Sands: Third COVID wave imminent

As the United States struggles with record hospitalizations amid this latest wave of COVID-19 cases, former Minister of Health Dr. Duane Sands said The Bahamas’ strategy to control another surge needs to be revamped as a third wave is imminent.

Sands suggested the current testing and travel protocol is not sufficient.

“As long as we are interacting with persons in the United States, which has the single largest case load of COVID-19 in the world, then it is likely that not only will we continue to see cases like they are, but that the various cases in Brazil, in South Africa, in Nigeria, in the UK, will make their way to The Bahamas unless something is done to stop it from happening,” he said.

“I don’t see any way that you can consider any other outcome likely because all we’re doing is testing persons prior to arrival and then doing the antigen test at five days. I’m not sure that alone is going to be enough.”

Travelers seeking to enter The Bahamas must obtain a negative COVID-19 RT PCR test result within five days prior to travel and must take a rapid antigen test on day five if they stay beyond four days.

A daily online health questionnaire is also required for symptom tracking purposes.

However, Sands said as the virus mutates, The Bahamas must tweak its strategy as must other countries experiencing another surge, including a new strain which has been described as more contagious.

“I think that every country needs to be constantly reassessing its approach, if not on a weekly basis, certainly as often as is possible,” the former health minister said.

“What worked a month ago, what worked two months ago, I think the experience of Great Britain and other countries have shown, that it doesn’t work forever because this virus is mutating literally every two weeks.

“So, the emergence of multiple new strains in multiple countries now raises questions about the impact on transmissibility and possibly the efficacy of vaccines.

“It is something that demands an ongoing assessment of the situation in real time. So, we have to remain vigilant because certainly for the next six to 12 months, COVID is going to be very much a part of the reality of every single country on the face of the planet.”

The United States has recorded a record number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations over the past few days.

According to the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 dashboard, the United States has confirmed over 20.6 million cases with over 200,000 confirmed on Tuesday alone.

With The Bahamas’ tourism industry on a slow rebound, but more travel over the past holidays, Sands said a third wave is imminent and he hopes the government has prepared.

“I believe that the government understands and has been signaling that there is an expectation that there will be a third wave,” Sands said.

“It is obvious that the rest of the world is experiencing an uptick in cases. We’re almost at 100 million cases worldwide and almost at two million COVID-related deaths.

“Our closest ally and trading partner finds itself, literally, almost at its knees. With COVID cases, some areas are so bad that ambulance crews are being asked to make judgment calls about whether or not people are likely to survive when they go to pick them up.”

He added, “We have various strains of COVID that were unexpected. We have challenges with the rollout of vaccines around the world. And so yes, I think the government is aware of these things and I expect, and certainly I hope — but certainly I am not a part of the Ministry of Health’s team – that the appropriate preparations are being made because there will be another surge and it’s likely to be considerably worse than the first and second.”

Minister of Health Renward Wells has indicated that the government has made a down payment to secure enough doses of a COVID-19 vaccine to supply 20 percent of the country’s population.

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source https://thenassauguardian.com/sands-third-covid-wave-imminent/