The possible exposure of a small number of Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) employees to COVID-19 created “pandemonium”, Minister of Health Dr. Duane Sands said yesterday, noting that the government has to look at “more draconian measures” to ensure that people adhere to quarantine measures.
The incident, which occurred around 2 p.m. on Tuesday, led to the closure of BPL’s Peter I. Bethel Building on Baillou Hill Road.
Yesterday, while speaking about the matter, Sands told The Nassau Guardian, “A lot of this is predicated on personal responsibility. The assumption is that we are honorable men and women, and the majority of us are but some of us are not.
“And then, you have people who they have to go for a drive. They’ve been in the house so long. ‘I just need some fresh air,’ right?
“And the episode that we had at BPL yesterday is probably something like that. I don’t know whether it was mean-spirited or it was a situation where somebody just said, ‘Let me take you for a drive.’
“But it created pandemonium and shut down an entire BPL payment site.”
Sands said the Ministry of Health is investigating the matter “because these are people who should’ve been in quarantine”.
Last week, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr. Pearl McMillan said officials had received word that not everyone who has been asked to quarantine at home was doing so.
Yesterday, Sands said the government now has “to look at more draconian measures” including tracking devices and fines.
“We have gotten a number of proposals that we are reviewing,” he said.
“Clearly, we will need the input of the attorney general and civil society because the road to hell is paved with good intentions. So, we would like to minimize the exposure of the public to persons who are confirmed COVID-positive or in quarantine.
“But, at the same time, we are not a police state and how do you strike that balance? Yes, the minister and the CMO have far-reaching powers and we can — with the existing legislation — forcibly quarantine people.
“What would be the consequences of that approach? And it also has costs. Suppose you have to quarantine, at the government’s expense, 900 persons?
“That then means you have to feed them, provide them with toiletries and so on and so forth. And now you get an idea of the complexity of this challenge.”
The post After BPL incident, govt looking at draconian measures to enforce quarantine appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/2020/04/23/after-bpl-incident-govt-looking-at-draconian-measures-to-enforce-quarantine/
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