PROVISIONS have been made to facilitate the repatriation of hundreds of Haitian migrants who entered the country illegally over the weekend, according to Prime Minister Phillip "Brave" Davis.
A group of Haitian nationals attempting to flee political turmoil and economic unrest in their home country were detained in Inagua on Saturday, after being apprehended in a joint operation by members of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force and the United States Coast Guard.
Last night, the Department of Immigration said more than 400 migrants were in custody after the alleged capsizing and subsequent sinking of a Haitian vessel off Exuma.
This came after Royal Bahamas Defence Force officials said a Haitian sloop was spotted in the Ragged Island chain on Saturday morning. HMBS Durward Knowles was dispatched to investigate and assist. When the ship arrived, the Haitian vessel, with a total of 145 migrants onboard, was apprehended and taken to Matthew Town where the passengers were then handed over to Immigration officers for processing.
“Earlier in the day, (the) RBDF Maritime Unit assigned to HMBS Matthew Town, intercepted a Haitian sloop one and a half miles northwest of the island,” the statement continued. “Further investigations uncovered 50 migrants (41 males, 9 females) onboard...RBDF officers and marines are currently providing security details for the migrants, who are currently being detained at the local police station on the island and additional aid has been deployed to the island to assist with security, along with medical and food supplies.”
In total, the RBDF said more than 500 migrants had been detained in a 48-hour period; however this figure was released before the Department of Immigration announced that hundreds more migrants had been apprehended in Exuma.
Yesterday, Mr Davis said he discussed the current crisis involving the “large number of migrants who have recently landed on the country’s southern shores,” with the Foreign Minister of Haiti and the permanent representative from Haiti to the United Nations at the 2021 UN General Assembly.
He said he was “especially concerned” about the humanitarian impact the crisis was having on the Haitian migrants as well as the residents of the respective islands.
His comments to reporters came after a tour of the facility on Friday.
#“Many of the patients that are in the wards are well kept, but as we go through the wards, we begin to realise that some of the infrastructure is crumbling and we need to find resources to begin to get the infrastructure back to a level that is satisfactory for the caring of our elderly and our paediatric special children,” he said.
#“As I toured the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre, the first thing that came to mind is where we are with our COVID protocols. I am pleased that (SRC) staff have definitely come up with a plan. That particular plan we will develop and we will work upon to ensure that everyone who is permanent here at the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre will be safe.”
#Dr Darville said SRC has the protocols to prevent cross-contamination. He also said if they find themselves in a situation where a patient tests positive for COVID-19, facilities are available to isolate and quarantine them.
#“So we’re building capacity, we’re improving on what we’ve found and at the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre, we find ourselves in the position where the healthcare professionals at this institution are doing their endeavour best to protect those who are in the institution, permanent residents and those who are actually receiving treatment and will soon be released as an outpatient.”
#Dr Darville said COVID-19 continues to pose a “serious problem to the country.” He said his ministry was watching the numbers “very closely”. He said the Davis administration is trying to increase hospital capacity.
#“It's important for the government as well as health care professionals to be ready in the event that we find another massive surge (because) we need to be able to handle it,” he said. “A few days ago we had the ability to tour the Princess Margaret Hospital, a couple of days prior we had the opportunity to look at the South Beach COVID clinic and look at ways how we can improve that infrastructure and create additional bed capacity for those cases that are positive for COVID and ambulatory.
#“We toured the Princess Margaret Hospital and it is clear that there is much renovation going on and we are in a situation where the hospital is at pretty much maximum capacity. We had the ability to tour the Samaritan’s Purse pathogen centre...our nurses are doing an excellent job, but we are in the hurricane season and there is a tropical depression out there and we always must think in terms of hurricanes.
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