By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

DESPITE a recent increase in COVID-19 cases, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville said the government is not at this time considering tightening measures.

There has been a slight increase in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, with double digit numbers being recorded most days.

Just over the weekend, health officials reported 106 new virus cases, 23 of which were recorded on Sunday, 63 on Saturday and 20 on Friday. Meanwhile, Monday saw 32 cases confirmed.

The latest numbers have pushed the country’s overall count to 33,989 since the start of the pandemic.

 Health officials have attributed the recent increase in virus cases to mostly “COVID fatigue.”

 Speaking on the nation’s COVID situation yesterday, Dr Darville said while officials are concerned about the uptick, there is still a sense of relief as virus related hospitalisations remain low.

 “We have been watching the cases rise,” Dr Darville said before a Cabinet meeting yesterday. “We are concerned and are always concerned when the cases go up, but one of the good things and the good report is that the cases in hospital are very low. Last week, the cases were about 11. This week, it’s about 12 and that’s across the board at Doctors Hospital, PMH, and the Rand Memorial Hospital and Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre. That is good news for us and our team are concerned about the numbers and while that’s happening, we have no plan to tighten any restrictions at this time.”

 Only seven people were said to be in hospital with the virus as of May 16.

 Asked yesterday about the government’s contingency plan should COVID hospital admissions rise, the minister replied: “Yes, we have to look at our hospital admissions and we need to have a contingency plan, but with that being said there is always limitations in our hospital and so we have to be able to execute the plan and as we speak right now, the hospital is challenged with cases that are not COVID related and we are working very diligently to sort those cases out and deal with some of the backlogs that were in place at our tertiary facility as a result of the impact of COVID-19.”

 The slight rise in infection rates comes as countries around the world, including The Bahamas, continue to ease measures, including social distancing guidelines and mask mandates.

 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.

 Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis has said the remaining mask mandates could be totally lifted by the summer.

 Asked whether the government still intended to lift measures by then, Dr Darville did not give a definite answer.

 Instead he said officials remained hopeful that the mask mandates will be removed by then.

 “Well, we are always hopeful,” he said. “The situation is very fluid. We are in a relatively good position despite the numbers going up and we will keep watching what’s happening internationally and our tourism sector and the amount of cases that are coming in that’s travel related before any final decision would be made.”

 Yesterday, the health minister also commented about the declining vaccination rates in the country, noting that just over 51 percent of the eligible persons in the country have been fully vaccinated to date.

 However, he said officials are working to increase vaccine uptake before some vaccines expire at the end of this month.

 “There are some vaccines that would approach expiration and we are concerned about that,” Dr Darville added. “It’s a problem across the region where we have a good supply of vaccines and really don’t have the response for vaccination uptick. For us, the situation in The Bahamas is good as it relates to vaccines and we’re encouraging Bahamians everywhere to come out to receive their first and second dose as well as their first and second boosters.”