Air Canada resumes direct flights to Exuma as DPM closely monitors Omicron

If The Bahamas is able to manage the potential impact of the new Omicron COVID-19 variant it will be full steam ahead for tourism, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Aviation and Investments Chester Cooper yesterday as he welcomed the resumption of direct Air Canada flights to Exuma.

Air Canada, through a partnership with Air Canada Vacations, resumed direct weekly flights from Toronto to George Town, beginning yesterday.

It comes after Canada eased rigid COVID-19 travel restrictions this summer after a long period of closed borders.

“This is a great day for Exuma. It is an exciting time for us as we welcome Air Canada back to Exuma. There’s been some changes, especially since the COVID restriction hit Canadian travelers, but we are delighted to be welcoming 170 new visitors to our shores,” Cooper said, noting the profound impact the flight resumption would have on the overall economy of Exuma.

“This is an exciting time, good for entrepreneurship. Our taxi drivers, our hotel partners, all of our stakeholders are very excited about it and this is an exciting time for all of us.”

But as global travel picks up and tourism robustly rebounds in the second half of the year, the new Omicron variant remains a threat to cities around the world, which have in recent days reimplemented strict measures to control the spread.

Cooper said while the new outbreak is concerning, the government is confident in its protocols and its ability to make adjustments where and when necessary.

“Any possible increase in the number of instances of COVID cases would be a concern for us. Firstly it’s a concern for public health, the health and safety of our citizens, that’s our number one priority. And then we want to balance tourism and the public health concern for the betterment of our economy and the quality of life for our people. So yes we are concerned, we believe we have good protocols in place, we have tested those protocols over the past months, we’ve gotten better at this and we are now at a place where we feel comfortable that we have a set of guidelines that allows us to have the type of balance that we need,” he said.

“Yes, we are concerned, we encourage Bahamians to continue to follow all of the health protocols, avoid large gatherings, et cetera.”

Although scientists have said Omicron is a milder variant, it spreads more quickly than previous strains and is infecting even vaccinated people.

There have not been any confirmed cases of Omicron in The Bahamas yet, however the Ministry of Health only last week sent samples for testing and confirmation.

Cooper said it is just a matter of time before the new variant hits Bahamian shores.

“The minister of health is closely monitoring the trends in relation to the virus. We are an open economy, we have a booming tourism industry, I suspect it’s a matter of time before we have the new variant here, that’s just the reality and the nature of what we face,” he said.

“We’re going to manage it as we have done over the last several months and we believe that our protocols are well in line with international best practice. If we need to make some adjustments we’ll do so. We got rid of the competent authority as we said we would do, but we have a good set of health and safety rules that we can adjust very quickly should the need arise.”

The post Air Canada resumes direct flights to Exuma as DPM closely monitors Omicron appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.

source https://thenassauguardian.com/air-canada-resumes-direct-flights-to-exuma-as-dpm-closely-monitors-omicron/