THE numbers tell the tale. Steadily, the number of cases of COVID-19 have been rising.
Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar might be the one to say the words, but we can all echo his sentiments when he says: “We can’t afford for there to be a third wave; that will set us back dramatically.”
We cannot afford the financial cost a third wave would bring, but more than that we cannot afford the human cost.
On Saturday, there were 42 new cases. On Friday, 34. For a long time, we had slowed the progress of this virus. Have we become complacent? Have we taken our eye off the prize? Now that the vaccine is here, have we started to believe we no longer need to follow all the rules about social distancing and wearing masks even though not nearly enough of the vaccine is in people’s arms yet?
Word reaches The Tribune that a tightening of restrictions is being considered – do we really want to go back to earlier curfews and, worse, weekend lockdowns?
The good news is that the vaccine has added another weapon to our fight. In countries where it has rolled out already, there has been a significant drop in hospitalisations already. That makes sense – vulnerable parts of the population have been getting the vaccines first, so that reduces the risk of them ending up in hospital from catching the virus instead.
If you’re over 60, you can now make an appointment in The Bahamas to get the vaccine. Healthcare workers have been offered the vaccine too. Frontline officers in the police and the defence force have been getting jabs too. Despite saying he wouldn’t invite the media when he was taking his vaccine, Police Commissioner Paul Rolle got his jab in front of the cameras on Friday. Good for him. It’s good leadership to show the officers under his charge that he’s taking the jab.
We must keep using the weapons we’ve been using already, though. We must keep our distance. We must wear masks. We must keep washing hands. It’s been so very hard to deal with the isolation that has come with surviving this pandemic, but the vaccine means the end is in sight. Not as quickly as some might say, but coming.
We must hold the course. Don’t give this virus an inch.
Christian Council
The Christian Council has delivered its report on the vaccine – agreeing that the use of vaccines is warranted.
Better yet, they go further to point out that some of the concerns being floated by sceptics have no basis, and that those taking the vaccine should “not be deemed an accessory to abortion” because of the use of cloned cells from cells from the 1960s and 1970s.
“There is no basis that COVID-19 vaccines, and in particular, nucleic acid vaccines, alter or modify the human DNA,” the report adds, going on to dismiss wild suggestions that the vaccine is the “mark of the beast”.
There’s an old story about a man who hears a storm is coming on the weather forecast, but he ignores it. Later, neighbours knock on his door and say come with us to be safe, but he says no, he has faith that God will save him. As the storm hits and the water rises up his steps, a man in his boat comes by and says get in, but he says no, God will save him. The waters rise again and he climbs to his roof where a helicopter sees him and drops a ladder but he says no, he has faith. The storm takes him and in heaven he asks why God didn’t save him, and God says well, I sent you a warning, a car, a boat and a helicopter, what more did you want?
In the fight against the pandemic, we have been sent scientists to make the vaccine, experts to tell us how to limit the virus, political leaders to secure the supplies, the medical community to put the shots in our arms and, yes, now we have the Christian Council giving its reassurance too. For those who are still listening to scare stories on Facebook instead of the assembled expertise and knowledge that has brought the vaccine to our door, what more do you want?
Comments
JokeyJack 3 years ago
What's wrong with lockdowns? I've become fond of them after all this time. Let's have a 24x7 lockdown for 30 days - then a week break, then another 30 day session. Why not? It's necessary to prevent all of the millions and millions and millions and millions of deaths from Covid right? What more justification could you possibly ask for (unless you're a conspiracy theorist LOL).
whogothere 3 years ago
How about 100,000k people not able to feed them selves, 500% increase in suicide, missed cancer screenings, increased domestic violence, record unemployment, record national debt, threat of currency devaluation ....hmmm not really conspiracy chief just recent history ;) unless your re a civil servant or live in the laptop class and didn’t notice the last 12 months.. geez more 5 times more people die of heart disease in this country and we still haven’t banned fried chicken or mandated calorie counting..but you re all for lockdowns wow!
joeblow 3 years ago
@whogothere... guessing you missed the sarcasm!
tribanon 3 years ago
Like you, I'm confident @whogothere well appreciates the sarcasm of JokeyJack and is just rightfully heavily piling on top of it the additional sarcasm it so well deserves.
JokeyJack 3 years ago
whogothere - you are worried about the wrong thing buddy. Nobody cares about death anymore - they only care about "death by covid". Those dead cancer people just ought to be grateful and thankful that they didn't die from the virus.
John 3 years ago
The third wave may be a blessing in disguise! ThT is if it meets the country prepared and the people practicing the safety protocols. It may mean an end to the weakening virus that is now rapidly mutating to try to survive. It can only continue to survive when it can rapidly transmit from person to person; .
Immunization against the flu was not practiced in 1918, and thus played no role in ending the pandemic.
Exposure to prior strains of the flu may have offered some protection. For example, soldiers who had served in the military for years suffered lower rates of death than new recruits.
In addition, the rapidly mutating virus likely evolved over time into less lethal strains. This is predicted by models of natural selection. Because highly lethal strains kill their host rapidly, they cannot spread as easily as less lethal strains
proudloudandfnm 3 years ago
50 million people died in the 1918 pandemic until herd immunity kicked in. Not a good option there kiddo....
Thanks for your input though....
