03272020 NEWS AND SPORT

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The Tribune

VOLUME:117 No.88, MARCH 27TH, 2020

Established 1903

Weekend

THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1

WEEKEND: HOW TO MAKE COCKTAILS FOR A CURFEW

4 MORE CASES New revelations highlight danger so - stay at home

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net THE number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country has risen to nine, Health Minister Dr Duane Sands announced yesterday after revealing that four more people in New Providence had tested positive for highly contagious disease.

One of the new COVID19 patients had a recent travel history, Dr Sands said. The four new cases are at home in isolation and do not need hospital care at this time, he added.

“The most recently four confirmed cases are in New Providence,” he said during a press conference at the Ministry of Health. “Only

FUSION: WE CAN’T PAY OUR STAFF

one had recent travel history and that case had traveled to the Dominican Republic on the 13th of March.

“All of the most recently confirmed four cases are in home isolation and they are being closely monitored by healthcare professionals,” he said. “They do not require hospitalisation at this time.”

His comments came after officials revealed on Tuesday that a woman in Grand Bahama with no recent travel history had tested positive for the infectious disease, becoming the country’s first confirmed case of COVID-19 outside of New Providence. Up to press time, there was only one confirmed case in Grand Bahama.

SEE PAGE THREE

THE US yesterday became the country with most reported COVID-19 infections. A running count kept by Johns Hopkins University showed the US had more than 82,000 infections while both Italy and China had more than 80,000.

After New York, Louisiana was quickly becoming another smoldering hotspot. The number of new cases there jumped by more than 500 yesterday, for a total of over 2,300, with 86 deaths, including

a 17-year-old, the health department said.

New Orleans was gearing up for a possible overflow at hospitals, with plans to treat as many as 3,000 patients at the city’s convention centre.

President Donald Trump announced that federal officials are developing guidelines to rate counties by risk of virus spread, as he aims to ease the restrictions meant to slow the outbreak.

Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, said the task force is concerned SEE PAGE NINE

THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO BE STINGY ON INFORMATION SEE PAGE EIGHT

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net FUSION employees have been told the company is facing a payroll deficiency and will be unable to satisfy salaries for this pay period.

Carlos Foulkes, Fusion’s chief executive officer, in an internal letter to workers explained the entertainment centre was a new company and lacked the financial resources that more established businesses have at their disposal.

SEE PAGE THREE

LYFORD CAY CLUB SHUTS: 150 JOBLESS

VIRUS SURGE TAKES USA TO NO 1 FOR INFECTED WASHINGTON Associated Press

A COMIC’S VIEW

DID HE KILL HIS DAD?

SELWIN SEYMOUR, aged 24, was yesterday charged with murdering his father earlier this week. Full report - Page 7 Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

By YOURI KEMP & NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Desk

THE Lyford Cay Club yesterday confirmed it will close at month’s end, and terminate around 150-160 staff, as it “moved up” a $40m renovation. The club said the planned closing had been moved up to March 29 from May 8 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and it does not plan to fully re-open until November 2021, FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

HOME DELIVERY ALCOHOL - OUT OF ORDER

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

POLICE Commissioner Anthony Ferguson said a local liquor store was prevented yesterday from launching a delivery service because it breached emergency orders now in effect and liquor licence provisions.

Commissioner Ferguson said he was unsure if any liquor deliveries were made, but officers visited

ANTHONY FERGUSON the business to ensure it knew liquor delivery would

be against the law. The commissioner said the RBPF received an advertisement about the service and looked into it yesterday.

“We dealt with that,” the police chief told The Tribune. “We saw that and we sent officers to make sure if they had started anything to make sure that they desist.

“We saw the ad and we quickly responded to action to make sure that it does not happen and persons

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE FOUR

DIANE PHILLIPS ESSENTIALLY, WE COULD DO WITH SOME FLEXIBILITY

SEE PAGE EIGHT

PAGE 2, Friday, March 27, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

MORE BUSINESSES ADDED TO EXEMPTION LIST THE government has added more businesses and services that are exempt from emergency order restrictions during the COVID-19 state of emergency.

Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis has issued two emergency orders as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. A 24-hour

curfew is in place and many business operations have been suspended as a results of the orders, which expire on March 31.

Under the orders, most businesses have been closed to the public and can only have essential workers at their establishments while other employees should work from home,

where possible. A new list released on Wednesday exempts two-way radio communications systems providers, electronic communications or technology service providers and IT support businesses, who can operate from 10am to 5pm or when needed in an emergency once they are not open to the general public.

Social distancing guidelines must be observed.

ATM repair and maintenance is also on the new list.

The list exempts the Humane Society in Nassau and Grand Bahama without restrictions. Veterinarians and national park wardens can work on call or as needed, with their office operating on an emergency

basis. Farms may operate from 6am to 1pm and fishing is permitted before 8pm.

Under the list of professional services, lawyers are exempt in criminal matters, only where it’s not possible to appear by video link with the assistance of the Department of Correctional Services.

Businesses that provide

property management and/ or maintenance services are exempted, but cannot deal with the general public.

Rental car businesses can allow for the return of car rentals and the extension of any rental contracts that may be required in light of the order from 8am-1pm.

The full list is available at opm.gov.bs.

TWO MEN FINED $300 FOR VIOLATING CURFEW

By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

TWO men charged with violating the national curfew have been ordered to pay a $300 fine or face 10 days in prison.

Kevin Francis, 29, and Tyrone Glass, 25, appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt, charged with failing to remain in the confines of their homes early yesterday morning while the national curfew was in effect.

Both pleaded guilty to the charge.

Prosecutor Samantha Miah said both men admitted to the offence during an interview under caution with PC 2977 Moss on March 26, which led to them being further cautioned and charged.

When given an opportunity to speak, Francis told the judge he left his home around midnight yesterday to get his father’s medication from a relative who lived around the corner.

Glass apologised for breaching the curfew and told the judge he had only done so because Francis

had asked him if he would accompany him on the walk.

In response, Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt told Francis and Glass they did not exercise respect for the curfew which was enforced as a matter of national health.

She also insisted COVID19 was “nothing to play with” and told both defendants they must be prepared to face the consequences if they choose to break the rules.

Both defendants were subsequently released on bail and given until March 30 to pay their fines.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, March 27, 2020, PAGE 3

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

Stay at home People urged to follow the rules as another four cases confirmed from page one Health consultant to the Office of the Prime Minister, Dr Merceline Dahl-Regis, said the new cases are not linked to the previous cases, but noted that two of the patients are close friends.

“The new cases are not related to the first case…,” she said. “They’re not, except two of the cases are related in friendship and companionship, but the other new cases….

So, there’s five. The one in Grand Bahama is not related to the index case. “(Of) the four new cases, two of the cases are very very close friends,” she said.

Meanwhile, as it relates to the other COVID-19 patients, health officials said yesterday that all remain in stable condition. “The first case has been discharged through hospital and health officials continue to follow the condition of the three other COVID-19 positive cases in New Providence (that were previously reported),” Dr Sands noted yesterday. “And the single case in Grand Bahama, who all remain in isolation at home and do not require hospitalisation at this time, they are in stable condition.”

Dr Sands added: “Contact tracing is aggressively underway by the MOH surveillance unit in New Providence and Grand Bahama. The surveillance unit has already contacted the large majority of those who were in contact with the initial case.

“The MOH surveillance unit will use an advanced approach to increase the number of contacts reached in the shortest possible time. We continue to closely monitor patients in their home quarantine environment.”

With over 2,000 testing kits currently on the island, Dr Sands said nearly 200 people have been tested for COVID-19 so far. “At this time, 175 people have been tested in the Bahamas for COVID-19 following agreed international protocols,” he noted. “To date, we have some 2,300 testing kits on the island. More than 60 ventilators are here and more are on the way to increase our current capacity.

“Thousands of PPE (personal protective equipment) kits have been ordered to reduce the supplies that we had already had in stock; 3,000 additional are expected on the

ground on Monday and a further 4,000 will be here by the end of next week.”

In the meantime, the health minister is urging members of the public to take the necessary health precautions to prevent the further spread of the disease.

He said: “COVID-19 remains a very serious threat. Around the world, more than 23,000 people have died from this virus. It is very important to address you today about prevention and it’s important that you listen to and follow this advice.

