The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Office of the Prime Minister at Abaco will be closed to the public for two weeks after an employee tested positive for COVID-19.

In an interview with The Tribune, Central and South Abaco MP James Albury, who is also parliamentary secretary at the office of the Prime Minister (OPM), confirmed the Abaco office was shut down for deep cleaning after officials learned that a staff member there tested positive for the virus.

Mr Albury said the worker is one of six staff members employed at the office. The Tribune understands that the person tested positive for the virus on Wednesday.

“I can confirm that one of the staff at the office had in fact tested positive for COVID,” Mr Albury said when contacted for comment on Friday.

“So as of now, the office is closed and the deep cleaning has been completed as of today (Friday). We will probably keep the office closed for a minimum of two weeks as we kind of monitor the situation.”

He added that all staff members are currently in quarantine out of an abundance of caution.

“My understanding is that staff is isolating just for now and, of course, I’m going to strongly encourage them to get tested as soon as possible just in case for those who were in close contact with her and try to take all the proper measures moving forward,” Mr Albury told this newspaper.

Asked if he also was in isolation, Mr Albury said: “Technically, no but I have been isolating for a few days just to monitor my health just in case there were any symptoms possibly.”

The OPM’s Abaco office is located in the government’s complex in the Marsh Harbour area, which was used as a shelter for hundreds of Dorian victims during and after the deadly storm.

To date, the complex is still being used to house government agencies to assist residents on the island.

Because of the large amount of traffic at the building, Mr Albury said it was essential to close the office to reduce the risk of further COVID-19 spread.

“It was important we took the measures to close the office because there is the government complex – an epicenter of all government administrations and departments function out of the that building,” the Abaco resident stressed.

“The goal is to manage to keep that complex up and running without having to necessarily shut the thing down.”

Asked how many offices at the complex have been shut down due to possible COVID-19 exposure, Mr Albury said: “It has not been as many, but I can only say the health officials will monitor it and ultimately they are the ones who would make those sort of calls, but right now, of course, everything is being monitored but they will be the ones to say and recommend what needs to be done in terms of public health."

According to the latest COVID-19 dashboard, the Abaco chain now has a total of 445 confirmed cases, making it the island with the third highest number of COVID-19 cases.

Fifteen new cases were recorded in Abaco on Thursday.

In recent weeks, there have been concerns about a reported COVID-19 outbreak on the Hope Town cay in Abaco.

However, Mr James said he believes the situation on the community has improved based on the low number of cases recently recorded by health officials for the island.

“We did in fact have a spike,” the Abaco resident told The Tribune. “These are situations you always have to be on the lookout for which is why the health and safety protocols are so important. I believe we have and if you look at the recent numbers over the recent days, we did have that spike but now it’s starting to taper off again if my understanding is correct.”

“You know we’re still seeing reported cases but it isn’t surging necessarily. It’s just a matter of everyone taking their personal health and safety seriously and business owners and operators doing the same encouraging and making sure their guests and their staff social distance and that sort of thing.”

Health officials have attributed the recent spike in cases in the country to relaxed adherence of current health protocols, linking clusters to gatherings and other social events.

The Central and South Abaco MP said that while most Abaconians appear to be adhering to the COVID-19 rules, there are still a few who remain intent on breaking the law.

“I genuinely believe by and large, most Abaconians are in fact taking things very seriously. There are always exceptions and there are always going to be people who don’t necessarily believe things are as bad as they in fact are or they just feel that they don’t have to follow those extra safety measures,” the Abaco resident continued.

“You know there’s always going to be people who circumvent and go around the rules per se, but by and large, I feel like most people understand the severity of the problem and have enough respect for their fellow Abaconians to take the proper safety measures, but there are always people who seek to undercut that.”

As of July 31, 792 people on Abaco have been fully vaccinated against the virus while 1,561 have had their first shots.

Mr Albury said he is hoping vaccinations on the island will resume sometime this month and encouraged all to get the jab when it becomes available.