By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Senior Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

HEALTH Minister Dr Duane Sands defended his decision to allow two American permanent residents entry into the country and to quarantine at home, saying they brought much-needed COVID-19 testing supplies.

However Dr Sands suggested he was blindsided by the Americans’ arrival on Bahamian soil, saying the tests were flown on a cargo flight and once in the country, the donors asked for permission to disembark.

He said he made the decision to allow the two Americans to disembark, but later conceded if he had to do it again, some things might be done differently. Officials are awaiting the Americans’ COVID-19 test results, he added.

The Minnis administration came under fire for the decision yesterday because hundreds of Bahamians stuck abroad have been denied entry to the country.

“The Ministry of Health was prepared to receive a donation of 2,500 double swab, diagnostic test kits on Wednesday from a private donor,” Dr Sands said. “The approach was for delivery of the cargo only. The whole world is aggressively competing for test kits. They are very hard to obtain.

“As minister of health, I thought that this was a matter of urgency. We then received a last minute and unexpected request for the donors, who are permanent residents of the Bahamas and were traveling on the same private plane, to disembark. The plane was here and we had to make an urgent decision. The plane was here to bring much-needed donations. I made the decision to allow the couple to disembark. The pair were not displaying symptoms of COVID-19 upon their arrival and they were evaluated by a nurse of the airport public health surveillance unit. They were instructed to self-quarantine for 14 days and they were tested today for COVID-19. We are grateful for the donation of the test kits. We need to significantly increase testing to protect the Bahamian people’s health and save lives. The kits and swabs will be used to continue ramping up testing, including of nursing home personnel, prison workers and healthcare providers.”

Pressed on whether the entry of the residents was a quid-pro-quo, Dr Sands said there are exceptions to the government’s policies and there is unlikely to be a “free-for-all” with others returning to the country.

Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis has said once the government allows Bahamians stuck abroad to return home, they would have to quarantine at a designated facility which will be guarded by law enforcement.

Yesterday Dr Sands said not every returning resident will be forced into that facility.

“I have tried to point out that there are some exceptions. If you have a child or you are a person who has recently come out of hospital, it is unlikely that person will be required to go into the quarantine facility. Disabled people are not likely to go into such a facility. We would have outlined what transpired in this instance and a decision was made on the spot based on the totality of the information. We recognised the value of the swabs that were provided and I’m sure that entered into the totality of the ultimate decision made. Decisions are made on the spot. I take full responsibility for it. If we had to do it again perhaps we might have done a few things slightly differently.

“The price of gaining access to the sovereign airspace of the Bahamas requires the approval of civil aviation, tourism, immigration, customs and ultimately health,” he said. “It is unlikely there will be a free for all. The prime minister would have signalled a plan for us to begin the process of bringing our people home. We understand that there (is) significant hardship, people who have undergone surgery, people who find themselves in places they no longer wish to be. We will make it happen. It is a process and that process requires that we look at a number of things: how, when and where?”

Through his emergency order, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis closed the country’s borders on March 27, allowing only flights out of the country. Under the order, Bahamians, permanent residents and visitors are denied entry to the country.

This prohibition does not apply to outgoing flights, cargo, commercial courier, and emergency medical evacuation flights.