Tavala Ferguson, a 36-year-old Eleuthera resident, yesterday questioned why normal commercial activity is not allowed to resume on her home island.

The prime minister ordered the closure of non-essential businesses as of March 20, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but has since allowed some islands to go back to normal commercial activity.

But Eleuthera is not one of those islands.

“It’s a bit unfair,” said Ferguson, who is a resident of Wemyss Bight.

“It’s definitely impacting the economy because a lot of jobs are being displaced. Because the island is not exempted to open, it has a lot of people at home.”

Peggy Underwood, 55, who lives in Spanish Wells, said the settlement has been adhering to the government’s curfew and weekend lockdown protocols “more than any island in the whole Bahamas”.

“They’re just not opening us up,” she told The Nassau Guardian.

“We want to know why. Why aren’t we opened up?”

She said the 24-hour curfew and weekend lockdowns should not be in effect whenever the government decides to resume commercial activity on Eleuthera.

Commercial activity resumed on Cat Island, Long Island, Abaco and Andros yesterday.

In early May, Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis declared that such activity was also allowed to resume on Ragged Island, Rum Cay, Mayaguana, Inagua, Crooked Island, Acklins and Long Cay.

None of those islands have had confirmed cases of COVID-19; neither have Exuma, Eleuthera, San Salvador and the Berry Islands — all of which remain closed to regular business.

Minnis has not explained why some of the islands have not been granted permission to reopen.

Despite this, Maybell Gibson, 82, of The Bluff, Eleuthera, said she is confident that he knows what he is doing.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian