Flying the flag Colony, the MS Braemar 929 passenger capacity cruise ship's confirming cases of the COVID-19 has now become the **reality test case** we Colony's comrade **bouncing ball** substantive health minister to sprungs into action since his projection no more than **400, now less 5 = 395** confirmed cases the deadly coronovirus ... and this is just the **first hour** on the other side of crown minister's making his most **irresponsible** projection?

The actions of the government speaks far louder than their empty words! While people are focused on this cruise ship, what about all the spring breakers making their way around Nassau from various parts of the USA? What about flights coming from Florida almost hourly and what about flights coming from Canada, the UK and other parts of Europe? From a purely statistical standpoint, that virus is already here!!

Bahamians have a short memory, but I hope they remember what their government(s) think of them based on their uncaring and shady actions!!

Sands should be asked to resign!!

Hmmm? I guess because this is a Bahamian ship and we have taken registration fees from them for decades we are obligated to help them when they are in distress.

This is the problem with the offshore flags of convenience. We have zero capacity to help.

This ship didn't even start off in the Florida.

27 Feb Departing from La Romana, Dominican Republic hotels
28 Feb Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
02 Mar Cozumel, Mexico
03 Mar Belize City
06 Mar Puerto Limon, Costa Rica
07 Mar Colon, Panama
08 Mar Cartagena, Colombia
10 Mar Willemstad, Curacao Island, Dutch Antilles
12 Mar Arriving in Bridgetown, Barbados

This argument doesn't hold up. Tens of tousands of foreign owned and operating IBC companies have been registered in The Bahamas. This doesn't mean that The Bahamas is responsible for their actions or what happens under their watch. These IBC companies, like this cruiseship, don't have a Bahamian business license or the right to carry on business in The Bahamas. What is more, they aren't owned by Bahamians or have any connection to Bahamian citizenship and the rights related to citizenship.

Barbados refused to allow the ship to enter its port so it is now headed to The Bahamas. Cabinet had a meeting and, apparently, they agreed to allow the ship to come here. Curacao is now reporting confirmed cases of the virus after this ship left the port.

Bahamian flagged or not, this ship can still be quarantined.

As joeblow points out, with all the air arrivals from various parts of the world and all the spring breakers roaming around that horse done out the barn long time.

Just send the ship to one of the Plana Cays to "self-quarantine" ……….. no harm, no foul

San Salvador (Bahamas) has an airstrip that's was built by the united states and was used as an Air force base. It can accommodate any size transport aircraft in the world. Let the British government in conjunction with the ship owner charter transport planes to evacuate the passengers back to England as the ship remains off shore San Salvador using the best quarantine methods and safety proceedures to get the passengers from the Ship to the planes and with no contact with the residence of San Salvador.. This method can be used for any ship that calls here and need emergency assistance with evacuation. This can set the Bahamas apart as an example what can be done as this crises expands.

Oh me sweet Jesus, can you please have mercy on the **wretched soul** we comrade Reality. Yep, would be sure to set Colony apart from the rest an intelligent world by becoming a **last port of call** for those infected with any one the world's many different viruses? Can't write this. Just, **can't** that many a comrade were sent to spend an eternity in Hell for thinking up far worse crasiness's. **Amen!**

U.S. spring break students, European tourists everywhere, and now this infected cruise ship being allowed to land here is the beginning of the end for the Bahamas!

mudda,
generally comments that are deleted are true, though harsh. Maybe try pig Latin.

The Bahamas do not need to expose ourselves to this or any cruise ships, Europeans, and should include Americans until they get a handle of how severe Covid19 is in the U.S.

Soooooooo, how will The Bahamas pay its bills??????

The same way the people who land here and are allowed to live and stay. WE WONT!

