Travel

Prime Minister Philip Davis left the Bahamas for Angola on Tuesday after a hasty slate of travels around the world which is another opportunity to play up the climate change effects on the Bahamas.

The trip to South Africa for African, Caribbean and Pacific States, focusing on the challenges of climate change including economic diversification, peace and security challenges, comes at a difficult time, and challenges Davis to balance his attention on ongoing domestic issues like inflation and high crime rate with his international fight for developed countries to compensate the Bahamas for the effects of climate change.

Davis would be hundreds of miles away from the Bahamas as murders increase to 11 percent higher than last year, workers protest for increased salaries, prices soar and the public complains of poor road infrastructure. He would be in Angola at the 10^th Summit of the OACPS (Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States), while the Opposition Leader Michael Pintard calls for the resignation of his Works Minister Alfred Sears who admitted after denying it, that he received but dismissed recommendations to lock in oil prices for lower cost of fuel for the Bahamas Power and Light.

And through all of it, Davis seeks to win on the international stage among allies who carry no political influence on the world stage and whose concerns might, in the end, be ignored as the world focuses on inflation, rising fuel costs, food shortages, conflict and supply chain issues.

When he returns on December 11^th Davis will attempt to play up his political victories and smooth over prickly domestic issues as he plans another trip out of the country in the name of climate change.

Featured Image: Angola Parliament

Foreign travelers to the United States will be required to be fully vaccinated and tested for COVID-19 according to new rules established by the Biden administration.

The new system will be implemented in early November when Bahamians and other international travelers will only be allowed to fly to the US if they are fully vaccinated and able to show proof of vaccination before boarding a U.S bound flight.

White House Covid coordinator Jeffrey Zients said, “We will move to this much stricter global system, so we will have a consistent approach across all countries, it will require foreign nationals to be vaccinated, to prove they’re vaccinated, and then to go through the testing and contact tracing regiments.”

Foreign nationals will have to be tested three days before departure to the U.S. and show proof of a negative test.

The CDC will also require airlines to collect information for each U.S.-bound traveler, including their phone number and email address, to aid public health officials in contact tracing.

Why it matters

On the campaign trail, former Prime Minister Hubert Minnis announced that the USA would soon require only fully vaccinated travelers to enter its borders. He admonished Bahamians to get fully vaccinated to be able to travel to the US.

The Bahamas has already secured three vaccines: AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson.

State of play

The US has not yet stipulated what it constitutes as fully vaccinated and what vaccines will be qualified for entry.

The new policy applies only to air travel.

A growing number of European countries have stopped travel from Britain after a new virus strain was discovered in that country. At least six European countries have announced flights will no longer fly there, while France and Belgium have banned train travel.

Why it matters

Health officials in the U.S and the UK said the strain apparently infects more easily than others. But they are still examining if it is more deadly. It is believed to be 70% more transmissible.

What’s driving the news

The British government’s chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, said the strain “moves fast and is becoming the dominant variant,” causing over 60% of infections in London by December, according to a report by the Associated Press.

The new strain is said to have nearly two dozen mutations and some are on the spiky protein that the virus uses to attach to and infect cells. That spike is what current vaccines target.

“I’m worried about this, for sure,” but it’s too soon to know how important it ultimately will prove to be, said Dr. Ravi Gupta, who studies viruses at the University of Cambridge in England.

U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned that the new strain of the coronavirus is “out of control.”