The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

WITH hotels allowed to continue with plans to host events in the upcoming days, the vice president of the Consultant Physicians Staff Association said more information is needed about these gatherings and the conditions in which they are happening.

“CPSA would be concerned over any mass gathering where persons may not be adhering to social distancing, sanitisation requirements,” Dr John Dillett said.

“We would want for persons to be very safe and that would go for persons who are in hotels or in other mass gatherings as well. I’m not totally sure of what the protocols might be in terms of whether or not persons have to be vaccinated to attend hotels or what other security measures they’re taking in place,” he told The Tribune when asked about hotel activities.

“I think we would need more information in terms of what type of situations and conditions that are happening.

“Obviously again any mass gathering where unvaccinated persons might be gathering, social distancing is not being adhered to could potentially be a super spreader event regardless of whether it’s in a hotel or some other institution or venue.

“So we would be concerned regardless of where it’s being held but more importantly whether or not persons are vaccinated. Are they adhering to social distancing guidelines? Is there appropriate sanitisation in place as well? Those would be things that we’re most concerned about.”

His comments come after Health Minister Dr Darville said officials are in discussions with hotel operators when previously quizzed on mass gatherings at these venues.

“With our hotels, you must realise the majority of them are practically full and there has to be some activity for their guests, including the restaurants,” he said.

“We are in deep communication with them because we are in the middle of a pandemic and we have the Omicron variant here and we know it’s highly, highly transmissible and so they are working along with the government, but I want to say again that the rules as it relates to mass gatherings apply across the board.”

The government announced restrictions on gatherings and sizes of crowds last week. Some have since complained about double standards, noting that hotels are not affected by the rules.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis addressed these concerns.

“A lot of Bahamians have asked why the big hotel properties are allowed to have outdoor New Year’s Eve events,” Mr Davis said.

“These questions are more than fair, and indeed, I share the frustrations and concerns. Our health protocols are designed to reduce transmission risk while still supporting economic activity.

“Often, those twin goals are in contradiction with each other. It’s not an easy balancing act, and you may think we get some of these decisions wrong. But the primary health goal is to slow transmission among Bahamians, to protect our people, and to protect our hospitals from the coming onslaught of cases.

“With that in mind, we are asking the hotels to take steps to protect Bahamian staff, and we are asking Bahamians to reconsider attending these events.

“These hotels are full – and their guests are going to socialize on New Year’s Eve. It may be safer to be outside at a concert instead of inside at bars, nightclubs, and the casino. I hope that is the case – I don’t want anyone to get sick in The Bahamas. This is the world we live in now – full hotels are fantastic news for our economy, but bringing people together increases risks.”

Asked about the issue earlier this week, National Security Wayne Munroe said: “Well if a hotel is running it’s facility, they’re able to run their facility.

“A mass event would be one that requires a temporary license from the commissioner of police.

“If I have a bar in the hotel, that’s an amenity of the hotel just how restaurants are permitted to operate. So it’s just the ad hoc events that are being targeted. Nobody has cancelled the hotel licenses to do what they have to do.”