TAKE ACTION OR PAY: Public health measures must be followed and enforced or cases will continue to rise, health official warns – EyeWitness News

NASSAU, BAHAMAS Director of the National HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Programme Dr Nikkiah Forbes suggested yesterday The Bahamas must take action or risk a further increase in coronavirus infections.

Forbes comments come as the country tries to mitigate a third wave of COVID-19 cases since the pandemic first hit locally in March 2020.

We are absolutely in the third wave of COVID-19 and if we continue business as usual, cases are going to continue to go up, she said in an interview with Eyewitness News.

We know what it takes to flatten the curve. Public health measures have to be followed; they also have to be enforced.

Forbes noted that measures aimed at stopping the spread implementing robust contact tracing, putting positive cases in isolation and putting high-risk contacts in quarantine are the only way to flatten the curve once again.

If that is not working, then you have to look at other measures, she said.

She explained that when the healthcare system reaches capacity, policymakers are forced to make difficult decisions to prevent the country from becoming vulnerable.

Referring to stricter protocols, Forbes said: That may have to be considered.

Health officials confirmed 26 new cases of COVID-19 in The Bahamas on Monday, taking the number of cases in the country to 10,602.

Of the new cases, 19 were on New Providence, four on Grand Bahama, one on the Berry Islands, one on Exuma and one on Andros.

The number of active cases now stands at 669.

A 92-year-old man from Long Island, who died on May 2, has been confirmed as the latest COVID-19 death.

To date, there have been 211 COVID-fatalities, with 24 deaths under investigation.

The Bahamas recorded 336 cases in January and 335 cases in February.

Cases nearly doubled in March with 613 cases.

There were more than 1,200 cases recorded in April.

Last month, health officials indicated various COVID-19 strains were detected in a sampling of positive cases that were sent away for testing.

Health Minister Renward Wells said the trend in the data showed one or more variants of concern likely entered The Bahamas sometime in early March and have rapidly come to dominate infections in the country.

The variants are more infectious than the initial COVID virus and can also make people sicker.

Forbes noted yesterday: We do have to be concerned about that and it could be contributing to what we are seeing, in addition to people not following the public health measures as they did before.

Despite the recent surge in COVID-19 cases and reports of large gatherings, Wells has highlighted a need for more enforcement instead of restrictions.

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TAKE ACTION OR PAY: Public health measures must be followed and enforced or cases will continue to rise, health official warns - EyeWitness News