By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 31, 2021 – As the rapid spread of the Delta variant of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a matter of grave concern to United States healthcare officials, Bahamians should really heed the warnings sounded by Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Leader Philip “Brave” Davis in several recent statements strongly criticizing Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis for not having a plan to address the worsening health care crisis in The Bahamas as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In one recent statement, Mr. Davis noted: “New COVID cases have been rising quickly this summer, with more than 1800 new cases in July alone. Despite increasingly anguished pleas from our hospitals and medical professionals, the government has been slow to respond to the crisis.”
Unquestionably, the health of our nation is gravely imperiled and shall remain in serious jeopardy under the leadership of Dr. Minnis as Prime Minister.
Indeed, rather than being referred to as the Competent Authority on matters related to the governance of The Bahamas generally, the misnomer Incompetent Authority would be more accurate. This is especially true with regard to his administration’s lack of coherent policies to address the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in The Bahamas.
Clearly, the country would not be like a dinghy adrift in a storm during the current healthcare crisis if at the height of the COVID-19 outbreak in The Bahamas, Prime Minister Minnis did not nonsensically decide to pick a “political fight” with Minister of Health Dr. Duane Sands, whose medical credentials are impeccable and who was unquestionably one of the most effective Ministers in his cabinet.
To be sure, if Prime Minister Minnis were not so suborn and politically naïve, he would have quickly recognized his mistake once the COVID-19 pandemic became a serious problem in The Bahamas and apologize to Dr. Sands and beg him to rejoin his cabinet as Minister of Health.
Instead, he chose to gamble with the healthcare of hundreds of thousands of Bahamians by appointing Renward Wells as Minister of Health, despite the fact that historically Mr. Well’s nomadic political resume is more reflective of a political wheeler and dealer, with no medical experience and, indeed, no “executive management” experience on the scale of what is required at the Ministry of Health.
Meanwhile, the spectre of the Delta variant of the COVID-19 looms menacingly as a serious problem in near-by Florida, which many Bahamians consider to be an “extension” of The Bahamas.
According to a report published recently by the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center, the first major news coverage of the Delta variant surrounded the humanitarian crisis it sparked in India in spring 2021.
“At that time, India was experiencing low levels of vaccinations due to a lack of vaccine access, with most Covid vaccines produced in India exported internationally,” the report noted. “This created an environment for Delta to thrive given its increased transmissibility compared to the original (wildtype) SARS-CoV-2 virus. In early March, Delta accounted for only 4% of all sequenced SARS-CoV-2 samples for India. Just two months later, at the height of that nation’s crisis, over 70% of sequenced samples were of the Delta variant.”
According to Johns Hopkins University, “The global tally for the coronavirus-borne illness climbed above 196 million on Thursday (July29) while the death toll climbed above 4.18 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. leads the world with a total of 34.7 million cases and in deaths with 611,801 as the highly infectious delta variant continues to spread fast, especially in states with low vaccination rates.”
President Joe Biden has outlined his plan to have federal workers either get vaccinated or face regular testing, social distancing, mask requirements and restrictions on travel.
“The move comes as the federal government struggles to persuade vaccine hold-outs to get their shots,” according to published reports. “More than 97% of current cases, hospitalizations and deaths are in unvaccinated people, yet the CDC’s vaccine tracker is barely budging from day to day. India is second by cases at 31.5 million and third by deaths at 422,662, according to its official numbers, which are expected to be undercounted.”
The report continued: “Brazil is second in deaths at 553,179, but is third in cases at 19.8 million. Mexico has fourth-highest death toll at 239,616 but has recorded just 2.8 million cases, according to its official numbers. In Europe, Russia continues to pull ahead of the U.K. by deaths at 154,403, while the U.K. has 129,718, making Russia the country with the fifth-highest death toll in the world and highest in Europe.”
Given the dire world-wide impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, clearly the Competent Authority in The Bahamas should stop “playing politics” while this contagion continues to wreak havoc in The Bahamas.
Declaring that the PLP “remains deeply concerned that the government is not doing enough to support Bahamians through this crisis, PLP Leader Philip “Brave” Davis offered a “laundry list” of suggestions in one of his statements that Prime Minister Minnis most certainly should seriously consider.
