FREEPORT, Grand Bahama — Thanks to the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA), the Grand Bahama COVID-19 Task Force team has taken up residence in the new home at the Cancer Association Atlantic Avenue West facility with two confirmed virus patients in their care, the Freeport News reported on April 6.
When the government was unable to secure a suitable building, the GBPA rose to the occasion, and Minister of State for Grand Bahama in the Office of the Prime Minister, Senator the Hon. J. Kwasi Thompson, said the government was grateful to the G BPA for the gesture.
Dr. Frank Bartlett, who heads the team, told The Freeport News that as of Friday, April 3, there were four patients who had tested positive for COVID-19 on island, two of whom were detained in hospital. However, health officials were awaiting test results from a patient with unrelated COVID-19 health issues who was transferred to New Providence. That case was later confirmed, bringing GB’s total to five.
Unfortunately, as of Saturday, April 4, one of those patients — an 80-year-old male of Eight Mile Rock — passed away.
In the meantime, Dr. Bartlett assured that the most important “thing” for the team is making sure that the appropriate contact tracing is being done.
“Contact tracing is a process by which we identify, access and we manage those persons that would have been in contact with someone who had the disease,” Dr. Bartlett said. “It is an exhaustive process (contact tracing), and labour intensive. We go around and we identify contacts, here. With just our first two cases we would have had probably some 90 persons who would have potentially been in contact with them…” See the full Freeport News story at http://thefreeportnews.com/news/gbpa-provides-isolation-facility/?fbclid=IwAR0LW-gZ3hV2lz3e3G7G50ezWbnvLLQKanI5mVnUy2WgGAz8-Jk1L3sxtGc
