COMMENTARY: BY OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., May 2, 2020 — If the report in the Nassau Guardian on May 1 is accurate, the explanation given by Minister of Health Dr. Duane Sands for giving permission for two Americans who are permanent residents of The Bahamas to fly into New Providence despite The Bahamas’ border being closed should really be classified as an inadvertent faux pas, rather than being used as fodder for the avalanche of criticism Dr. Sands has been receiving from some Bahamians, who more likely than not have other motives for venting their condemnation of his decision.
On Facebook, which has provided a powerful social media platform for critics to caustically express their opinions on matters they do not agree with, Dr. Sands’ decision has even elicited calls for his resignation, even though he continues to do an excellent job overall in providing leadership at the Ministry of Heath during this deadly COVID-19 pandemic that is currently wreaking havoc around the world, with a disastrous impact on The Bahamas’ major economic lifeline – tourism.
In a statement taking full responsibility for his action, Dr. Sands indirectly suggested that he may have been duped into allowing the two American permanent residents of The Bahamas, who have donated 2,500 doubled-swabbed diagnostic test kits for COVID-19, to disembark from the plane that brought the test kits that are in short supply globally to The Bahamas.
According to The Guardian, Dr. Sands said, “The plane was here and we had to make an urgent decision. The plane was here to make a much-needed donation. I made the decision to let the couple disembark. The pair was not displaying symptoms of COVID-19 upon their arrival, and they were evaluated by a nurse of the airport’s public health surveillance unit. They were instructed to self-quarantine for 14 days and they were tested today for COVID-19.”
He added: “We have had to literally hunt all around the world to find the tools to take care of Bahamian people. I took an oath. I stand by that oath. And I will search the world over to get what we need. We have gotten over 3,500 test kits, and maybe 4,000, basically through relationships, donations, etc., even when we couldn’t purchase them on the open market. I have a duty to make sure that we can test Bahamians. I take that duty very seriously.”
Apparently, based on The Guardian’s story, Dr. Sands acknowledged that details about the passengers should have been listed on the flight plan, but the Ministry of Health “did not have access to that information at the time.”
According to The Guardian, “The revelation that the two American residents were allowed to enter the country and quarantine in their home during a strict nationwide curfew and border closure that has left Bahamian citizens being stranded abroad, was yesterday met with public ire. Bahamas Consul General in Miami Linda Treco-Mackey said Bahamians seeking to return home will have to show proof that they have tested negative for COVID-19.”
Clearly, “common sense” dictates that there is no correlation between the manner in which those two permanent residents were allowed to enter the country and quarantine in their home and the plans that are being put in place for Bahamians stranded abroad when they return home, as announced recently by Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis. It is nonetheless true, however, that – as the saying goes — “Common sense in not all that common.”
Given the fact that those Bahamians returning home will be quarantined at a secure facility upon entry to The Bahamas for a period of time, some critics on Facebook have accused the government of giving “foreigners preferential treatment.” This is nonsense — total nonsense.
Obviously, the donation of the 2,500 doubled-swabbed diagnostic test kits for COVID-19 may have been the “carrot-on-the-stick” inducement those two American permanent residents of The Bahamas used to be in the position to possibly return to their home in Nassau, but once they landed in Nassau, it would have made absolutely no sense to insist that they return to the United States on the plane they used to bring their much-need donation of those COVID-19 test kits or be quarantined at a secure facility guarded by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force.
Of course, Dr. Sands sort of “muddied the water” somewhat when he was asked by The Guardian “if he would characterize the decision to allow the Americans to remain in the country as a quid pro quo for the donations,” and his response was that the donations were considered in the decision, according to The Guardian.
“We put in place policies and procedures, and those policies and procedures will always have exceptions,” Dr. Sands was quoted as saying. “There are some exceptions if you have a child or a person who has recently come out of the hospital. It is unlikely that that person will be required to go into the quarantine facility. A disabled person is not likely to be required to go into such a facility. And so, we would have outlined exactly what transpired in this instance. And a decision was made on the spot based on the totality of the information. We would have recognized the value that the swabs would have provided to the government and to the people of The Bahamas, and yes, I’m sure that entered into the totality of the ultimate decision made. The decisions were made on the spot. I take full responsibility for it. If we had to do it again, perhaps we may have done a few things slightly different.”
Would one of those “few things” done “slightly different” be denying the couple entry or insisting that they be quarantined in a government secured facility?
In hindsight, neither of those two options would have made much sense.