“Ignoring this advice could lead to you contracting the virus and getting sick and possibly dying. Ignoring this advice could lead to the spread of it to your families and friends and they could get sick and die. There is currently no vaccine to prevent COVID-19.”

In an effort to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis last week imposed several stringent measures in the country, including a 9pm-5am curfew until March 31. On Monday, the curfew was extended to 24 hours.

Attorney General Carl Bethel said the curfew

FUSION ADMITS: WE CAN’T AFFORD TO PAY OUR STAFF from page one

He said he was “devastated” to have to write this news. However, Mr Foulkes assured workers they would be paid outstanding salaries as soon as possible.

The grim announcement came nearly one week after Mr Foulkes told The Tribune more than 350 employees had to be placed on unpaid leave hours after Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced his first COVID-19 emergency order. That order suspended most business operations in the country, with few exceptions, and implemented a curfew.

“As you are aware, due to the global pandemic and government mandates we were forced to abruptly suspend business operations at Fusion Superplex on Thursday March, 19.

This unplanned action has resulted in a devastating impact on many businesses locally; however our startup conditions are even less forgiving,” the letter dated March 25 said.

“As a result of the impact of the circumstances leading to our closure we are facing payroll deficiencies and we will be unable to make payroll for this pay period.

“We are a young business making great strides toward profitability; however we do not have the financial resources like some more established companies that, after years of operations, are able to withstand economic blows such as this.

“We are well on our way to achieving this, but it will take time. As I have advised you in the past, we

THE FUSION complex do not have the privilege of local banking assistance, therefore we cannot call on a local institution in times of need. We are required to create funding from revenue and other external sources. This factor alone makes us very vulnerable during catastrophic events like the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Mr Foulkes said he does not take the loyalty of employees lightly.

“Frankly I am devastated that as a result of our financial position as a new business I must now communicate this matter to you during an already difficult time.

“In full disclosure we were expecting to receive funding from a payment that was due to the company. The payment was intended to satisfy the payroll requirements for the

business and maintain the business necessities during the mandated closure.

We were advised today (Wednesday) at 3.12pm that due to the global events, our partners have suspended the payment process and will not pay the amount owed on the anticipated timeline. As a result of this warning with such short notice until this afternoon in fact, we were unaware that we would not be able to satisfy payroll.

“Despite the current circumstances, please know that all funds owed to you will be paid, as soon as it is possible to do so, I humbly request your patience and forbearance as we seek to correct this problem in the coming weeks.”

Last week Mr Foulkes said the company had no other choice but to lay off workers as it was faced with $1.1m in monthly operational costs. He said revenue was directly tied to the facility’s ability to offer content to viewers.

Despite the circumstances, the CEO said there was no plan to conduct mass layoffs. Instead executives hoped the National Insurance Board would assist the workers until operations returned to normal.

DR Duane Sands pictured speaking yesterday could be extended for at least another 14 or 30 days to further clamp down on the virus.

However, he said the decision would be based on the advice of medical professionals.

Asked by reporters yesterday if health officials felt the curfew needed to be extended, Dr Sands replied: “We have made the determination that we’re going to monitor this situation very, very closely. At this point in time, we will advise Cabinet

colleagues, the prime minister and all stakeholders how we believe the impact of the initiatives, the interventions have been.

“So, I think it’s premature at this point for us to tell of the position the MOH and health team.

Every single day, we will advise those in authority as to what our realistic thoughts are on how this whole thing is going, so stay tuned.”

It was also confirmed yesterday that people wishing

Photo: Kristaan Ingraham/BIS to exercise must do so near their home and not drive to a different location.

Symptoms of COVID19 include cough, fever, tiredness and difficulty breathing. Health officials say if you believe you have COVID-19 symptoms, do not immediately go to a hospital or doctor. Instead call the national hotline at 376-9350, 376-9387 or 3769357 or a doctor for further instructions.

Editorial View - Page 6

PAGE 4, Friday, March 27, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

DAVIS DISAPPOINTED BY HOMELESS CONVICTIONS

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

PROGRESSIVE Liberal Party Leader Philip “Brave” Davis is disappointed homeless people have been convicted of violating the COVID-19 curfew.

Three men - all reportedly homeless - were convicted in Grand Bahama on Monday of violating the curfew.

The men all pled guilty and received sentences

ranging from a year in prison, a $500 fine and a $1,000 fine or three months behind bars.

Assistant commissioner of police with responsibility for Grand Bahama, Samuel Butler said yesterday eight people on his island had been arrested for breaching the curfew.

He said the three homeless men were arrested at different locations.

“Three of them were definitely known in our criminal justice system beyond the curfew and the

police’s record reflects that each of them had a specific address and be it they may be persons known to traverse the streets, they have a place or a home that they can go to,” he said.

“I want to emphasise the significance of what our order is seeking to prevent.

Persons who may have habits, we may be concerned about that group of individuals even in a greater way who may not be leaning to understanding good governance of themselves and abiding by

the health directions. Those types of persons we don’t want traversing the streets and coming in contact with ordinary persons.

“We know there are some persons who may not have the ordinary home address that you and I may share, but if they are in a location and remain in their specific location, police will not act on them. Police will take action if we meet you walking the streets. We will ensure you are not traversing the streets.”

Asked about homeless

people with mental issues, ACP Butler said: “If the person has the ability to still be mobile, despite mental state, while we want to be as human as possible, police are resolved to be sensible and forceful.”

Mr Davis, however, called for compassion and understanding as police enforce Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis’ orders.

“I’m truly disappointed with the way we are treating homeless persons, particularly since thought was not given to this

demographic in society and arrangements were not made for them to be taken care of during this time,” he said. “Obviously we need to be able to identify the homeless people, get a message to them and find a place for them to be. We have an obligation to make sure they are taken care of and as a state, we need to address these challenges that these people have.

Many of them would be unable to comply with the curfew because they have no place to be.”

TRIBUNE photographer Shawn Hanna was out and about capturing life under lockdown in New Providence

Curfew threatens safety of at-risk children, says expert

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net A SENIOR administrator of a New Providence school is disturbed by what the COVID-19 lockdown could mean for vulnerable children and wants the government to outline measures to help youngsters at risk of abuse.

She said she has remained in contact with her most vulnerable students during the school closure and some of their stories are already harrowing.

One 15-year-old victim of sexual abuse threatened to run away last week if she failed to find him a temporary shelter, she said.

Another 16-year-old girl called her while enduring physical and verbal abuse from her mother.

And on Monday, a 15-year-old girl whose mother died in Abaco during Hurricane Dorian called her crying––she was hungry and has heightened anxiety sharing a small home with 19 other people for 24-hours each day, she said.

The school administrator’s anonymous interview with The Tribune came

a day after the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said children are “at heightened risk of abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence amidst the intensifying containment measures” happening worldwide.

“I would like to see the Ministry of Social Services reach out to schools, to guidance counsellors, to find out those kids that are most vulnerable at this time and have somebody check on them,” she said. “I know this is a difficult time but don’t just make a phone call, please physically check on them.”

The school administrator said she has found temporary shelter for two of her students: the boy who threatened to run away and the girl abused by her mother. She worries what will happen to all the vulnerable children she does not know. She said she is in regular contact with at least eight other children she considers especially vulnerable, having bought them cell data to stay in touch.

“A lot of people can’t deal with this curfew and I feel the frustration will be taken out on that child,” she said. “Rather than use

the time to improve family relationships, this could go the opposite way. One of my students called me and I had to go to her. She said: ‘My mom isn’t going back to work until so and so and she’s taking everything out on me.’ I told her I need proof and she got me proof so I went to the home and told the mother you can have one of two solutions, either you let the child come with me, or I play the audio she sent me for the police.”

Tavarrie Smith, a lawyer and juvenile rights advocate, said for some children the closure of school means the loss of their only safe haven.

“The quarantine situation is extremely difficult

for a lot of families to process and it can be stressful,” he said. “Sometimes that stress can be displaced and is often displaced on the child. Children become victims because of the economic and social stress the guardians are under.”

“I’ve had persons reach out to me who have had to remove children from homes where there are acts of violence taking place and make arrangements for those children to stay with other family members until the quarantine period is over.

“I’ve had others reach out asking where do they go because their child is asking if a friend could stay with them because that friend is afraid of going home and

doesn’t want to go home.

