Barbados has 3/4 the population of the Bahamas but has only 968 corona cases compared to some 8,000 cases in The Bahamas. And their corona deaths are in single digits, compared to some 180 here in The Bahamas. That being said, this country was successful if flattening it’s Corona curve and as it moves further away from the holidays with increased travel to the US and the period of increased visitors traveling to this country and failing to take the requisite corona tests, the numbers of cases will definitely determine if the flattened curve or reduced numbers of corona cases (and deaths) has been maintained. Then there is the worrisome cases of the Corona virus in San Salvador as well as reports of a nee strain surfacing in the Western part of New Providence. So yes agreeing with the prime minister, they did their best, it was a long hard and tough and fiercely fought battle. But it ain’t over yet. March/April will say with som certainly that Corona has left our shores for good and is disappearing forever off the surface of the earth. And it may be deep into summer before some countries can see the results that are being seen here. Personally my belief is the vaccine is not a factor in the virus disappearing.

The Biden administration plans to distribute all available doses of the Corona vaccine rather than holding reserves fir persons who will require a second dose. Is this a wise decision, considering the challenges that are being met distributing the vaccine. Persons who do not receive the second part of the vaccine within 21 days will have to take the first dose over. Also the first dose alone does not provide any protection against the virus. With the US adding 1/4 million new cases a day, there’s panic and a mass rush to get the vaccine distributed. But experts say the most effectiveness of the vaccine will be realized when it is administered in conjunction with other measures, including the wearing of masks, social distancing, sanitizer and regular washing of hands. Here in The Bahamas those protocols have been effective, exclusive of the vaccine and the effects of the virus on ‘new’ populations, like San Salvador are clearly visible. Then, of course, the effects of the several new variations of Corona have not yet been felt in this country. But hopefully these will be the last and final waves of the virus.

The greatest activity that happens on Bat Street nowadays is the issuance of traffic tickets. And it would be good, excellent if Bay Street could reopen toa spanking, new facelift

> ll be that much more difficult.”
#The drone demonstrated yesterday can stay airborne for eight hours at a minimum

So once a drone is dispatched it must remain airborne for eight hours minimum.

‘

> Two weeks after getting a first dose of a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, a 56-year-old doctor in South Florida died this week, possibly the nation’s first death linked to the vaccine.
Health officials from Florida and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are investigating what role, if any, the vaccine played in the death of Dr. Gregory Michael, a Miami-Beach obstetrician who, his family says, was in otherwise good health.

The COVID-19 virus should have completely disappeared from The Bahamas by March 2021 and so no need fro a vaccine, provided the Emergency protocols remain in place and the population continues to follow them. There is no strong evidence that this virus affects the same person twice, at least over a short period of time and so once everyone has been infected or exposed to the virus, they become immune, at least in the short term. That is why you no longer see dozens of medical personnel, police officers and other front line workers coming down with the virus. Yes this new strain is more contagious and hence more deadly but it is the final wave. It may not be as potent here because most of the population has been exposed. Unfortunately the US is recording 4,000 deaths a day. The mushroom in cases started with the Trump rallies and were fueled by mass travel during the recent holiday travel. But the US numbers should also start calming down and by summer this virus should have completely disappeared. that is provided these dozens of vaccines they are rushing to pump up in the population does not have adverse effects and create a new, and possibly a more resistant strain.

ANd Mr Wilson is right about the Christmas holiday sales. They are off, ways off last year's numbers, and many businesses who have been locked down for months on end, earlier in the year or had their business operation hours reduced due to Corona are holding on to their business by a sandfly's eyebrow. And January will be another trecherous battle for them to fight. Some will not make it, especially if there are additional curfews or lockdowns.

US currency disappeared since the middle of last year, much to the benefit of local banks. Persons who now travel must either use credit or debit cards (banks treat debit cards in The Bahamas same as credit cards so stores and businesses must dish out up to 6% to banks whenever these cards are used in a transaction) or purchase cash at an exchange rate of 95 US for 100 Bahamian dollars. And, even when a person uses their credit card abroad or even on line, exchange rates apply, in addition to bank fees. Of course, the best buy now is transactions that involve Canadian dollars, for which the Bahamian dollar is worth $1.20. And yes, some businesses are not even seeing single US dollars. And there is one business that makes all its customers pay US dollars with their credit card. So the customer has to pay more and the business has US funds on their account to pay their foreign bills. When you try to query it, they tell you their credit card is not working properly and will only accept US $ transactions.

This country is seeing over a decade of non-stop double and triple-digit murders. Most of the victims are young, males and who are usually murdered by multiple gunshots to the head and body. Many, when killed are in a relaxed mode or in a defenseless position, many not even expecting the attack on them. Some manage to run for cover, but almost all become murder victims of their attackers. So what is wrong with that picture? Over 1,000 persons murdered in a decade. But yet Dames needs more time? Does he realize his term will come to an end in exactly eighteen months and is not even near to his campaign promise to reduce crime and specifically murder. Not that fulfilling his campaign promise is more important than stemming crime and murder in the country but it does measure Dames as a failure.

Don’t how ‘insurgents’ infiltrated the Black Lives Matter protests and did the rioting, the looting and the property destruction to place the blame on the peaceful protesters