Some Eleuthera residents ready for restrictions to be eased

Some Eleuthera residents have described the past two weeks under tighter restrictions as “living in a prison” and are pleading with the prime minister to ease them.

Laurel Bullard, a mother of two living in Lower Bogue, said now that the daily number of positive COVID-19 cases for that island has gone back down, she feels it’s time for businesses and residents to be allowed to have a bit more freedom on the island as some residents have exhausted their life savings and need to get back to business.

“What bothers me most about this is the curfew is 6 o’clock. I have a 9 to 5 p.m. job where I have to work from 9 to 5 p.m., and when I get off, the food store closed. I can’t even get into the food store. The curfew should have been later than that.”

Living with two school-age children, Bullard said aside from the curfew, life has just been very hard on the island.

“You can’t go anywhere,” she said.

“You’re driving the streets and the officers they send here are bombarding you and I mean it’s like you’re in a prison in your own world. We have people who haven’t worked since March. You’re spending the savings that you have because you need stuff to survive during the lockdown period.

Three weeks ago, Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis announced a weekday curfew of 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. and weekend lockdowns for the island.

It came as Ministry of Health officials noticed a spike in COVID-19 cases, most of which they said traced back to local restaurants, bars and a funeral.

In addition to those restrictions, all domestic flights and sea vessels traveling to or from Eleuthera were prohibited, except in emergency or otherwise approved cases.

Bars and restaurants connected to bars were also ordered closed, while indoor church services were prohibited.

Diallo Ingraham owns several businesses on the island and is a pastor.

He said the tighter restrictions have left his family with tough decisions to make.

“We’re trying man,” Ingraham said.

“Businesses are hurting, people are hurting.

“I think it’s past time. My wife and I just were talking this week because we now have to make a decision on our gas station. It’s a very low-profit business and most of our business is in the evenings or on weekends, and if we don’t have those then, what do you do? That means somebody now is going to basically lose a job or we’re going to cut numbers because we have to. The only good thing is that we have a church where we can basically help take care of our members.”

Kennord Mackey, a COVID-19 survivor who initially supported the tighter restrictions, said after enduring weeks of it, he doesn’t think the restrictions imposed on the island were necessary, although he felt they worked.

“Most definitely, it’s time to lift them now,” the primary school educator said.

“I’m not sure if they’re still necessary. Restrictions work, but I don’t think these type of restrictions are now necessary.”

Michael Saunders, an electrician and president of Eleuthera’s Christian Council, lives in Rock Sound and said he thinks residents on the mainland have been treated unfairly over the past two weeks with the tighter restrictions in place.

“The hurtful thing is we have boats coming in the harbor,” he said.

“Last week, I called the police and asked them what’s going on. Tourists are coming in, but the locals can’t travel. We have million dollar planes coming in and parked on our airport. Why we can’t say just test me before I leave and test me before I return and treat me just like the tourists where I don’t feel like a second-class citizen? I feel like a third-class citizen on this island because we don’t have the same privileges as those who have money. Do I appreciate the tourists? Yes. But they’re not my God. Give us the same treatment. When there are no tourists, we keep the island going.

“The start was rough. Even though we complained, everything began to become the new norm. So, while we fought it, we still had to go through it. Everyone adhered to the rules. The extra police and defense force officers that they brought in left a week ago and we still adhered to the rules. So, the restrictions worked and it’s time to lift them now, I think.”

When he spoke in Parliament last week, Minnis said he would be speaking to the easing of restrictions for Eleuthera soon. 

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