The Ministry of Health vigorously refutes the baseless and inaccurate assertions made in a widely circulated video posted on social media and the similarly false written statements by the MP for Englerston, the Honorable Glenys Hanna-Martin (letter to the Editor, Nassau Guardian 18/1/2020.)
The letter and video make multiple wild claims. Among the allegations are statements that there are some 80 to 90 bodies which have been thawing due to inadequate cooling resulting in a stench. It is further stated that this is a consequence of a lack of diesel to run the cooler, etc.
These baseless allegations are untrue.
There are remains of fifty-one (51) deceased persons being stored in a refrigerated cooler adjacent to the Marsh Harbour Clinic. At this time, there are no remains being stored in the built-in morgue coolers.
The refrigerated cooler has been wired into the electrical breaker of the Marsh Harbour clinic for months. The clinic has been on the re-energized grid since November 2019. It has a functioning back-up generator which is serviced monthly. A lock was placed and maintained in place for more than two months. There are security officers on the premises.
Since restoration of municipal power to the clinic, BPL has functioned at better than 90% efficiency. Except for the few seconds for sensing by the automatic transfer switch prior to generator start, there have been no power losses to the trailer and no degradation of the remains which are stored. Indeed, there is further redundancy. In the event of a catastrophic failure, the 40-foot unit also has a back-up generator which could power the container if needed.
The claim of a stench, fresh or old remnants of bodily fluids at or around the trailer and suggestion that there are unusually large populations of flies attracted to the trailer are pathetic falsifications refuted by direct inspection of our clinic administrator Kyron Darville and ACHS Charlene Bain on 17/1/2020.
The locked cooler is currently at minus 8 to minus 10 degrees. We have carefully selected and maintained the cooler temperature to avoid any further degradation of bodies that were all collected in a state of decomposition. The integrity of the remains has been verified by our pathology team as late as Friday 17/1/2020. To date, of the fifty-five (55) Dorian related deaths recovered in Abaco, the remains of four persons have been identified and released. Upon completion of all efforts to ensure identification, all the victims will be buried with dignity.
The people of Abaco have suffered tremendously. These insensitive and reckless false claims add to their pain and suffering. At least one of the persons should know better and seek confirmation before affirming misinformation.