***I'M SURE THE MANY BAHAMIANS WHO WILL DIE UPON BEING INFECTED BY COVID-19 ARE NOT THE LEAST BIT CONCERNED ABOUT WHO WILL PAY WHAT BILLS !!!!!!***

There are many infected already in Nassau, it is a matter of time that they will become public, we will be the only ones saving ourself, be responsible, stay at home, not to go to public places (restaurants, churches, gyms...), not interact with friends, etc... at least for a month, if not the hospitals will collapse as it is happening in italy, France, spain... and many of us, the weakest will die.

Noticeably absent post Hurricane Dorian is a single economic report coming out the Abaco's and Grand Bahamaland - pertaining to the Numbers Sellers? Are they Chamber of Commerce members?

Allowing the cruise ship to enter Bahamian waters and offering aid posses no health risk to residents in the Bahamas. On the contrary this humanitarian act is what being Bahamian is all about...those of us who grew up here should well understand this truly Bahamian trait.

Testing and knowledge of positive cases and overall numbers is good information and allows our authorities’ actions to be guided by scientific evidence. As another commentator stated regarding our lack of definitive information about untested air arrival visitors who are already amongst us, at least with these known cases we can adjust our behavior accordingly...let’s be sensible and strategic And empathetic.

Ma comrade, I swear before and to you that yes there are sill beds available to intake you as a ward patient - and, yes,- all the Sandilands Doctor prescribed medications are free of cost to you.

Governments are not elected to potentially sacrifice the lives of a large swath of the most vulnerable of a country's citizenry for humantarian or empathetic reasons. Even in a time of declared war with another nation, against an enemy more easily seen, it's not a large swath of a country's citizenry age 60+ who get sent to the active war zone.

This was such a no brainer.

Is there no protocol in place for all ships to first declare their intent and cargo - prior to entering into Colony's waters?

Sometime around 1954 to 1957 the British under Operation Ozone according to Tribune article Insight on British secret biological warfare experiments was conducted on island some 60 miles south of Nassau.

Somewhere in this new COVID - 19 Govt should enlist all nations and offer an isolated Cay and have World Medical Centre with scientists, researchers to work. There are many other illnesses needing cures. Many researched materials using bad gene replacing good ones attached to hiv minus its harmfull effect to penetrate ill person for confirmed cure. There are many good uses to have the Bahamas in the forefront as a world leading Medical Centre.

Cruise ships recycle air so 1 person infected can infect others so easily!

They are a floating trap for persons to infect other persons as everyone is so close anyway.

We should have closed all of our waters to all cruise ships and sadly we and the rest of the world is just learning what a horrible invention the cruise industry is.

Lets take a viable land based hotel industry and offshore it to foreign workers and companies that pay no tax and have no connection to the Bahamas thru the cruise industry? Great idea right?! LOL

Like trading $100 for $7.

You've driven the stake right where it belongs my friend - right in the heart of the cruise ship companies which have always been nothing but blood sucking vampires on tourist destinations like the Bahamas.

For the last four decades or so these vampires have been growing in size to the point where they are now extremely over-sized floating hotels that cannot possibly be kept clean and have therefore become dangerous breeding grounds for all kinds of pathogens harmful to mankind. These monstrous floating vampires have quite literally sucked the life blood out of our economy. They have a business model that aggressively seeks to keep all profits of any kind for themselves by destroying all economic linkages to our local economy. The all-inclusive onshore resorts like Sandals seek to emulate their 'take-all, leave nothing' business model.

And now the cruise ship companies are seeking to compliment their very greedy business model by directly competing with the beach experience that was previously the domain of the more upscale onshore hotel properties. This should not be allowed by our government as a matter of economic policy. Accordingly under no circumstance should Royal Caribbean or any other cruise ship company be allowed to acquire large beach front parcels of Crown Land on any of our major inhabited islands, including the western end of Paradise Island.

The Spanish flu killed 50 million in 1918 and most of the victims were in their 29’s, 39’s and 40’s

And that's largely because containment, isolation and mitigation measures were not adhered to during a time of war, not to mention many other key factors very different back then from what they are now. Grant you the human race is much more mobile today, but it is also much better equipped, even from a global communications standpoint, to be more responsive to pandemic pathogens.