahamians has non-communicable diseases
- Support access to drugs like Remdesivir and herbal medicine
- Improve food security
- Lift the ban on masks importation
The Big Picture
Because of the rise in COVID-19 cases, the government extended the emergency order many other times. The country has seen a rise in cases since March. On Monday, officials presented nearly 3,000 active cases. Weekend lockdowns with the implementation of a 7 pm curfew Monday through Friday, with the closure of businesses, has become a public debate.