Usually people could contact the Child Protection Unit ,which would investigate claims, especially in emergency cases, but the government needs to release a statement informing the public whether the Child Protection Unit is still functioning and the government should make those emergency numbers available to the public. People need to be aware of what they can do to record child abuse.”

Mr Smith said with children residential homes full, the government should consider temporary shelters for vulnerable youth.

“What we need is for the government and the Department of Social

HOME DELIVERY ALCOHOL - OUT OF ORDER

from page one

understand because that’s in violation.”

He added: “Not only is it a breach of the order but a breach of the liquor licence.

You can’t go and sell alcohol anywhere as you wish.

“You have to have a licence and a licence like that they don’t have the

trading provision they would need to do that.”

He said if other businesses planned to do the same, “they can expect to be dealt with”.

“We expect people to cooperate with the order,” said Commissioner Ferguson.

Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis has issued

two emergency orders to prevent the spread of COVID-19, mandating the closure of most businesses, with few exceptions, and instituting a national curfew.

Under the orders, grocery and non-alcoholic beverage mobile delivery services are permitted. Liquor stores, however, have been ordered to close to the public.

Services to lay out what the plan is for children who are vulnerable for abuse and sexual exploitation,” he said.

For his part, Education Minister Jeff Lloyd said yesterday it is a “grave concern” that some children are now most vulnerable in their homes.

“I’m happy for the suggestion we should possibly engage more of our guidance counsellors who can assist our parents and guardians who may need additional psychological support,” he said. “Unfortunately, too many of our parents have limited skillsets dealing with anxiety and other stressful situations. We are trying to get our toll-free lines up so parents can call and access our professionals to help them negotiate these different and stressful times.

It is a dark spot on our emotional and psychological character that some children who should be safest in the arms and confines of their parents and caregivers could in fact be most vulnerable in that environment. That is a deep concern and should be alarming to all of our society.”

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, March 27, 2020, PAGE 5

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

FOOD BANK SERVING 400 A DAY

By EARYEL BOWLEG ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

MANY people are turning to exercise to cope with what is going on

How people are making the best of the lockdown

By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT ts-cartwright @tribunemedia.net WHILE many Bahamians are finding stay-at-home orders and a national curfew challenging, others are exploring ways to cope with this new reality.

Shawn Roberts, a Spanish teacher in Sandy Point, Abaco, said his family is making good use of their time at home.

“Well personally, I (have been) inside (my home) since last Friday afternoon,” Mr Roberts said.

“Today will make six days since I have not been out. So we are spending lots of family time together. We are having extra devotion time with prayers and Bible readings. The kids are doing

online assignments from school. . .

I am also making myself available to assist the school and others who may be interested in lessons.”

Mr Roberts said residents of his community are obeying the national curfew as far as he is aware.

“Well, it’s very quiet here. Once in a while I would hear a car pass on the road, but that is seldom. It’s just quiet. So I know we are in fact keeping inside as we were asked to.”

But for Mercelene Taylor, the extended time at home is making her stir-crazy.

“I don’t know how much more of this I can take,” Ms Taylor said. “I wake up, I eat, I go back to sleep, I eat. I am in the house with my husband and son and they are not taking anything about this

virus seriously. I have to remind them constantly about what we are supposed to do to prevent it.

“I am not at home this much at all and the fact that I cannot get to do my regular activities is making me crazy. I can’t go to church. I can’t go to the gym. I feel like a crab in a pen. I understand the reasoning behind it, but I feel a 24-hour curfew is a bit excessive. I guess I am just that ‘outdoorsy’ type person so this is not working for me. I trust everyone is complying like me and we can be done without an extension past March 31.”

Melvern Smith, a resident of Nassau East, said she tried to prepare as much as possible before government officials urged people to stay at home.

“I am always an organised person,” she said. “When I heard

mere rumours of what was to come, I went quietly to the store and stocked up on groceries, bought several bottles of wine and proceeded to pay up all my bills online. I pulled out the board games, dusted them off and sat and waited on the chaos to start.

“First came the panic shopping and after that the conspiracy theorists and it went on and on. I am home watching all of this happening around me while my family and me are content. I fall in the age category that will be very ill if we get COVID-19 so I am not going to put myself in harm’s way by being up and down on the street when I was told not to. We have everything we can think of in this house, even a room to exercise in. So, as the young people would say, ‘we are straight’.”

GREAT Commission Ministries has been inundated with requests for food from needy residents amid the coronavirus pandemic, with the food bank serving between 300 to 400 people daily over the past few weeks.

Bishop Walter Hanchell, president of the NGO, said the ministry has seen an increase in the number of people seeking food and shelter.

“In the same way that shoppers have overwhelmed supermarkets to purchase food and other supplies, leaving shelves empty, Great Commission Ministries has been inundated with clients seeking food to take home during the lockdown,” he said.

“We have used all of our resources and have made a request at the Department of Social Services and Community Development for financial aid to purchase food and provide shelter to the underprivileged among us.”

Bishop Hanchell said there is presently a shortage of bed space for women and children and representatives from the ministry are arranging hotel accommodations for some people in need when the beds are not available.

He said GCM is “extremely concerned” about the “huge number of persons” who roam the streets daily without a place to lay their heads and a hot meal during the 24-hour curfew.

He said many homeless people occupy “deserted dilapidated unsafe buildings, derelict vehicles and even live in the bushes.”

Bishop Hanchell added that these individuals have been “neglected and ignored” by the government and the community at large. He said the nation has lost compassion for the “hurting and disenfranchised,” calling it “very disappointing”.

The ministry is appealing to the business and religious community to provide financial assistance during the pandemic.

GCM urged individuals and businesses to join the ministry’s “Live To Give Network” by signing up as a volunteer or donor and giving a donation of $50 or $100 monthly.

Bishop Hanchell also noted that the outreach centre is “in full support and compliance” of Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis’ emergency orders, commending him for the “bold steps” taken to preserve life during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We appeal to Bahamians and residents to take all of the health precautions and stay at home.

Practice social distancing if you have to go out and please do not panic. Have faith in God and He will bring us out,” he said.

ONE HIGH-RISK MAN’S FIGHT TO AVOID GETTING ILL

By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

ELLIS Stuart has diabetes, high blood pressure and heart problems.

With Mr Stuart categorised as high-risk amid the COVID-19 crisis, he and his wife are taking all the necessary precautions to avoid contracting the disease.

Health experts say elderly people or those with pre-existing conditions such as cancer, hypertension and respiratory issues are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 infection and death.

Still Mr Stuart, 64, said he is not afraid of catching the virus, because he normally spends most of his time at home.

“The virus hasn’t inconvenienced me because I’m staying at home anyhow and I could get my medication and everything else,” he said.

“I’m just waiting on this angiogram operation, but now they are saying that they are putting it off to some time in May from the looks of it.”

Mr Stuart added that his daily routine has not changed much since the spread of the pandemic.

“What I’m reading and what I’m seeing is that I’m high-risk because I have (pre-existing conditions):

ELLIS STUART high blood pressure, heart problems, hypertension and diabetes. I have all of them, but I’m not necessarily afraid. Like I said, I stay home anyway so nothing’s changed that much.”

Asked what precautions he was taking to reduce his chances of developing the potentially deadly disease, he added: “I didn’t get any specific instructions because I had left the hospital before all this panic over the virus started.

“I just take my medication everyday. The doctors prescribed me some new medication which seems to be working well.”

Mr Stuart said he was first admitted to Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) in early January because he had developed a “touch of pneumonia.”

“It was something that I

picked up when I was with my daughter in Orlando,” he explained. “When I left there, I came to Nassau then I went to Abaco the next weekend. When I was in Abaco, they said it looked like I was having a stroke so they fly me out to Nassau.”

Since then, Mr Stuart has suffered three heart attacks and two more strokes all in the span of one month. To date, he has been in and out of the hospital and is currently awaiting surgery.

“I don’t know whether they will reschedule my surgery as yet, but I’m not concerned about the surgery being postponed. I had an operation about five years ago when they had to cut the main artery in my neck, but I was up and moving about two days later.

“Like I said, I’ve been through this before and it’s only a matter of keeping still and calm and not getting agitated.”

His wife, Vangie Stuart, 50, added that they were not paranoid because they were following all of the instructions issued by health officials to keep Mr Stuart safe.

“He isn’t going out anywhere and if he needs anything, I would have to go out and get it,” she told this newspaper.

