By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT

tsmith-cartwright@tribunemedia.net

WITH the latest emergency order allowing New Providence churches to resume in person services, Bahamas Christian Council president Bishop Delton Fernander said he is thankful that no transmission of COVID-19 can be traced back to church services.

Churches across the country closed in March when the Bahamas started recording COVID-19 cases. Online services and Zoom meetings became the order of the day for months. In person worship resumed in early June, only to be suspended again weeks later when the second wave of cases began.

"The Bahamas Christian Council is thankful for our ability to work with the government to set parameters in terms of protocols for the COVID," Bishop Fernander, pictured, said. "We were thankful to God that we had zero transmissions from their data to parishioners and to churchgoers from churches.

"This shows that things that were put in place before the shutdown worked. During the second surge, we got the presentation and we made a decision as a church to comply and to do what was necessary to get our people healthy."

Bishop Fernander tied in the reopening of in person church service to the opening of the economy. Churches on a few other islands were allowed to resume worship before New Providence sanctuaries were given the go ahead on Tuesday.

"With the decision to reopen the economy, we also realise and understand our position with the spiritual health of the nation," he said. "We are thankful that the competent authority saw the necessity of the church and gave us the ability to go right back, with our strong protocols and do the best we can.

"We are having meetings with all of our leaders, all over the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, to tell them to be vigilant, to keep their guards up and to be even more stringent on the protocols so none of our parishioners can get sick from COVID in our churches."

The newest order came a day after a letter was issued by 20 religious leaders, calling on the Minnis administration to reopen churches, saying they cannot continue to accept the government "crossing the line" into the work of the church.

Churches are allowed in person worship on Saturday and Sunday from 7am-1pm under strict protocols: the church is responsible for providing hand sanitisation at the entrances to the church; people must sit six feet apart, except if they are from the same immediate household; everyone must wear masks covering their nose and mouth; people are to remain in or at their seats and Sunday school is not permitted.

The protocols also state that communion may be held using disposable cups and distributors must wear a mask covering their nose and mouth and gloves. They must exercise proper hygiene and sanitization measures. There will be one offering station. Offering baskets should not be passed around. People that are in high-risk categories are asked not to attend service, this includes those aged 65 and over and those with comorbidities.

Tuesday's emergency order also eases previous restrictions on private medical facilities and dental practices.

Before this, private medical facilities could only open for emergency medical care and Monday through Friday for immunisation; neonatal and prenatal care; dialysis; chemotherapy and other cancer treatments; and telemedicine from 7am to 7pm.

Under Tuesday's order, private medical facilities can operate daily between 5am to 10pm and for emergency care only between the hours of 10pm to 5am.

Dental practices were previously only allowed to operate to provide emergency care between 7am to 7pm. Now they are allowed to operate daily between 5am to 10pm.