After the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a warning for travelers to avoid The Bahamas, Minister of Tourism and Aviation Dionisio D’Aguilar said yesterday that with respect to COVID-19 cases in the US and The Bahamas, “it’s much better here than there”.
The CDC said COVID-19 levels in The Bahamas are “very high”, while the US Embassy in Nassau updated its travel advisory, lowering The Bahamas from a level four — do not travel — to a level three, reconsider travel.
D’Aguilar said it doesn’t make sense to constantly refute those advisories.
“There is no doubt that the level of COVID-19, the death rate, the positivity rate in The Bahamas is half that in the United States,” he said.
“So, it’s much better here than there.
“However, they [US Government] will always respond. You can issue travel advisories [and] we can issue travel advisories. So, there’s no point in fighting that. We just have to improve and continue to improve our numbers and ensure that we keep our numbers respectable so they then see fit to change that rating.”
The US recorded over 12.5 million COVID-19 cases, with its latest wave seeing over 100,000 cases confirmed daily.
The warnings come just weeks before both Baha Mar and Atlantis are set to begin their phased reopening where thousands of Bahamian workers are scheduled to return to work.
D’Aguilar said given The Bahamas’ dependence on tourism and the North American market it doesn’t make sense getting into a back and forth over the advisories.
“Obviously we depend on the United States for almost all of our tourists,” D’Aguilar said.
“So, it’s very, very important that in their eyes we change our status or level of community spread, because if they change that rating, then that would of course be positive for The Bahamas.”
The Bahamas has recorded over 7,400 cases of COVID-19.
The post D’Aguilar: It’s much better here than there appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/daguilar-its-much-better-here-than-there/
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