“He ran out of his medication and I went and got it for him because I don’t want him to leave the house. And then, I’m always sanitising the room and wherever else he goes.”

Mrs Stuart said she had also been limiting the amount of time she leaves the house so that she does not expose her husband to infection by being around a lot of people.

“I’m trying to avoid

anything so I wouldn’t bring it to him, so we rarely go out anywhere. We’re not too worried about the situation, because we’re taking precautions and listening to what they’re saying to do and we’re doing it.”

NOTICE TO: MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WORKERS’ CO-OPERATIVE CREDIT UNION LIMITED A Special-Call Meeting will be held on FRIDAY, MARCH 27TH, 2020, beginning at 6:00 p.m., at the BAHAMAS PUBLIC SERVICES’ UNION (BPSU)HALL, East Street south (across from Esso gas station); for the sole purpose of electing a NOMINATION COMMITTEE re: the upcoming 40th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (scheduled for Friday, May 22nd, 2020).

All ELIGIBLE members are invited to attend!!

PAGE 6, Friday, March 27, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

The Tribune Limited NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI “Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master”

LEON E. H. DUPUCH,

SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH,

jamaaltheartist@gmail.com

Publisher/Editor 1903-1914 Kt., O.B.E., K.M., K.C.S.G., (Hon.) LL.D., D.Litt .

Publisher/Editor 1919-1972 Contributing Editor 1972-1991

EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON,

C.M.G., M.S., B.A., LL.B. Publisher/Editor 1972-

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Stop this virus spreading within our community TWO hammer blows struck last night – one on our shores, and one across the water in the US. Four new cases of coronavirus were confirmed in The Bahamas last night, all in New Providence. Only one had travelled recently, to the Dominican Republic. What that means is that they caught it here. That’s called community transmission. It means the virus has been passed from Bahamian to Bahamian. Experts are saying that those four people could have come into contact with as many as 200 people – and they’re trying their best to track who those might have been.

This is why it is so important to stay at home. Each infected person is the first in a chain of dominoes that can topple over, one into another, and the next, and the next, spreading the virus. Staying behind closed doors stops that from reaching other people.

The government is doing what it can – there are already 2,300 testing kits on the island, but do the maths on that. If 200 people who have been in contact with those four people need testing, that’s just under nine percent of the testing kits that will be used on those cases alone.

What is the alternative to this lockdown? Well, sadly, that is where the other hammer struck yesterday.

The United States yesterday became the nation with the most confirmed cases of coronavirus in the world. Ahead of China, despite a smaller population.

In just one day yesterday, there were 13,968 new cases. A lack of definite leadership has hurt the US response. Even on Wednesday, the Mississippi governor was not only rejecting a lockdown, but overruling local mayors who wanted to impose stay at home orders.

This is what we are trying to avoid.

But the effects of that scale of outbreak in the US is something we will not be able to avoid.

So much of our economy leans on the US that it will be impossible not to feel the impact. On one front, we shall have to be vigilant to ensure a minimum of spread from people when our borders reopen. But on the other front, we must be aware of the huge toll this will cause financially – first to our neighbour, and then by consequence to ourselves.

We cannot control how the US responds to the crisis in their midst.

We can control how we respond to our own. If we do not want to follow the rise in numbers, we have to minimise our contact with others. Essential journeys means just that – essential. If you don’t need to go out, don’t go out.

We can only start to respond economically when the virus has been contained and stopped. That is our first task.

Every single Bahamian medical expert is of one voice in this – anyone who thinks they know better than all those doctors is simply wrong.

Stay home. Stay safe. Let’s be the best example to the world, and not follow the worst examples of others.

Davis got it wrong on curfew EDITOR, The Tribune

CONVENTIONAL wisdom dictates that in times of health pandemics we should ignore the posturing of politicians and instead lean on the advice of medical professionals.

In this trying time, we happen to have the good fortune of a medical doctor, Hubert Minnis, calling the political shots.

The Prime Minister has wisely decided to be proactive in helping the 400,000 citizens/patients who could possibly be exposed to Covid-19.

His prescription was to triage the entire country in order to stop the virus from getting out of control. He imposed a curfew curtailing our right to move about and to assemble with whomever we want.

This was undoubtedly the sensible thing to do because in perilous times the rights of the individual must be restricted for the good of the collective society. Us is bigger than I. Some of our fellow citizens still need the state to save them from themselves. As word spread about the mortal danger the virus presented, some

Bahamians ignored the science and continued to put themselves in harm’s way.

While they can do that, they have no right to unwittingly put the rest of us in harm’s way. And that is why the Prime Minister had to act in what some may consider a most draconian fashion.

He was not the first world leader to put his people on lockdown, and events daily around the world are proving that he was correct.

Other governments have been slow to this medicine at their people’s peril.

What was most in danger was not our individual liberties, but rather any semblance of bipartisanship that should have broken out in the top ranks of the official Opposition.

Opposition Leader Brave Davis missed the mark completely when he chastised the Prime Minister’s curfew decision. Instead, the possible potential Prime Minister-in-waiting should have ensured that there was no daylight between him and the Prime Minister on this matter of utmost national importance and lethal urgency.

He should have asked, and probably would have

been graciously accommodated on the podium with the Prime Minister when he made the announcement of the curfew. That is what leaders are expected to do in times of crisis. Speak with one unambiguous voice.

It is in times like these that leaders have their mettle tested. Brave is not in executive office, but he is in legislative government, so he had an obligation to think of the national interest rather than what makes him look like a tough man standing up to the PM. He should not have let petty sniveling from some of his senior advisors inform his decision on when to speak up for the health of Bahamians.

Brave’s bungled response to the Covid-19 curfew will tar him for sometime.

He should admit his mistake and then do a symbolic public elbow bump with the Prime Minister to show the panicked and anxious citizens that our health and lives are not pawns in anybody’s political power-struggle.

THE GRADUATE Nassau March 25, 2020

More meat needed on the bone EDITOR, The Tribune I AM aware that the mainstream media is biased towards what it hoped would be the successful navigation of the Corona Virus syndrome by the Minnis regime. It is now known that the official Opposition is lockstep with the PM and his allies in the imposition of draconian emergency powers which might abrogate the Bahamas Independence Order, 1973.

While I do agree with the health and national security issues, the PM et al are dead wrong from a constitutional and legal position with the imposition of so-called regulations and subsidiary legislation supposedly enabling the PM and his cabinet, I suppose, to restrict the freedom of assembly and freedom of movement of the entire nation, despite there being no discernible national emergency which could trigger such powers, but only after full parliamentary debate in both chambers then sent to the Governor General, not the other way around.

Minnis and them are simply copy catting what is being played out in the

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net major nations like the USA; India; Canada; Western Europe and some Asiatic counties. Massive lockdowns; enforced quarantine and, of course, huge fines and even imprisonment or both, hopefully after a duly convened court trial.

These measures should and must be adopted but within the confines of the law. Measures and regulations which prima facie (at first view) are inconsistent with the constitution and the common law are to be rejected.

If we have learned anything from this we should have learnt that all administrative; legislative and penal or coercive measures against a citizen must be under girded by the appropriate legislation on enabling referendum. It cannot be where the PM wakes up one morning and decides, in a potential vacuum, after or before his fabled stewed fish, that he wants 14 or more days of a national lockdown without apparent rational.

We all wish the PM and

the entire government, inclusive of the Official Opposition, well, but it must be achieved at the expense of the stark abandonment of human rights and constitutional rights, given originally by God Himself. Now that there has been a fait accompli....a deed already done and universally accepted, relative to the curfew, there are several other questions which much be addressed .

Theses include: what will be the stimulus and recovery package to be offered by the regime? What about families where the bread winners have been made redundant and have no income? Will the stimulus package include three months basic income until we turn the tide? Where is Social Services & Urban Renewal in all of this?

Where is the normally loquacious Minister of Labor and his sidekick the Director of Labour?

Dr. Minnis is trying his best, I am sure, but I want to see more meat on the dried bones. To God then, in all things, be the glory.

ORTLAND H. BODIE, Jr. Nassau, March 25, 2020.

Fallout from this pandemic will test us like never before EDITOR, The Tribune THANK you Dr. Minnis, Dr. Sands and the medical team for leading the charge in the war against COVID-19.

