passportofficebahamas

Jason Whitfield was known for his dedicated work in the Passport office and his murder evoked strong emotions from his eldest sister.

Natika Whitfield said she identified his body after he was killed around 7 am on Saturday and described it as the “most painful” moment of her life.

“I just identified my baby brother,” she said on Monday. I hardly recognized him. That was the most painful twenty minutes of my life.”

She continued, “Just know that God neither sleeps nor slumbers.”

The 43-year-old, a senior clerk, was found shot to death in a government vehicle in the Garden Hills area during the early mornings. Natika and her father Dr Patrick Whitfield sought to put to rest speculations that may have arisen due to his line of work.

Natika said, “My brother couldn’t sign passports. He’s the reason plenty of y’all got your passports quickly. Remember all the praise y’all was giving the passport office?”

“If you know him, he’s a stand-up kind of guy. I have no reason to believe that he was anything else than what he portrayed,” Dr Whitfield told the Nassau Guardian.

He described a close relationship with his son stating that Whitfield often shared his problems and showed no indication that something may be wrong.

“If you know him, you know he was a very nice guy, always helping people,” his father said as he grappled with the loss.

“There was never any sort of indication that he was more than he showed to people, in terms of being very nice.”

Friend Simon Allen agreed. “He was very helpful and pleasant, always a gentleman.”

Carron Ellis witnessed Whitfield’s love for his job. “I was just at the Passport Office and he assisted me simply by allowing me to apply for a first-time applicant even though they had already issued all the numbers for the day and it was still very early in the morning.

“Talk about the level of competence and compassion he brought to that place and not even looking for favors.”

Minique Alexandrea mourned, “He barely wanted to take a vacation or even downtime when not feeling well, worrying about people getting sorted out and meeting deadlines. He was at that office before and after his shift.”

Authorities have not reported a motive for the latest murder and have yet to make an arrest. They are asking the public for assistance.

The Passport Office reopened on Wednesday following the death of an employee reportedly exposed to COVID-19.

The Thompson Blvd office was shut down for two days after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs advised the public of COVID-19 exposure in the building.

In a statement, the ministry said, “several positive COVID cases of employees” were identified, while acknowledging “the unfortunate passing of an employee.”

The two-day shut was to allow the Ministry of Health Surveillance Team to conduct a contact tracing assessment of the staff.

This comes as the country sees COVID-19 cases rise exponentially.

Prime Minister Hubert Minnis described it as “concerning” and stated that the pandemic is attacking the unvaccinated.

He said the country is seeking to access more vaccines to protect the unvaccinated.

“One thing the Bahamian populace must understand, we are in two pandemics. The vaccinated individuals are now out of the pandemic. The pandemic is finished for the vaccinated.

“The non-vaccinated are still in the pandemic. Therefore, it is essential for us to aggressively pursue vaccines so that we can vaccinate our populace as quickly and efficiently as possible so that they can move into the vaccinated portion, thus the non-pandemic,” he said.

At last report, 81 new cases were confirmed in the country—55 in New Providence, 19 in Grand Bahama, 2 in Abaco, and 4 in Bimini and Cat Cay.

One employee at the Passport Office on Thompson Blvd is in quarantine for 14 days, following contact with a close relative, confirmed for the virus.

The office closed its door on Tuesday for sanitization and cleaning after the employee of the Passport Office reported to work at 9 am on Monday, and left promptly after receiving a call from the Ministry of Health informing that a close relative had tested positive for Covid-19.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the employee, who is asymptomatic and showing no symptoms of Covid-19 infection, was instructed to quarantine for 14 days.

The ministry asked that the employee be tested for Covid-19,  to allay the concerns of staff who may have contacted the employee.

The office will reopen on Wednesday 29th July at 9 am.

The Ministry said staff will contact all persons holding appointments for Tuesday and provide them with the necessary follow up information.

Customers are asked to use the online renewal portal at mofa.gov.bs for the quick renewal of adult passports.