By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

HEALTH and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville said officials are currently discussing whether to remove the remaining mask mandates on certain Family Islands that have no active cases of COVID-19.

While a decision on the matter has not been made as yet, officials believe that current mask protocols should remain in place until the country is considered to be out of the woods from COVID-19.

Currently, people are not required to wear a mask while in a lobby, corridor or casino of a hotel or in an outdoor setting where there is at least three feet of space between people who are not of the same household.

But, mask wearing is still largely required indoors.

When asked whether the government was considering lifting mask mandates on islands with no active cases, Dr Darville replied: “It is something that we’re looking into and this Wednesday, the committee will look at it again.”

“One of the things we’re concerned about with the mask mandate is the fact that after you arrive in The Bahamas, there is no more testing until the foreigner or those who are travelling (get tested to go) back to the United States. With the spikes that are ongoing and the peaks and troughs that we are seeing with COVID, we are on the verge of we’re going to function with caution. And the committee will discuss it this week and a decision will be made, but we feel that the mask mandate with what we’re seeing should remain in place until we feel that we are at a clear.”

COVID-19 cases began steadily increasing in the country in late April, with double digit numbers being recorded most days since then.

As of June 6, there were 972 active virus cases in The Bahamas.

There have also been 811 virus related deaths confirmed since the start of the pandemic.

The latest deceased victim is a 62-year-old man from New Providence who died June 4 from the disease.

Yesterday, Dr Darville told reporters that officials have seen an overall reduction in infection rates in recent days.

However, he suggested there will be spikes in numbers from time to time and further appealed to Bahamians who have not yet been vaccinated to get their shots.

“We are still experiencing spikes with COVID-19,” he told reporters yesterday. “As you monitor the numbers, you will see that some days we have higher numbers, some days is lower numbers. One of the good things is that the cases that are showing up at the hospital are not cases suffering directly from COVID. They are incidental findings with individuals with other issues.”

“So, we are pleased to say that we are fending quite well at the tertiary level with the COVID cases. And even though we have been seeing spikes, I’m pleased to report that this week, we’ve seen a reduction in cases now. We’re watching that very closely and monitoring it. I cannot say exactly what it means at this point. But once again, we would like to encourage Bahamians everywhere to practice the safety protocols that we currently have in place. And for those who are not vaccinated to please come forward immediately and get your first and second job.”

At last report, over 167,000 people were said to be fully vaccinated in The Bahamas.