The Tribune

IT’S back into lockdown for Cat Island and Andros – and that should be a warning sign for Grand Bahama and New Providence.

A spate of cases in Andros and a high positivity rate on Cat Island was enough to convince the government that an extra lockdown was needed. Only essential workers are allowed to visit those islands, while in-person activities and burials are not permitted

“As a government, we cannot allow Family Island outbreaks of the pandemic to get out of control.”

The Berry Islands too are in lockdown, with that move announced on Friday and going into effect on Saturday.

The government seems more reluctant to pursue a lockdown in New Providence particularly, trying to avoid doing so in order to keep the flickering flames of the economy going.

But that doesn’t mean we might not follow that path if the outbreak gets further out of control here. Already, the numbers are high – and some people are not helping.

On page four today, you can read about the continued citations being handed out by police to prevent social gatherings.

One lounge was cited twice in one day – once for operating a prohibited business and the second time for hosting a social gathering. Why on earth are are we not shutting down the business if it hasn’t learned its lesson the first time round?

This is, after all, a matter of life and death – both literally and for the economy.

If we do end up with another lockdown, you can thank the organisers and attendees of those social gatherings.

This isn’t over – but it could be. Take a look over at the United Kingdom, where there are predictions that by August the country could be declared virus-free.

Make no mistake, the UK was hit hard by the virus, with 128,000 deaths from COVID-19. What has made the difference? Well, the UK has now administered more than 60 million doses of the vaccine, with around 38 million people having received at least one jab.

Back in January, at one point there were more than 1,800 deaths in a single day. Yesterday, there were five.

So save the social gatherings until you’re fully vaccinated. Tell your friends to come on out when it’s safe. Then go book your jab if you haven’t already.

There’s no shortcut. We can’t just wish the virus away. The only way out is through, so keep going and let’s get our own case numbers down in the same way the UK has managed to do so.

Tax move

Again, the talk of tax increases is swirling – this time driven by the United States, which is reportedly pushing for a 15 percent tax on profits in The Bahamas.

This isn’t the first time there has been talk of new taxes, and it won’t be the last – but it would be unwise to stick our heads in the ground and pretend the prospect will just go away.

Now it’s not our job to jump when another country says jump – but it would be sensible to be aware of what consequences might follow. We’ve already had to wrestle our way off blacklists in the European Union, and goodness knows we don’t want anything to slow our recovery when we do finally emerge from the shadow of COVID.

First thing first, this isn’t something that we are being specifically targeted for by the US – it’s an aim to introduce a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15 percent. That means if they are successful in pushing for it elsewhere, there’s not going to be any free pass for us.

It may come, it may not – but we ought to be evaluating what it will mean if it does. Our financial services industry is not what it was – but it still plays a significant part in our economy – and we shouldn’t be caught on the hop by pretending this prospect doesn’t exist.

We should know well enough from our place in hurricane alley – you don’t wait for the storm to reach before you start making preparations. And that’s what we should be doing now to work out what will be in our best interest if this happens.