Those who don’t know history will be bound to repeat it: ‘ The Philadelphia Liberty Loans Parade was a parade in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 28, 1918, organized to promote government bonds that helped pay for the needs of Allied troops in World War I. More than 200,000 Philadelphians attended the parade, which led to one of the largest outbreaks of the Spanish flu in the United States. It has since been declared the deadliest parade in American history.’ It was held during the height of the Spanish Flu Pandemic

And the problem can also lie with the internet providers. Some home (and businesses) internet went down during the thunderstorm on Sunday night and still have not yet been restored.

Did the system crash or was it intentionally hacked? One claim is that even students passwords did not work. Another is that work teaches uploaded to the system ‘disappeared.’ Sounds more like hacking than crashing. There was one institution a while back where students got into the system and presented other students homework as their own. Maybe government should try two things: stagger classes, say some from 8am to 2 pm, others from 9-3 and others from 10am to 4:00 pm and maybe even a fourth section from 11 am to 5 pm, to avoid thousands of students trying to log in at once. And two use alternate platforms, so if one crashes or has other problems, the entire learning system doesn’t come to a halt. Surely it was an embarrassment for the Minister, the Ministry of Education and the government. But hey NIB was also down and customs.. is like the weather.

Some indisputable facts: there are at least 40 countries that currently have NO active Corona cases. There are quite a few more that have less than 10 cases. Yes some may be small or remote but they have controllable cases. Just over 20 countries have recorded no corona related deaths ( Haiti is among them). And at least 50 countries that have recorded 10 or less corona deaths The more remote a country is or the more sparse is its population, the less challenging is the covid-29 virus for that country. More dense populations have a greater time fighting the virus. A more mobile population also have more difficult time fighting the virus. The more a population interacts with the outside world, either by people going in or persons going out or both, the more difficult it is to control corona.

The leave the scrapings for Bahamians aye.

What Minnis now need to review is the lockdown curfew of 7:00 pm. It is almost impossible for some businesses to cease operations, do closing procedures and get home all before 7:00 pm when there will be thousands on the road all trying to beat the curfew. And Minnis instructions to the police to, book them if they are caught out of curfew at 7:01 pm is asinine, childish and bullying.’ Many Bahamians are already under enough stress and for some the drive home alone is more than 30 minutes. The empty streets over the weekend proves that most Bahamians are willing to comply with emergency. Be sensitive and sensible and move the curfew to 8:00 pm

Anytime d’aguilar comes to the public with a statement, expect Minnis to come with a follow up statement that is the complete opposite. So that translates to ‘Expect even more lockdowns or longer lockdowns in n November.’ The facts are almost all the businesses or activities that require large gatherings including schools and universities had to be shutdown due to Corona outbreaks. And if the large hotels wrrr to have that experience here, imagine the fall out. So the options the government had is to partner more with the small properties and attract the upscale tourists or ones seeking a more quiet, private vacation. And to keep its fleet active during the pandemic, one airline is offering what they call ‘flights to nowhere.’ Where passengers board the plane and take flights over the city and then return home. Bahamasair can offer ‘fly outs for Bahamians and others where they fly over the popular Bahamian islands and then return to their originating islands. Then it can be expanded to include weekend packages at local resorts and serve as tests to reopening the tourism market.

Another nail in the financial coffin of The Bahamas? Is it a peak or will the price of money go even higher in the foreseeable future? Should have made some of that offering available locally.

Even those that criticize the government for its sidewalk construction efforts should realize the benefits of the government causing several hundred young men to be hired in this effort and allow hundreds of thousands of dollars to be pumped directly back into the economy. The country is already facing a brain drain and since the hotels are closed many young men are trying to find their way to Canada. Those who speak creole are at a disadvantage as they can get jobs in French-speaking provinces or high-end restaurants and even when the pay is the same as Bah Mar or Atlantis, it affords them a standard of living three or four times better than what they can afford here. And many are moving away with no intention of coming back. In fact, at first opportunity, they send for family or loved ones and also get them to move to Canada. Imagine moving from a shanty town, that's always under threat of being burned down or demolished, into a high-end apartment or cottage with all the amenities. And the threat or violence ior murder is so much less. The uncertainity of living in the US, with its political and racial unrest has made that country less attractive to bahamians for now.

Johnson and Johnson has now halted its trials of the covid-19 vaccine as one of the volunteers fell ill with an unexplained sickness. Johnson and Johnson was the only company in the top line that was testing a one-shot vaccine. All others had to be taken in at least two parts. And so the development of a safe, well tested, and effective vaccine seems to be ways off, and even then its efficacy rate will still be below 60% meaning almost half the people taking it will not be protected against covid-19. And while the weekend lockdowns will be effective in slowing the disease and not as socially and economically as painful as full lockdowns, government, even at this late stage, must do more to control those already infected with the virus and who continue to mingle with the general population. And then the fact that, while the number of positive tests has skyrocketed, the number of deaths and hospitalizations remain relatively manageable. Government must now, too seek ways to keep deaths lower and ensure the patients in hospital get care that will allow them to recover more quickly