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rogressive Liberal Party (PLP) Leader Philip Brave Davis called Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis’ press conference a “study in confusion” as he questioned why Minnis will allow more businesses to open in the middle of a surge in COVID-19 cases.
As he expressed disappointment with the number of people who were still out and about during the 24-hour curfew, Minnis yesterday announced that a number of businesses, including hardware stores, plant nurseries and auto part stores, will be allowed to operate.
In response, Davis said he wants to see a long-term plan detailing how the government plans to move forward in handling the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The prime minister’s latest COVID-19 press conference held on Sunday, April 19 was a study in confusion,” he said.
“With 60 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in total and with two additional confirmed cases announced today, the country remains in the middle of a COVID-19 surge so it was confusing that the prime minister announced the opening up of additional businesses and the domestic economy well ahead of any indication of a leveling of the COVID-19 infection and transmission curve. What is the rationale for this decision?”
Davis added, “We are sure the public is relieved that there is a slow return to normalcy but there has to be some idea of what this is based upon and that it is evidence-driven.
“It also seems a bit comical to be appointing a task force to talk about providing food when people are hungry not next week but today.
“I saw a plan from the Turks and Caicos Islands today. It lays out projected dates and how they will proceed as the evidence unfolds. This is the kind of plan we are looking for from this prime minister, not making it up as you go along.”
Davis called for more testing to help combat COVID-19, and accused Minnis of dragging his feet on the issue.
“We note that random testing would accelerate the pace of identifying positive cases and isolating hot spots, thus bringing this crisis under control in a shorter period of time,” he said.
“The prime minister appears to be dragging his feet on implementing this important strategy.”
However, Davis applauded some of Minnis’ announcements, including the abandonment of the alphabetized shopping system and the decision to allow construction work on Family Islands to resume.
“Our concerns were the social pressure from being inside too long and the fact that people were anxious about money was testing the security forces to the limit and people’s patience,” he said. “The prime minister and his government seemed insensitive to these issues.
“These measures announced this afternoon give some much needed and overdue relief to the population.”
The post ‘A study in confusion’ appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/2020/04/20/a-study-in-confusion/
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