@ Clamshell....Obviously, you either did not take the time to read the provided linked article or did not comprehend what was published.

Regardless, we all need to stop the normal doom and gloom whining and accept the PM's invitation to throw out our collective ideas and see what possibly works best for benefit of all of the country.

Complaining and bitching have never solved any problems and won't now.

Given that the Bahamas is a busy tourism destination, the biggest surprise is that more people in the tourism industry were not infected.

The infections popping up now are most likely caused by community spread, not from tourism-related causes, which should have been manifested 2 weeks into lock-down exercises.

Dr. Sands predicted 90 cases as of last Sunday which has not materialized. This is great news!

However, I expect to see a spike in infections by the 23rd of the month caused by missteps and delays of the government implementing mandatory wearing of masks in food stores and other essential services providers.

How will they determine the people did not get it standing in a line outside or shopping in a grocery store? Chances are they DID get it at the grocery store or other "essential" location!

@ TalRussell....Good point! for once I tempted possible brain damage to read and try to comprehend what you say, and I totally agree that someone should be responsible for looking after the swimming pigs and any other such excursion where animals are dependant on human interaction for survival.

Minister for tourism and aviation, Dionisio D’Aguilar, has a valid concern. Nevertheless, he needs not to overthink this problem, as mega-resort destinations far dwarfing the Bahamas will soon come up with a consensus on how to deal with the issue.

Obviously, the very first concern must be to get the virus eradicated and be in a position to declare the country "Coronavirus-contained" or "Coronavirus-free".

Secondly, the Bahamas should seriously consider imposing mandatory quick testing for everyone upon arrival in the country, including returning residents from any country, and at a self-cost to the traveler.

If human nature is the same globally, China's recent travel resurgence overwhelmingly suggests people are willing to travel locally and on short trips.

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/…

That being said, the government should initially be looking into incentivizing domestic travel by cutting duties and VAT on imports purchased from family island destinations. This would immediately encourage inter-island tourism, and development, and provide an alternative to Bahamians running to the U.S. and Panama for shopping sprees, and the possibility of contracting the virus in crowded shopping malls abroad.

The Bahamas close proximity and ease of travel for over 400 million North Americans almost making us a "domestic trip" is another positive aspect that will weigh in greatly on the road to
tourism travel recovery that regional competitors do not have.

The trickiest hat trick for Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister for tourism, remains how to increase tourism spend in a social distancing conscience environment!

**Retraction**......My apologies to the Prime Minister on this mask issue.

The PM stated, "The importation of **non-medical** protective face masks will be prohibited". However, the importation of medical-grade protective face masks will continue to be allowed.

Thank you, Mr. P.M., for moving swiftly to protect Bahamian entrepreneurs. Had the government applied the same protectionism for Bahamians across the board in the past, our country would have been in a much stronger position today with fewer people needing to depend on the government for everything during this situation.

Hopefully, these entrepreneurs have also adopted best practices, and are using different color fabric to identify the inside of masks from the outside. Otherwise, wearers may at times put the masks on backward and self-contaminate themselves. Secondly, masks should come with care instructions and warnings about washing.

The PM gets high marks for promoting local masks production. However, we need to understand the purpose, proper etiquette, and **limitations** of various masks.

**Homemade face masks**
Homemade face masks only offer a small degree of protection. While they may help prevent the spread of Covid19 from asymptomatic people. They are simply a barrier to prevent droplets from "exiting" and infecting others......They do not protect against smaller respiratory droplets, such as those containing Covid19.

**Surgical masks**
Not only does the mask not filter out smaller aerosol particles, but air leakage also occurs through the sides of the mask as you inhale...... They do not protect against smaller respiratory droplets, such as those containing Covid19.

**N95 respirators**
N95 respirators can protect against smaller respiratory droplets, such as those containing Covid19.

https://www.livescience.com/cloth-masks…

https://www.healthline.com/health/coron…

Why should people that want to pay for the added protection of an FDA approved virus protective mask that is not being produced locally be denied the opportunity to do so?

Why should people be denied the option of protecting themselves against covid19 to the best of their ability?

Allowing the importation of non-medical protective face masks **that protects from viruses** will encourage local producers to improve their skills and make products of export quality.

I hope the PM revisits this prohibition and makes the necessary amendments to allow Bahamians the opportunity to protect themselves!

Inviting people to share ideas is the best thing Tribune could have done!

We need to apply the same concerted focus to turning the country around. If all of us throw our ideas out, some of them will be well worth pursuing.

Great job!

The Cuban Convertible Currency, or CUC, is traded 1 to1 in Cuba.

All the PPE supplies we need are available in China and Taiwan. Everything with the exception of ventilators is readily available, and although courier shipping is more costly, we can have any amount shipped DHL with a 7 to 10 day delivery time.

Threatening and antagonizing a world superpower, our nearest neighbor, and biggest trading partner is stupid at best.

We need to remember the saying "you need to kiss ass until you can kick ass"

We should move diligently with the purpose of obtaining our PPE needs in Asia.

This situation is a lesson and good medicine for the government that they must stop giving everything away lock-stock-&-barrel to foreign interest and start thinking "Bahamas & Bahamians first" when dealing with foreign entities.