John 3 years ago
MAYBE but remember there was a WAR going on. Not only were the MILITARY living in cloy quarters but they were TRAVELING around w world . And CIVIL SOCIETY did not practice social distancing and some other SAFETY protocols until the second and third WaVeS! We canceled Junkanoo and regattas and other events that attract large gatherings. The Philadelphia Parade was the single event most responsible for infecting the most people, at least in the United States.
proudloudandfnm 3 years ago
Those idiotic trump rallies were super spreaders too. Thank god he's gone, dumbest president in history...
DDK 3 years ago
Um, whogothere, I think jokeyjack was joking...
whogothere 3 years ago
lol you know you never know... had to make sure ;)
FreeUs242 3 years ago
Put us in another lockdown and watch what will happen. Reopening was already differcult. A second lockdown for months is a death sentence financially for the Bahamas.👍
ohdrap4 3 years ago
Major damage has already been done.
I recall the 2012 political campaign when a FNM candidate as giving 2 empty grocery bags to a voter
VOTER: I am not willing to say who I will vote for, but will listen to you.
CANDIDATE: What about your wife?
VOTER: My wife is not Bahamian and does not vote.
The candidate then took back one of the grocery bags. The wife retoryed she did not need empty grocery bags.
any, this time they will have to fill the grocery bags. LOL.
Francis_James 3 years ago
If the editor paid attention to the figures it would be seen that Grand Bahama has a fourth wave and New Providence already has a third wave.
joeblow 3 years ago
It does not matter if we have 3rd, 4th or even 5th waves, what is important is the mortality rate associated with each wave. During the 2nd wave the virus was 10x more contagious but 10x less deadly.
Considering the amount of potential exposure people have already had combined with 3 available vaccines, all this talk of additional waves, really seems to be a ploy for governments to keep their foot on our liberties.
It was obvious to me something was wrong when they recommended vaccines AND masks AND social distancing. Just doesn't make sense!
tribanon 3 years ago
The sinister Communist Chinese Party led by the very evil and ruthless Xi Jinping is probably all geared up to unleash on the world wave upon wave of various 'gain-of-function' variants of the original COVID-19 virus for decades to come. Their new strategy will make it much easier and less costly for them to dominate bankrupt nations like The Bahamas. All it usually takes are willing corrupt politicians whom they can wield their influence over to get whatever they want.
proudloudandfnm 3 years ago
Lol.. of course... Ok... Sure... Lol..
tribanon 3 years ago
You need to start asking yourself why has the Communist Chinese Party (CCP) adopted a stringently enforced policy that prohibits any and everyone from entering Communist China without first getting vaccinated with the CCP's very own 'special' vaccine at a highly secure quarantined setting at the point of entry to their country. Could the CCP be trying to keep out of Communist China not only the original virus but also the 'gain-of-function' variants thereof that they are unleashing on the rest of the world and for which they have already developed for themselves a fail safe proven vaccine?
proudloudandfnm 3 years ago
Nah. I have a life. Have good day obsessing over China weirdo...
tribanon 3 years ago
Good luck.
JokeyJack 3 years ago
Chinese citizens are not being vaccinated with it, only foreigners who enter. You will see before end of year how wide areas of unpopulated land suddenly open up and are populated by Chinese all around the world
proudloudandfnm 3 years ago
Lol. You guys (or is it guy?) And your idiotic conspiracy theories... Lol.. The Chinese are coming!! KML!!!
JokeyJack 3 years ago
You have seen that the Chinese have started putting hundreds of ships near the reefs around the Philippines now right? So they are not going to build up those reefs and make military bases like they've already done on several reefs north of there? You people are going to wait until you are sitting in a Chinese prison with shackles around your ankles before you believe that the Chinese are not our friends (and indeed they view us as their enemies - because we live on land that should belong to them (in their view).
JokeyJack 3 years ago
Well then, thank all that is Holy that we don't have any such politicians here :-)
bahamianson 3 years ago
Look it down this weekend.Otherwise , we will be in trouble
tribanon 3 years ago
Unfortunately for Minnis, the latest science out on the pandemic is no longer supportive of government imposed lockdowns being used as a means of controlling the spread of the Communist China Virus. In fact, a growing majority of scientists in many developed countries now hold the view that large scale lockdowns cause much more harm and death from a wide variety of illnesses than the pandemic alone would cause in a society free of lockdowns.
Apparently being cooped up indoors with others who occasionally go out to a food store, gas station, pharmacy, etc., actually exacerbates the spreading of the virus regardless of whether one's home environment is airconditioned or not. These same scientists also hold the view that double and triple masking does little if anything to prevent the spread of the virus and could in fact be very harmful to those who already have serious breathing issues of any kind.
proudloudandfnm 3 years ago
Um. Sorry no. Just about everything you wrote is wrong... Damn..
FreeUs242 3 years ago
I hope if they lockdown again, ppl can get NIB without slashing the correct price of 200 and help assist Bahamians on getting back to work. Ppl is hurting out here, barely any jobs to find these days. One minute you think your working to find yourself back at square one. No one cares only to get million dollar projects going. There's single parents trying to make ends meet with kids, young ppl dreaming of a better future but no jobs insight and don't forget the elderly.
JokeyJack 3 years ago
It's hilarious to see politicians and others all over the world trying to coax people into getting the vaccine - and how it just so happens that there are increases in cases while the vaccine is more widely available. A selling point? LOL.
I'm not buying.
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