Back on March 25, The Bahamas recorded 32 COVID-19 hospitalizations.
It was the highest number of hospitalizations in recent months since November 9, when the number of hospitalizations stood at 48, falling to 30 in the Ministry of Health’s November 11 report.
Given that the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations and rates of symptomatic patients presenting to healthcare facilities are key indicators of the virus’ activity in the country, questions loom about whether the country is seeing the beginning of a third wave.
Those questions were given additional weight by the ministry’s statement last week calling “disconcerting” a marked increase in cases and hospitalizations on New Providence, Grand Bahama and Abaco.
And with 75 COVID-19 cases since the end of January recorded as having a history of travel abroad – 64 of which on New Providence – it is especially critical to know whether COVID-19 variants are now present in the country.
In response to the rise in cases and hospitalizations, the ministry reiterated a call to adhere to public safety measures such as avoiding social gatherings and maintaining adequate social distancing.
In a hospital memo that made the rounds on social media Sunday afternoon, Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) Medical Chief of Staff Dr. Caroline Burnett-Garraway advised that elective admissions would be placed on hold “due to unavoidable ward closures and an acute shortage of beds.”
But even as the ministry of health makes the call for adherence to safety protocols in response to an increase in cases and hospitalizations, campaigning and campaign events, which by their very nature attract crowds and involve consistent contact with members of the public, continue in earnest.
Also on the increase are government ribbon-cutting and groundbreaking ceremonies that are ostensibly campaign initiatives at the end of the day, and that in a most recent case in Andros, featured a crowd of attendees who were seated under a tent without social distancing protocols being enforced.
The reasons
At last report, the ministry said a recent spike in cases on Grand Bahama was predominantly due to inter-island travel, as well as attendance at events and smaller gatherings.
There has been no report on what accounts for New Providence’s increase in cases, though its comparatively high number of cases with a history of travel might perhaps provide some clues.
Last week, police advised that several people were taken into custody in New Providence for attempting to travel to a Family Island via Lynden Pindling International Airport with fraudulent COVID-19 test results.
Some residents on social media claimed that the use of fraudulent test results by some travelers was not new, nor was it a secret.
Elizabeth MP Dr. Duane Sands in an interview with Eyewitness News this past weekend is quoted as calling for “no mercy” for those who are allegedly in the business of creating fake COVID certificates, condemning such a practice as a threat to public health.
It is not publicly known how prevalent such activities have been nationwide, or to what extent they may have contributed to new infections on various islands.
As an example of responsible and pandemic-sensitive interaction with the public, the Department of Statistics recently announced that for the first time ever, it would introduce a digital protocol to capture relevant data for the decennial census which was due last year, but was delayed due to the country’s second wave.
The competent authority has shown no hesitation over the past year in issuing emergency orders – often without supporting data – at the hint of an increase in cases, and those orders are designed to control the public’s movements and activities.
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