By EARYEL BOWLEG

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

HEALTH Minister Dr Duane Sands has revealed the Ministry of Health has requested a million dollars to combat the novel coronavirus.

The United States is starting to increase its funding for virus preparedness. American media reported the Trump administration was seeking $2.5 billion from Congress to prepare for a possible nationwide outbreak, while the Senate Democrats have made a request for $8.5 billion.

When asked about local funding to fight the virus, Dr Sands said: “I think we’ve asked for a million dollars.”

However, the Bahamas National Reference Laboratory’s new coronavirus testing capacity is at no cost, as the minister noted the testing kits were given by Pan American Health Organisation.

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Health said four Bahamians are now in quarantine for monitoring. Yesterday, Dr Sands confirmed that the four people were exposed to the virus on an Air Canada domestic flight from Montreal to Vancouver on February 14 with a passenger who tested positive for COVID-19. Those individuals later returned to The Bahamas on February 21 but they were quarantine as of Monday. Dr Sands said they were quarantined less than 24 hours after officials were notified of their exposure.

“Because we had to find them,” the minister explained. “We were notified on the 23rd and we had to find them, identify them. We had no idea who they were, where they were, etc. So, we managed to do all that within 12 to 18 hours.”

When asked if there were any concerns of the four people already spreading the virus before their quarantine, Dr Sands said: “I mean none of them are symptomatic. None them have any evidence of coronavirus. So, we don’t believe that that risk is significant.”

Earlier this month, Dr Sands pegged the cost of the coronavirus quarantine process at $75,000-$85,000, adding he expected that number to increase.

Several people were placed in quarantine beginning in late January after the government said non-residents who have visited China in the last 20 days will be denied entry to this country regardless of their nationality and returning residents will be quarantined and monitored for symptoms during an incubation period of 14 days. Those people were later released after not showing symptoms of the virus.