What we are seeing is a proactive “war time” prime minister and cabinet, aided by a great team of Bahamian doctors, acting firmly and decisively, making the tough decisions necessary to deal with this massive economic and health crisis.

The fall-out from the

pandemic is going to test the Bahamas like never before.

This is also a wake up call to do everything possible to protect our scarce food resources.

As an import nation that relies so heavily on food from abroad, we must recognise why it is SO important to guard our fragile reefs and marine life against unfriendly environmental practices.

Yes, job creation is crucial, but so is our primary

food source and the ability to feed ourselves.

The government must continue to encourage agriculture through community and school farming programmes and the farmer’s market and so on. Many Bahamians, particularly those in Nassau, would be surprised at what can be grown in their own backyard.

ATHENA DAMIANOS Nassau, March 24, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, March 27, 2020, PAGE 7

24-year-old accused of killing his father

By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net A 24-YEAR-OLD man was charged yesterday with murdering his father in the Garden Hills area earlier this week.

Selwin Seymour was charged before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt with murdering Dwight Ricardo Seymour on March 23.

On Monday, the body of a man was found in a shallow grave behind his home in Garden Hills, according to initial reports from police.

At the scene of the incident, Chief Superintendent Solomon Cash told reporters the victim was buried about 50-feet away from the rear of the house.

Police said shortly before 1pm on the day in question, officers went to Beaumontia Avenue, Garden Hills #1, after receiving reports that a body of a male was discovered in a shallow grave.

Paramedics were called to the scene and a short

time later the male was pronounced dead.

Seymour was not required to enter a plea to the charge and the matter was adjourned until May 27 at noon for service of a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

Bail was denied and he was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDCS) in the interim.

He has the right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.

Seymour is represented by attorney Ian Cargill who told the judge that his client had a history of psychological problems and asked if he could be remanded to the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre (SRC).

However, Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt told him that SRC could not accept any more patients due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Still, she told Mr Cargill she would send a note with the defendant so that he could have a psychiatric evaluation as soon as “reasonably practicable”.

SELWIN Seymour outside court yesterday.

Rotary helps provide 300 wheelchairs

THE Rotary Club of East Nassau has partnered with the Rotary Club of Bonita Springs in Florida and The Wheelchair Foundation, a Californian-based non-profit, to provide nearly 300 wheelchairs to the Bahamas Association for the Physically Disabled. The Rotary Club of East Nassau donated $10,500, with another $10,500 coming from the Rotary Club of Bonita Springs, with a matching grant of $21,000 from a donor of the Wheelchair Foundation.

“This project perfectly exemplifies the benefit of Rotary, and what it means to be a Rotarian”, said Rotary East Nassau president Franny De Cardenas.

“To have two clubs and a

huge non-profit, based in different countries, come together to make a tangible difference in the lives of those who need it most is nothing short of breathtaking”.

The chairs were donated at an event held at The Bahamas Association for the Physically Disabled’s (BAPD) Headquarters on Dolphin Drive earlier this month. “It’s so meaningful for us to be able to support causes that change lives.

Having a wheelchair gives mobility to those who didn’t have it before”, continued president Franny. “We were so thankful that our East Nassau members, as well as members from the Rotary Cub of Bonita Springs were able to join the BAPD in person to support the

distribution. Along with The Wheelchair Foundation, Bahamas Waste and Tropical Shipping provided much-needed logistics, storage and support.”

Supporting The Bahamas Association for the Physically Disabled was long advocated by late member and past president Sir Durward Knowles. Sir Durward long championed the needs of BAPD and Rotary was honoured to be able to join and support for many years. The Rotary Club of East Nassau was most recently able to donate 110 chairs in early 2019 as part of a similar joint project, this time partnering with the Bonita Naples Rotary Club and the Sanibel Captiva Rotary Club, both in Florida.

Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

THE CHAIRS were donated at an event held at The Bahamas Association for the Physically Disabled’s (BAPD) Headquarters on Dolphin Drive

PAGE 8, Friday, March 27, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

THIS week, “all buck up go” forced a full-lockdown curfew, elitism stepped forward and got pushed back, and press briefings morphed into something unrecognisable. Let’s begin.

Slackness in the Time of Corona A little more than a week ago, Prime Minister Minnis addressed the country on the dangers of the coronavirus pandemic threatening the world. It was then that he gave Bahamians the first emergency order; practice social distancing, and stay at home and off the roads in the evenings to avoid catching (and spreading) a highly contagious and deadly virus.

True to form, “some” Bahamians decided to ignore that sage piece of advice and continued to party on our beaches and elsewhere. All of a sudden, there were photos and videos on social media showing people (you know who you are salmon pants) throwing “big time” picnics on our beaches. Some people threw “brunches.” Some people had all-star pick-up basketball games.

And yes, some (younger) people decided it was the perfect time to “tun up” in nightclubs and bars like there was no tomorrow.

To say Bahamians took an “emergency order” more like a casual suggestion than an actual legal decree is an understatement. Of course, what followed was to be expected - a second emergency order that came with a 24-hour curfew. Now we’re all locked down. Now we all have to ride this pandemic out the same way the worst-hit countries have to. All because “some of yinna’’ couldn’t calm down for a minute until this thing passed. The old saying “those who can’t hear will feel” is in full effect. And I honestly feel “some of yinna’‘ need

Time to wake up to what’s happening all over the world a kick in the behind to wake up to what’s happening all over the world right now.

Rules for Thee Speaking of a kick in the behind, what was up with that letter from Albany that leaked last week? According to Eyewitness News, after that first emergency order was implemented some not-sosmart person at Albany issued directives stating that their ‘community’ was ‘exempted’ from it. Apparently, someone there also took the words of the Prime Minister as a joke, telling their members “a large portion of the Bahamas is being asked to modify their behaviour” and that Albany was “exempt” from having to “shelter in place.”

Say what now?

EMPTY beaches show that the country is in lockdown

WHEN you consider that Hubert A Minnis has been a doctor ten times longer than he has been prime minister, you can appreciate his medical stop-the-spread-at-any-cost approach to COVID-19.

We understand that staying apart works. We know the best path to avoiding spreading the germs which have an impressive habit of lingering is limiting the number of touchpoints and opportunities for interaction. So there was little resistance when Minnis, the Doctor and Prime Minister, announced a shutdown of schools, public gatherings and nonessential business.

There was a little more shock when on March 22, he expanded that policy to full-out emergency powers with near-total lockdown, but still we all said we would try our best to adhere and hope this viral pandemic would all be over soon without taking down with it the poorest among us who live pay cheque to pay cheque.

In the longest speech of his administration, the Doctor Prime Minister ordered all non-essential business closed. Hotels, short-term rentals, interisland passenger ferries, beaches, parks, all on lockdown until at least March 31.

Individuals would be allowed outside their homes or property line only to engage essential services or for the 90 minutes a day permitted for exercising.

Throughout every

The last time I checked, Albany was located in The Commonwealth of the Bahamas, subject to all rules and laws of the land. Less than a day after their letter went viral, a new missive was out, and they were singing a different tune. The new letter advised their members that their spa, salon and fitness centre were closed effective that day– how inconvenient!

I know there are some that would like to think that with enough money and clout, they can flout laws that they feel only apply to the “unwashed masses.” I, too, am terribly

update, the phrase ‘essential services’ represented what you could do, the new normal of permissible under the law. But what constitutes an essential service? Who determines that construction is an essential service but tree-trimming is not? Or that banking is essential but managing your investments is not?

Or that walking as a form of exercise is approved, but swimming is not unless you are fortunate enough to have your own pool. Is it a criminal offence to swim on a tiny beach by the side of the road when you are the only one there? What could be healthier?

If we could vote online for what we consider essential services, how many of us would tick ‘yes’ for paint store so we could at least paint that room that has been on our to-do list for a year?

Questions like these suggest how subjective the concept of ‘essential services’ is. It strikes me that while essential services sounds like a bundle of absolutes you could wrap up and transport to any similar culture with similar weather, democracy and

inconvenienced by not being able to get my weekly “shape up” since my barber is closed, but am I arrogantly writing my own rules? No, I’m following the ones designed to keep us all alive. This is not the time to play the old “rules for thee but not for me” card.

If you are in this country, you follow the law. End of discussion.

Besides, by now everyone should know Bahamians will “pull your file” if you try to get slick on laws they have to follow.

