By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Tribune Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union President Darrin Woods said with the country now receiving increased visitor arrivals, union officials would have liked to have the mandatory mask mandate for hotels remain for several more weeks.

Over the weekend, the Ministry of Health and Wellness announced several relaxations, including those for mask wearing at hotels and casinos.

A person is not required to wear a face mask while in a lobby, corridor or casino of a hotel or while in an outdoor setting where there is at least three feet of space between persons who are not of the same household, the ministry has said.

However, Mr Woods said there were differing views when it came to the new mask rule.

“Well, I guess mixed feelings because we are hoping that the data that they are relying on is something that can be relied on, but we still want our people to be cautious because we don’t want a situation where we take a step backward to appease a certain group of people,” Mr Woods told The Tribune yesterday when he was contacted.

 “We believe that all the due diligence is being done, but again we still believe that we should just take it one step at a time as we begin to relax some stuff and just be careful.”

 Asked if the union was of the view that the mask mandate should have remained for another few weeks, he said: “Yeah, for another couple of weeks to make sure. Yes, the numbers are saying one thing, but, of course, now we are having an influx in visitor arrivals. So, there is an uptick and we’re not sure exactly where they are coming from because there are still some hot spots in a couple of the markets that we have people coming from.

 “Even in some of the US states where they moved to these no masks mandates you are having a little bit of relapse. So, we just want to be careful in terms of the direction we go in, particularly in the hospitality industry because we know how volatile it is without any outside forces bearing down on it.”

 Some international reports have said that parts of Europe that rushed to relax restrictions in recent weeks are now seeing a revival of pandemic risks.

 This has been accelerated by the emergence of BA.2 -- a more transmissible strain of the Omicron variant, which experts say is spreading more rapidly.

 On Tuesday Germany set a fresh record for infection rates for the fourth straight day, while Austria is said to have also reached new highs and cases in the Netherlands have doubled since lifting curbs on Feb 25.

 China is also seeing a resurgence and has had to lock down several provinces due to an uptick in COVID-19 cases.

 The Ministry of Health has said disabled persons or people with specified medical conditions are not required to wear a mask provided they have in their possession a medical certificate or letter signed by a medical practitioner proving the existence of such disability or medical condition.

 The ministry also reminded members of the public to wear a face mask while away from home and in the company of people who are not members of their household.

 FNM Chairman and former Health Minister Dr Duane Sands has said the new mask rules are discriminatory.

 “There may be or they may cite differences in vaccination rates and so on and so forth, but you know give Bahamians the courtesy of at least sharing with them the basis of your decision making,” Dr Sands said. “Show some respect for the intellect of Bahamians as opposed to something that was glaringly discriminatory.”

 He added: “We note with interest the changes that have been made. We find it very interesting that the virus behaves differently in hotels and casinos than they do in Bahamian businesses, but most importantly we have been asking for the data that undergirds these decisions and to date they have not been forthcoming. So, while we hope and wish the best for Bahamians, we do not know on what basis these decisions were made.”