By RASHAD ROLLE
Tribune Senior Reporter
rrolle@tribunemedia.net
GRAND Cay residents are facing the COVID-19 lockdown without adequate internet and phone services, challenging those seeking education, healthcare and other services.
Hurricane Dorian and COVID-19, two separate crisis events, have intersected to limit their connection to the outside world.
To access the only reliable phone and internet service on the cay, residents huddle by droves on the property of Craig Cephas. Yesterday, Mr Cephas said he is “running a satellite” in his yard that attracts 60-plus residents each day. People sit atop concrete blocks and stairways around his house, some with cell phones, others with laptops, making calls and surfing the internet.
But if residents obey Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis’ lockdown order, they won’t be able to access Mr Cephas’ network until Tuesday evening.
Fifty two-year-old fisherman Wendell Saunders said Dorian damaged the cay’s telecommunications infrastructure and they have not had decent services since.
“When (Mr Cephas’) system is overloaded, you could be there for half-an-hour trying to get online and when you do get online and you send a text message, it takes five, ten minutes before it goes,” said Mr Saunders, a 37-year resident of Grand Cay and father-of-five. “When the person you sent it to gets it, then it takes another five, ten minutes before you get their message back.”
Mr Saunders estimates that about one half of 100 or so school-aged children left Grand Cay to attend school elsewhere after Hurricane Dorian. With schools shut nationwide, the remaining students cannot access essential online learning services at home, he said.
“We got like about 40 of the kids who go at (Mr Cephas yard) trying to get internet service to do their school work. That’s the only way for them to get service and sometimes they get on, sometimes they don’t because the service is so loaded from people coming to the yard,” he said.
The problem prevents efficient healthcare services as well.
"It is sad,” Mr Saunders said, “to see even the nurse, if she has a patient at the clinic, she now has to leave the patient, walk down the end of the island because she don’t have a golf cart and she has to call the doctor to know what the situation is with her patient, then walk back up the clinic and tend to the patient.”
John Michael Clarke, chairman of the Bahamas Disaster and Reconstruction Authority, confirmed the network of one telecommunications provider is down on the cay. The services of the other provider, residents say, is so weak it may only work one or two days each week.
Mr Saunders said he has sisters and brothers he’d like to stay in touch with during the lockdown.
“We going on lockdown until Tuesday afternoon and that means we will not be able to reach out to our family members here on the cay or hear from our family members in Nassau, Freeport or anywhere on the island but we are just like everyone else who worry about their family and want to stay in touch,” he said. “We won’t be able to hear from no one until Tuesday at five o’clock.”
Despite the remoteness of Grand Cay, residents are mindful of COVID-19 and are taking precautions.
They urged officials to close-off their cay after guests arrived within the last three weeks.
“We’re not allowing any strangers to come,” Mr Saunders said. “They can’t come off their boat. Those that came, the policeman made sure they stayed in their boat and if they needed a bottle of water or something, they threw them the bottle of water and told them go back where they come from. And I mean this is Bahamian people we talking about, if they come from Freeport or Abaco, the policeman don’t let them on the island, they have to go back.
“We are taking this thing so seriously that even though we does change custom officers every two months, on April 1st they came to change a custom officer and the policeman did not let the custom officer off the boat and didn’t let the one who was here get on.”
Comments
ThisIsOurs 3 years, 11 months ago
Hope these residents remain safe. If it's only 100 people They should divide the day up so each person gets an adequate amount of access. Or they could have a system that mirrors the telex years ago. If you wanted to send a message you went to a single operator to send the message. That operator woukd also receive messages to pass on to you. That would mean only one person using the network. That would be rough..But...it might cut down some of the traffic. The school kids are another issue...2 hours just for them? Or again one person gets a package that includes work for the day for all the kids.
This is of course assuming that it's impossible to fix the infrastructure
TalRussell 3 years, 11 months ago
DEVELOPING UPPER SCALE SOCIETY STREET'S RUMOUR: The Tribune's serious crime reporter should be investigating the developing strong street rumuor that an upscale Eastern Road homeowner who is scheduled to appear before magistrates court after the long Easter weekend - after his nosy neighbour called the Royal Constabulary about the really weird movement earth going on in the yard next door?
The comrade man's is said be awaiting an appearance in magistrates court on a charge of attempting to tunnel he self out shelter-at-home forced isolation. The accused is said to be from a well-known family local Bay Street's elite merchants. Nod once for yeah, twice for no?
stillwaters 3 years, 11 months ago
I am glad to know that they are not complaining about having no food or medication. A nurse on the cay is certainly a plus too.
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