Plus, we know Albany is probably not the only “community” that tried (or is trying) this. All I can say to any “members communities” that are not following the emergency order is, catch yourself! Get in order before you’re the next to be aired out. Who do you think you are anyway? AUTEC? Please Be Brief In times like these, when governments have implemented extraordinary rules and are exercising extraordinary powers, it is almost a duty for anyone who values democracy to pay very close attention to everything leaders do and say.

For one thing, emergency orders, though justified and needed during this pandemic, are of a nature in and of themselves that they have to be kept in check by “we the people.” So I watch every press conference I can. I listen for the whisper of a breath of a slip of authoritarianism,

ready to do battle. So far, most of what I have seen with the emergency orders is above board. We even get semi-regular briefings from the Minister of Health Dr. Duane Sands and his team. I appreciate Doc Sands trying to keep our (stubborn) populace updated on what is happening with respect to Covid-19. And I doubly appreciate all of the very hardworking and brilliant doctors and health providers going above and beyond to keep us safe. They all deserve kudos.

But I do have a bone to pick.

The last press conference Dr Sands held prior to me writing this column was what the kids would call “a hot mess.” For some reason, Dr. Sands is holding these press briefings without fully briefing the press. Stranger still, Dr. Dahl-Regis, who is a part of the team and who seems like a brilliant doctor capable of answering many Covid questions, has somehow been cast as the press conference MC. My question is, why? Why do we have someone up there directing questions like a kind of press air traffic controller?

Or like this is “Bahamas Got Corona Talent?”

To say this format is a fail would not properly relay the level of ruin in which it rests. At the conference today, reporters were told Sands and company only had ten minutes. Then reporters were treated like outof-order children in classrooms

who raised their hands to go to the bathroom one too many times. The result was that a meagre few of the questions from our already “wee” press corps were answered.

My suggestion to whomever is ultimately in charge of public relations for the government’s team needs to get it together.

Our elected official and minister of health (who happens to be a top medical doctor) should be able to field most questions from the press. All the other drama happening around these important press conferences is unnecessary.

This is not the time to be stingy on information. Important information. Life changing information. Especially when you’re trying to reach Bahamians who need to hear you and who, quite frankly, would rather be throwing brunches and picnics on the beach.

Call the Shots I must admit that when I tuned into Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis’ National Address on Monday evening, I didn’t expect to be impressed. I actually tuned in for “new” political material.

Considering Doc’s’ past track record with pressers and public speaking, I wanted to be there in the moment when he suffered one of his usual bouts of ‘“foot in mouth” disease.

Surprisingly, the first ten minutes of Doc’s address went flawlessly, and it was at that moment I realised that Doc was in rare form. He was passionate, yet firm. He meant business, and was making perfect sense. If I’m not mistaken, he even had a tear in his eye at one point.

Twenty minutes in, and still nothing, not even a hard swallow.

After thirty minutes and still nothing, I wasn’t the least bit fazed. At some point, Minnis was bound to go off script – he always goes of script – and I would have my new material.

A few biblical references later, sprinkled in with some good old fashion Bahamian jargon, Doc was at the forty minute mark of a speech perfectly executed.

So in this instance, job well done, Mr. Prime Minister. You did what had to be done for the best interest of the entire Bahamas, Bahamians, and residents alike.(And who mad stay mad).

Your performance in this regard was very reminiscent of the words of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. – “The true measure of a man, is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but rather where he stands during times of challenge and controversy.”

Just be reminded though, Doc, if you do fool, you know how I go.

Essentially, we could do with some flexibility free economy, those essential services are really very subjective.

In Miami Beach when they closed hotels and short-term rentals, they left liquor stores open, acknowledging that a glass of wine at the end of a day working remotely at home with kids tugging at your sleeve was an essential. A deep tissue massage may sound like the least essential treatment imaginable, but for the man with a bad back, it may be the only thing that allows him to stand up straight.

Social distancing must be practiced if we are to win this war against a pandemic that has taken more than 19,000 lives around the globe, but please, let us be careful and sensitive

THERE was little resistance when Dr Minnis announced a shutdown of schools, public gatherings and non-essential business to the subjective nature of what we consider essential services. One man or woman’s non-essential service may be another’s must.

We are not fighting just one war here, we are facing a second that stares us in the face when we see an empty

LPIA, the fight for our economic survival.

Suppose we designated certain businesses as ‘essential’ for a given day, allowing them to open on a rotating basis maintaining that six-foot separation in line. So, if

PARASKEVIDEKATRIAPHOBIA... READ THIS TO FIND OUT WHAT IT MEANS IT WAS less than two weeks ago when The Tribune’s Page One sidebar headline was about The Bahamas Christian Council’s view on medicinal cannabis and the photo on the front page was the couple whose case against Sandals Royal Bahamian was dismissed.

The threat of coronavirus or

COVID-19 has galvanised us and consumed our attention like nothing before, not even Dorian. This month alone, we nearly overlooked Friday the 13th, though the case against that date is so far-fetched, it could probably do with a dismissal as well.

By the way, there is a phobia for

those who do suffer a fear of the date which occurs, on average, twice a year. It’s called paraskevidekatriaphobia. We even overlooked St Patrick’s Day on the 17th. And now there is a mythical March Madness.

How fast the world and the headlines change when we are all so interconnected.

the lockdown does continue through April as has been suggested, all landscaping, plant businesses and farmer’s markets could open on a Monday, for instance, and paint, hardware and home stores could open on a Tuesday and so on, giving everyone access to what they may consider essential goods or services while generating a modicum of economic activity.

The underlying premise would remain – no crowds nor public events allowed, but moderate business with social distancing generating physically modified economic activity, including so many people in any given space at any given time. Such an option would allow every Bahamian and resident to exercise extreme care, with stores continuing to observe separation techniques for distancing without another month of abiding by a predetermined set of essential services.

Keeping the country healthy on both fronts is something each of us can do in our own way and all of us can and must do together.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, March 27, 2020, PAGE 9

UK UNVEILS HELP FOR 5M SELF-EMPLOYED

EU LEADERS BATTLE ON ALL FRONTS

LONDON Associated Press

BRUSSELS Associated Press EUROPEAN Union leaders were holding their third summit in three weeks yesterday as they battle to contain the spread of the coronavirus and its devastating health impact while managing the havoc the disease is wreaking on their 27 economies.

To help coordinate the actions of the 27 countries that make up the world’s biggest trading bloc, the European Commission — guardian of the EU’s rule books — has permitted unprecedented border and economic measures so that embattled member countries can save supply chains and businesses.

But while the leaders, holding talks by video conference, all acknowledge the extent of the crisis, they are divided over whether to use every economic tool at their disposal now, or keep something in reserve should a second wave of infections start.

“We need to recognise the severity of the situation and the necessity for further action to buttress our economies today, in order to put them in the best condition for a rapid recovery tomorrow,” the leaders of nine countries said on the eve of the talks.

TOP: doctors work on a COVID-19 patient in northern Italy; above: Staff pray before joining their shift outside a hospital in Pakistan; left: An ill crew member from the Costa cruise ship Favolosa is brought ashore in Miami; right: A soldier disinfects a wagon in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

World paying high price for lockdown Associated Press THE human and economic toll of the lockdowns against the coronavirus mounted yesterday as India struggled to feed the multitudes and Italy shut down most of its industry.

As the number of infections worldwide reached a half-million and deaths climbed past 23,000, the damage to people’s livelihoods and their well-being from the effort to flatten the rising curve started to come into focus.

In India, where the country’s 1.3 billion people were under orders to stay home, legions of poor were suddenly thrown out of work, and many families were left struggling for something to eat.

“Our first concern is food, not the virus,” said Suresh Kumar, 60, a bicycle rickshaw rider in New Delhi whose family of six relies on his daily earnings of 300 rupees, or $4. “I don’t know how I will manage.”

India has the world’s second-highest number of people living in extreme poverty. Rickshaw drivers, produce peddlers, maids, day laborers and other low-wage workers form the backbone of the economy, and many live day to day on their pay and have no savings to fall back on.

The Indian government

announced a $22 billion economic stimulus package that will deliver monthly rations of grain and lentils to a staggering 800 million people.

