dahlregis

Sunday’s national address by Prime Minister Hubert Minnis seemed to prepare the nation for a possible lockdown.

Dr. Minnis’ speech was littered with notions of “lockdown” with many viewers sitting on their edge of their seats, waiting for him to announce the new measure for New Providence. But it never happened.

Now many are speculating when a lockdown will be implemented by Minnis.

Here’s five things Minnis said that supports a lockdown is looming for the New Providence and Abaco:

• Minnis highlighted that other countries have returned to lockdown measures to combat virus increases

He said, “Some countries have gone back to targeted lockdowns or more restrictive curfews and other measures needed to address the high number of infections, hospitalizations and, sadly, deaths.”

• Minnis hinted that lockdown is an international measure used to fight the virus

“If cases rise exponentially and virus spread is out of control, governments often have no choice but to order a lockdown to save lives.

“This has become an international standard and response by most governments around the world, including countries that have generally had a good response to the pandemic.”

• Minnis praised the sucess of lockdowns in Bimini and Grand Bahama

“Indeed, the targeted and sustained lockdowns in Bimini and most recently, Grand Bahama, were essential in reducing the number of infections on those islands, both of which continue to have low numbers at this time.”

• Minnis painted a grim picture of COVID-19 in New Providence

“One in every 100 residents of New Providence is now infected with COVID-19.

“Sadly, we are now averaging one death per day and our medical facilities have now reached capacity.”

• Minnis said PAHO and WHO representative Dr. Esther de Gourville, and Consultant Dr. Merceline Dahl-Regis are set to discuss future strategies in a “special meeting” with Cabinet and the Opposition.

“After these various meetings, I will brief the nation on the recommendations of our health experts, especially on the way forward for New Providence and Abaco.”

The country expected a full lockdown, but Prime Minister Hubert Minnis did an about-turn and surprised many.

On Monday evening, Dr. Minnis announced that New Providence was no longer considered for a complete lockdown. This announcement drew the shock and satisfaction of many who expected a complete lockdown this week following the reversal of the order last week Tuesday.

Dr. Minnis at the Ministry of Health’s press conference on Monday afternoon said, “I am happy to tell you that the health team sees positive trends developing regarding the situation in New Providence. At this time a hard lockdown is no longer recommended for New Providence.”

He said last week’s decision was based on the data available and health officials’ recommendations at that time.

Now, health officials have changed their recommendations.

Why is a ‘full lockdown’ not considered anymore?

Many of the confirmed Covid-19 cases were duplicated, presenting a false sense of alarm in the number of confirmed cases in the country.

Sunday’s dashboard reflected 1504 active cases, but after review, the number was adjusted to 1113 active cases. This shows a 391 difference in cases.

What caused the duplication?

Advisor to the Prime Minister, Dr. Merceline Dahl-Regis said a large number of cases and the significant backlog were not documented on an electronic platform, which improved its data management.

With the implementation of electronics, health officials were able to monitor the progress and revised the number of backlogged cases.

Dr. Dahl-Regis said health officials then presented the government with the corrected analysis of the cases with revised recommendations.

What are people saying?

Many Bahamians are praising Dr. Minnis for the decision to not implement a full lockdown for New Providence. They took to social media to applaud the government’s decision. People’s responses were an extreme contrast to last week’s reaction to the full lockdown, as Dr. Minnis said he was “called everything but a child of God.”

Eugene Patton said, “I am thankful for the work of the Prime Minister so far in these rough and difficult times. Furthermore, the PM made the right decision to free some of the restrictions.”

Adrianne Brennen said, “Thank you so much prime minister, for a job that was done well.”

Tracy Thompson said, “Minnis you roc.”

What does it mean for the population?

The infectious virus has not gone away, even though the government has not implemented the full lockdown. Thirty-six cases were reported on Sunday and 14 cases reported on Monday. The COVID-19 total is still high.

As people are now given the opportunity to move around with little restriction, cases will appear and there may be a far greater burden of death and illness. If they do not practice social distancing, wash their hands, and wear a mask, the numbers will increase exponentially.

People must be mindful that the extent of the virus or the number of COVID-19 cases is not known. Practice the social measures, and assume that everyone has the virus.