EDITORIAL: We need to stay resolute

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced the relaxation of lockdown restrictions for southern islands yesterday while disclosing efforts to add an additional 80 beds to the frontline fight against COVID-19.

His national address came as the country recorded 20 additional cases of the virus for a total of 898 and one additional death, pushing the count to 15. Health officials did not provide details about the latest death. The latest cases include 15 on Grand Bahama and five on New Providence.

Dr Minnis said moving forward, COVID-19 patients will be treated at the South Beach Clinic, Princess Margaret Hospital and Doctors Hospital Health System in west New Providence. Those facilities will deal with mild to moderate presentations of the disease and moderate to severe presentations respectively.

The existence of boarders at PMH has challenged bed resources, Dr Minnis said.

“The regrettable practice of leaving of elderly family members in the emergency department at PMH after they no longer require hospitalisation, has given rise to recurrent long-term boarders,” he said. “Many of these patients have comorbidities that make them particularly vulnerable to viral infections. They should not be in proximity to highly trafficked areas frequented by those with communicable diseases.”

Dr Minnis said to care for the boarders, $491 is spent for each person every day––or $6 million per year.

He said the Public Hospitals Authority has sought alternate accommodations for relocating boarders as Princess Margaret Hospital nears capacity.

“An assessment team comprised of representatives from nursing, care management and hospital administration is examining sites to determine their suitability as a care centre for PMH’s 33 boarders,” he said. “The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Social Services will make the final necessary assessments and recommendations on accommodations to enable us to both further protect this vulnerable group while making critical bed space available at PMH.”

He said the east building of the SuperClubs Breezes resort will be used as a National Response Facility to meet the needs of non-COVID-19 ‘low medical care’ patients during the pandemic. The facility will accommodate employees attending to patients on one floor and clinical and management operations on the other floors.

Breezes has asked the government to cover only utility costs, Dr Minnis said.

“The relocation from the Princess Margaret Hospital of boarders and the establishment of the National Response Facility off-site, will make available more beds so that COVID-19 patients can be more easily accommodated at PMH,” he added. “Doctors Hospital West is also increasing its bed capacity to help address the need.”

Meanwhile, Dr Minnis said normal commercial activity will resume on Mayaguana, Inagua, Crooked Island, Acklins, Long Cay, Long Island, Rum Cay and Ragged Island effective 5am today because health officials have not recorded any suspected COVID-19 activity on those islands for at least two weeks.

He said a travel-related swab from San Salvador is pending test results even though that island has no confirmed case of the virus.

Travel will be permitted between islands that have been reopened; travellers will not require a COVID-19 test.

Dr Minnis also said food store access will be expanded on islands currently under lockdown.

Food stores will be open until 7pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and until 6pm for essential workers on Saturday.

Dr Minnis addressed Grand Bahama residents directly after the lockdown there was extended recently until at least August 19.

He said health officials have said “the COVID-19 outbreak there is still not under control. In fact, it is very grave.

“I beg you in Grand Bahama, please, give the process more time. We have beaten this before, and can do so again, together.”

Comments

birdiestrachan says...

$49l.00 per day for a bed in the hospital; makes no sense . Perhaps their family members
are unable to care for them. The government should have arranged for them to live
some where else a long time ago.

The PM should be ashamed that after all of this time. he comes along with this foolishness

Posted 10 August 2020, 7:33 p.m. Suggest removal

happyfly says...

We need to stay resolute !!?? What a joke !! We are all locked down and on curfew and the vast majority are doing whatever we are told. Stay home, can't work, can work, can't work, can't go to the beach, can go to the beach, can't walk your dog, can't go to the gym, can only go to the food store on Wednesday if your name starts with "F"..............and in the meantime, whilst we are all committed to "flattening the curve" our glorious Papa Doc has decided six months in .... to do something about adding some more beds because the ER is full up with old people that aren't sick. Good luck with getting re-elected FNM. We are rated second-worst in the world for our Wuhan Virus response. Anywhere else in the world the PM would be stepping down for such catastrophic failures but nope.... in the Bahamas, the PM gets to keep his sole emergency powers and we the people must stay resolute. So let us stay resolute about our glorious one-man-disaster-enhancing-band ?

Posted 11 August 2020, 9 a.m. Suggest removal

ColumbusPillow says...

In the Bahamas, the odds of dying from COVID19 (complicated by heart disease, diabetes, etc, etc) is 1 in 28,000.
The odds of dying as a result of prolonged lockdown is MUCH HIGHER!

Posted 11 August 2020, 9:25 a.m. Suggest removal

Log in to comment