Around the globe, the death toll rose to about 8,200 in Italy, 4,100 in Spain and 1,700 in France, including a 16-year-old. From New York’s Fifth Avenue and London’s Piccadilly Circus to the boulevards of Paris and the streets of Rome and Madrid, restaurants, hotels, airlines, giant chains and small shops are all shuttered, and factories across both continents have ground to a halt, as cities, states and entire countries have ordered the closing of nonessential businesses and instructed people to stay home.

Companies in Europe are laying off workers at the fastest pace since 2009, according to surveys of business managers.

Italy, the eurozone’s third-biggest economy and a major exporter of machinery, textiles and other goods, became perhaps the first Western developed nation to idle most of its industry, extending a shutdown on smaller, nonessential businesses to heavy manufacturers.

Among the companies in Italy that have shut down or rolled back production: Fiat Chrysler, Ferrari, Pirelli tires and Luxottica

eyewear, maker of RayBans and Oakleys.

The industrial lobby Confindustria estimates a cost of $77 billion-$110 billion of national wealth a month if 70% of companies are closed, as anticipated.

“We are entering a war economy,’’ said Confindustria President Vincenzo Boccia.

Elsewhere around the world, South Africa, with the most industrialized economy in Africa, headed into a three-week lockdown starting today. The country is already in recession, with an unemployment rate of 29%.

Also, Canada has told the Trump administration that a proposal to put troops at the US-Canada border amid the pandemic is entirely unnecessary and would damage relations between the two longtime allies.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government has been in discussions with the White House about convincing the US not to do it. “Canada and the United States have the longest un-militarized border in the world and it is very much in both of our interests for it to remain that way,” Trudeau said.

Trump said the US has troops at the border but then said he would need to find out about that. He then

VIRUS SURGE TAKES US TO NO 1 FOR INFECTED from page one about certain counties in the Midwest that appear to be seeing a rapid increase in cases. She listed two: Wayne County in Michigan and Cook County in Illinois.

Montana joined the growing list of U.S. states ordering residents to stay home to fight the virus’ spread.

In other developments: __ In New York, the state’s death toll jumped by 100 in one day, pushing the number to 385, Gov.

Andrew Cuomo said. He added that experts expect the number to increase as critically ill patients who have been on ventilators for several days succumb to the virus. “That is a situation where people just deteriorate over time,” Cuomo said.

• China said it is temporarily barring most foreigners from entering as it tries to curb imported cases. Reports of new infections from inside the country have stopped.

• In the Mideast, Saudi Arabia announced a total lockdown on the capital,

Riyadh, and Islam’s two holiest cities, Mecca and Medina, in addition to a nationwide curfew. In the United Arab Emirates, authorities announced an overnight weekend lockdown and used drones to tell people to stay home.

• In Brazil, the country’s governors are defying President Jair Bolsonaro over his call to reopen schools and businesses, dismissing his argument that the “cure” of widespread shutdowns is worse than the disease. As of Thursday, the country had more than 2,500 cases and 59 deaths.

suggested he would deploy troops along the Canadian border to match what is being done at the Mexican border. “I guess it’s equal justice to a certain extent,” Trump said. “We have a lot of things coming in from Canada, we have trade, some illegal trade, that we don’t like.”

The president mentioned steel in particular,

suggesting troops could prevent steel dumping.

The US military does not play any role in policing steel shipments. And the US has not sent troops to the border to police the mutual closing of that border to non-essential, non-commercial traffic. The border is controlled on both sides by non-military entry stations.

THE British government unveiled another massive income support scheme yesterday, this time for the five million-or-so selfemployed people, many of whom face financial ruin from the shock of the coronavirus pandemic.

Treasury chief Rishi Sunak said the SelfEmployed Income Support Scheme will replicate the one he announced last week for workers that firms retain rather than lay off.

However, the money to the self-employed won’t be paid out until June, a delay that’s prompted concerns about how many will make ends meet in the intervening period.

Sunak said the government’s overall package of support is “one of the most significant economic interventions in the history of the British state.”

Since last week’s announcement to help those on the payroll, many self-employed people, such as cleaners, electricians and hairdressers, have been fretting about their financial futures in addition to their health.

Those concerns ratcheted higher on Monday when Prime Minister Boris Johnson effectively shut down much of the economy and imposed severe restrictions on people’s movements in a heightened effort to deal with the coronavirus.

“You haven’t been forgotten, we will not leave you behind, we’re all in this together,” Sunak told a virtual press briefing.

Sunak was speaking as government figures emerged showing that 578 people in Britain had died after testing positive for COVID-19, up 115 from the day before.

Sunak said the government will pay selfemployed people adversely affected by the outbreak a taxable grant worth 80% of their average monthly profits over the past three years, up to $2,975 per month. The total cost is expected to be around $10.7 billion if it only lasts for its anticipated threemonth duration.

PAGE 12, Friday, March 27, 2020

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SPORTS SECTION A

FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2020

‘I want to compete at the next Olympics’

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

B

ahamian amateur boxer Carl Hield said he’s still looking forward to continuing his long and illustrious career despite the postponement of the 2020 Olympic Games until 2021.

The 32-year-old welterweight is the country’s top amateur boxer, who was preparing to make his first Bahamas team for the Olympic Games that was scheduled for July 24 to August 9 in Tokyo, Japan. But this week, the International Olympic Committee announced that they will postpone the Games until next year.

“I at the point where I was getting ready to go and qualify for the Olympics,” said Hield in an interview with The Tribune from his training site at the East Tampa Boxing Gym in Tampa, Florida under the watchful eyes of coach Zach Campbell.

“All the gyms are closed, so you really can’t go out and train. You have to train from home. You have to do your skipping and shadow boxing there. It ain’t the same, but it should be for the better.”

In the lead up to the qualifying for the Olympics this year, Hield decided to move his training camp from Cuba to Florida where he said he was able to get in more workout sessions. But since the spread of the Covid-19 to the United States, he said all of the

boxing facilities have been shut down.

He said as a result of the Olympics being postponed until next year, he intends to continue his career at least for two more years.

“I will be training to compete at the next Olympics and the next World Championships in 2022 before I finish my career,” he pointed out. “I was going to stop after next year because they would have had the World Championships then.

“But because they are having the Olympics next year, they will have to push the World Championships back to 2022, so I will compete until then. I want to compete in the next World Championships after I missed the last one last year. So I want to compete at the next Olympics and the next World Championships before I call it quits.”

Hield, who is contemplating returning home when his career is completed to pass on his experience to the future amateur boxers as a coach, said he’s forced to remain confined to his residence in Tampa and train because of a lockdown in the USA. “You can only come out for about a hour to do your shopping and exercise,” he said. “Everything else, I have to do it at home because the gyms are all closed. I think once this virus passes over us, we will get the chance to compete in the qualifier, but that may not be until August or September or they might wait until next year.

CARL Hield “We are now into the third week where everything here is closed down. You can’t go to the gym to train because they are all closed.

We just have to wait and see what the outcome will be when everything is finished. The lockdown is supposed to be until about April 20 over here. So they can’t have a qualifier anytime soon.”

Hield said he’s grateful to the Bahamas Government for their support through the financial assistance from the Ministry of Youth Sports and Culture. As the only Bahamian amateur boxer on subvention, Hield said he continues to be the standard bearer for the sport and he hopes that he will be rewarded for his efforts.

“Everything right now is postponed until July or August because they want to be safe than sorry,” Hield said.

“I am just doing my sit-ups, push-ups and shadow boxing.

That’s all I can do. No coach can come in contact with you because everybody is concerned about the disease spreading.

“So while we are on a lockdown, we still have our hour to come out and do some light workout and shop. With the gyms all closed like the other sports like basketball and everything else, you have to stay at home and train. You have to do that until everything is cleared up so you can start training again.”

Before he’s done, Hield is hoping to add to his résumé which includes two appearances at the Commonwealth Games, first in New Delhi, India in 2010 where he got a bronze medal and then in 2006 in Melbourne, Australia where he lost out in the round of 32. He also participated in two World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan in 2011 and again in Milan, Italy in 2009, but he failed both times to get out of the round of 64. He came close to qualifying for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but missed out on the opportunity at the 2016 World Qualifying Event in Baku, Azerbaijan, along with five other competitors, including Rashield Williams, Davon Hamilton, Israel Johnson, Keishno Major and Rudolph Regis.

Darling Jr making his presence felt on court

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net AFTER leaving the Bahamas as a two-sport athlete, Blaize Darling Jr has now found his niche and is making his presence felt as a basketball player.

