Prime Minister Hubert Minnis delivers a speech during the home porting inauguration ceremony.
NASSAU, The Bahamas--Prime Minister Hubert Minnis foreshadowed that he would announce further perks for fully vaccinated people when he wrapped up debate on the budget yesterday, Monday, June 22.
“To help to restore our economy and a greater sense of normalcy, I encourage Grand Bahamians to become vaccinated,” the prime minister said during the inaugural home porting ceremony for Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas in Grand Bahama on Friday.
“I must state that Grand Bahama is doing very, very well in the vaccination programme. I also can say that when it comes to vaccines and the freedom of movement, we have given you the cake, and come Monday, [June 21 – Ed.], you will receive the icing.”
Minnis also told Grand Bahamians that he would have much to say about the island.
“This will include a major announcement for Grand Bahama,” he said. “Grand Bahama is set for major investments in infrastructure, including a brand new international airport, a cruise port, and cornerstone luxury resort, the Lucayan Grand.”
In April, Minnis announced a number of relaxations to the emergency order for fully vaccinated people. He said that fully vaccinated people travelling both domestically and internationally will be exempted from testing requirements, and that vaccinated people will also be allowed to dine indoors and work in Junkanoo shacks.
On June 11, Minnis said he also intends to create a “vaccination day” where fully vaccinated people can enjoy prohibited activities, like happy hours at bars.
As of June 19, a total of 79,246 doses of the coronavirus COVID-19 vaccine – 54,199 of the first shot and 25,047 of the second shot – were administered in The Bahamas. On Grand Bahama, 7,917 people got their first shot and 4,262 people got their second shot.
Asked about Minnis’ comments, Minister of Tourism Dionisio D’Aguilar said, “He consults, and he will make the decision. We obviously gave him our opinion. He will then let the Bahamian people know what was decided.”
D’Aguilar said he “absolutely” believes that restrictions should be loosened for fully vaccinated people.
“I think that the government is slowly moving toward that,” he said. “Certainly, in my ministry, as it relates to the travel health visa, persons [who are vaccinated] can come in, they do not need to get a PCR [polymerase chain reaction] test prior to arrival and I think this is the beginning of a process where those people who have been vaccinated will enjoy less restrictions on their movement and how they visit and how they travel to and from The Bahamas.
“So, I have seen the reduction in restrictions in my ministry through those persons who have been vaccinated. I assume the way the prime minister is talking, I do not know because I have not seen his speech, that he will probably continue that reduction in restrictions for vaccinated persons. He’s alluded to it, so I think it will be forthcoming and we wait anxiously to see what is involved.”
D’Aguilar has said that officials are processing between 6,000 and 8,000 travel health visa applications a day. He said almost 300,000 tourists have visited the country since January.
A state of emergency was declared in The Bahamas last March following the first case of COVID-19.
Under various emergency orders, Minnis, acting as the competent authority, implemented lockdowns, curfews, ordered the closure of non-essential businesses, closed the borders for non-essential travel, mandated mask-wearing and social distancing protocols, among other measures.
The opposition is calling on the prime minister to end the state of emergency, charging that safety measures can be enforced through ordinary legislation.
In most of his recent speeches, the prime minister has asked Bahamians to get vaccinated, arguing that the sooner the country reaches herd immunity, the sooner things will get back to normal.
At last report, 6.3 per cent of the country’s population was fully vaccinated.
Last week, Minister of Health Renward Wells said he believes The Bahamas can vaccinate 30 per cent of the population before September. ~ The Nassau Guardian ~
