THE U.S. WILL FORCE US TO OPEN COVID OR NO COVID
Covid 19 is not dead. It is still with us. Our lousy no good government has taken 11 weeks to find that out. In the midst of their confusion, the Minister of Tourism Dionisio D’Aguilar launched the tourism product reopening. It’s to be 1 July 2020 and there is no stopping it. The fliers and posters are all out. There will be no testing for Covid 19 either.
The Prime Minister Hubert Minnis tried to be cute at his last press conference when he said that there is no distinction in treatment and the demand for testing because both foreigners and Bahamians coming into The Bahamas require testing. The emphasis is on now. He claimed that no decision was taken about post 1 July 2020.
Not according to his Minister of Tourism. The tourists are coming 1 July 2020 and ain’t gonna be no testing.
One worry though, the hotels aren’t gonna be open but for Atlantis. Bahamar says they won’t open until 1 October 2020 and Sandals 1 November 2020. Where will the tourists stay? Amongst us at Air BNB ? Oh Lawd!
The Bahamian public is concerned though that there will be a flood of tourists coming in here, not tested and bringing this dreaded disease within our nation. The view is there ought to be strict testing and no one should be able to enter unless they have a negative test. The Tourism Minister is having none of that. He says that we have to get going. We have to live with it. The rise in cases is inevitable.
Here’s another point: whether we like it or not the pressure from the U S is going to be that it should be opened. Donald Trump, their president, does not give a damn about who gets hurt in this. Their people however who have second homes here will be pressing through the State Department to open up.
The Jamaicans who originally said no testing, have no said they will require testing. We will see.
Poor us. Stuck in the middle of the science on the one hand and America on the other. Given the kind of Government we have, expect the Americans to force the results on us.
Number of hits for the week ending Saturday, 13th June, up to midnight: 209,080;
Number of hits for the month of June up to Saturday, 13th June, up to midnight: 364,904;
Number of hits for the year 2020 up to Saturday, 13th June, up to midnight: 4,917,695.