Darling Jr, 18, just completed his 2019/2020 season with the Pro Holmes Sports Academy (PHSA) in Tampa, Florida and now that has helped him to secure a full four-year athletic scholarship to compete for the Warner University Royals in Lake Wales, Florida.

When asked why he settled on Warner University after he received a number of offers from colleges and universities in the United States, Darling Jr said he wanted to be a part of a basketball programme that needed him and he could make an instant impact.

Additionally, he said the Warner Royals men’s basketball head coach Sean Hanrahan tweeted that Darling Jr was “A Great Fit,” while his Pro Holmes Sports Academy’s coach Aaron Holmes tweeted: “Very happy and excited

for you @blaize_242. You earned it. You are the definition of a character guy. It’s been an honour and a pleasure to coach you the last few months.”

As he prepares for his collegiate freshman season in August, Darling Jr said he has already been told by Hanrahan that he’s expected to come in and be a “team leader on an off the court, whether that is passing the ball or taking control of the game.”

Darling Jr, who also likes the fact that he will remain close to home, said he will now spend the summer working on his strength and conditioning in Orlando, Florida. “When I get to the next level, I hope it can be a game changer,” said Darling, an 18-year-old 6-foot, 3-inch guard. “I hope Pro Holmes has really prepared me to go to college and if I had to do it all over again, I would have preferred to go the same route that I did, doing it after high school before I went to college.

“It was a really good decision considering that I was a bit young.

I got a lot of exposure knowing that a lot of colleges had expressed

BLAIZE Darling interest in me. So it was a really good decision that I got me to my goal, which is to play college basketball.”

Thanking God for giving him the ability, Darling Jr said he could not have done it without the support of his parents, Daphne and Baize Darling Sr, his coaches, team-mates, family and friends, who all encouraged him to keep a

positive attitude in everything he did.

Darling Jr had an opportunity to also run track and field, but he said he decided to stick with basketball because it was what initially got him started on his journey when he went to the United States.

And with the USA drastically affected by the spreading of the coronavirus pandemic, Darling Jr said he’s taking the necessary precautions as prescribed by the authorities.

“I’m not worried at all because God has all of our backs and he is in control,” he said. “Whatever is his will shall pass.”

Like every other student, Darling Jr is waiting out the process before the all-clear is given and he can get ready for college in August. “I’m going to be doing a lot of high level training and studying the sport so that I can be ready for college,” he said.

“I just want to sharpen my skills so that I can be ready to play when I go to Warner. I want to be ready to go to the next level. I want everybody to watch because I’m about to do something spectacular.”

BURROWS SR FIRST BAHAMIAN ABLE TO CALL COLLEGIATE BASEBALL GAMES

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net MARTIN ‘Pork’ Burrows Sr added another accolade to his résumé as he has now become the first Bahamian to be able to officiate at collegiate baseball games.

Over the weekend in Palm Beach County, Florida, Burrows Sr completed a successful course in the 2020 CBUAO Florida Camp, which was a CBUAO Umpires Mechanics Training.

He noted that after spending the week in daily training sessions, he passed the course in “flying colours.”

“It went very well, some very long hours every morning from 7:30am until about 9:30 at night,”

WNBA, PG 15

said Burrows Sr on his return home. “We did our training sessions on and off the field and then we participated in live games to evaluate our ability to officiate games.”

Burrows Sr, who turns 55 this year, was one of 24 candidates from around the world, including the US, Puerto Rico and Europe, who participated in the course

by CBUAO, known as the College Baseball Umpires Assigners Organisation.

Surpassing the achievements of his mentor, the late Arthur ‘Old Art’ Thompson Sr, Burrows Sr said now that he’s a certified collegiate baseball umpire, he will work on getting a few other Bahamians to follow in his footsteps.

“I hope I can get somebody else

MARTIN ‘Pork’ Burrows Sr

to be able to sit the course so that they can officiate at college as well,” said Burrows Sr, who in the meantime is just waiting on CBUAO to call him to report to a venue to begin officiating at a college game, be it NCAA division one, II or III. For Burrows Sr, the highlight of the week was to hear the praise and adoration that he received from Nick Zibelli, the president of CBUAO. “He was very impressed with what I did,” he said.

During the course, Burrows Sr said they were affected by the spreading of the global pandemic as one of the colleges pulled their team off the field and stopped playing. But he said they were still able to get some work in as they officiated a game between

IOC DECLINES TO BLAME OLYMPIC BOXING EVENT FOR VIRUS CASES LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The IOC said yesterday it is “not aware of any link” between an Olympic boxing tournament it oversaw in London this month and positive coronavirus tests for people who were there.

The Turkish boxing federation said a boxer and a trainer now have the virus after attending the Olympic qualifying tournament, which was stopped on March 16 after three of the scheduled 11 days.

In a statement, the International Olympic Committee said it was “not possible to know the source of infection.”

“Many participants were in independently organised training camps in Italy, Britain and in their home countries before the competition started on March 14 and have returned home a while ago,” the Olympic body said.

Responsibility for Olympic boxing was taken over by the IOC last year when it suspended governing body AIBA. A task force was appointed to organise a global series of qualifying tournaments with London hosting the European round.

The IOC also pointed to the British government’s role in allowing the boxing tournament to start.

“At the time of the European qualifier in London, there were many sports and other events going on in Britain because there were no governmental restrictions or advice on public events in place,” the IOC said.

In that same week, Liverpool hosted a Champions League game and a marquee horse racing meeting went ahead at Cheltenham.

“The (boxing) event was suspended when the COVID-19 situation developed further,” said the IOC, noting “precautionary measures” were in place in London.

No fans attended the last day of bouts.

The Olympic task force expressed “sympathy for the affected athletes and officials and wishes them a very speedy and full recovery.”

The Turkish team said boxer Serhat Guler and trainer Seyfullah Dumlupinar tested positive for the coronavirus after returning from London. They spent eight days in England at a training camp before travelling to London.

All team members stayed at the same hotel and were quarantined when they returned to Turkey.

The federation said Guler and Dumlupinar are being treated in the hospital. Two other boxers who complained of high fever are awaiting the results of their tests.

the Boston Red Sox minor league team and a visiting team from Canada. “So we had some pick up games as we continued our training,” Burrows Sr said.

Burrows Sr can now boast of officiating at the Carl Ripkin Tournament, a division of the Babe Ruth Little League, last year and he’s certified for college baseball. The only thing left is for him to get certified to officiate at the semi and professional baseball level.

“I hope to go back to the Carl Ripkin Tournament in August,” he said. “But for me to officiate at the semi or pro level, I will have to go into a training programme for about three to six months. So as soon as a course is available, I hope to go to it.”

PAGE 14, Friday, March 27, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Dwight Coleby ‘holding up well’ in Italy

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net ITALY has been one of the countries hardest hit by the Coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic and Bahamian pro basketball player Dwight Coleby remained in the country as his Lega Basket Serie A was suspended amid the nationwide lockdown.

The US reported more than 82,400 COVID-19 cases as Italy’s death toll surged past 8,000 up to press time last night.

Coleby is a member of perennial league contender Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari and, like the rest of the country, has been under a nationwide quarantine since March 9 to prevent the spread of the disease.

“I am holding up well, watching how I’m eating and working out twice a day. I wake up early every day. It doesn’t matter if I go to sleep late or not. It just depends.

I don’t sleep that much,” he said in an interview with the Kansas Star.

“I get up, go work out, do some running in the parking lot, come back and try to eat some food, cook food. I try to watch basketball, watch movies, try to cook more food later on, get another workout in. I watch something, read something, try to do something.”

Coleby’s last game was on March 10 when he scored 11 points in a loss to San Pablo Inmobiliaria Miraflores Burgos in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced that all shops except food stores and pharmacies as well as large gatherings have been closed or cancelled and restrictions tightened.

“Everything is fine here. Everything feels normal for me, staying inside the house,” Coleby said.

“Everything is good. It’s not like I’m seeing sick people or dead people around me. It’s not like that.”

The Serie A championship, as well as all other sporting competitions, have been indefinitely suspended, per government regulations.

Coleby and most of his teammates reside at the same apartment complex. The club delivers groceries and supplies to the players on demand while the lockdown is in effect.

“We try to talk, but it’s at a distance. We don’t get close to each other. I do my stuff when no one is out there, basically. Every time there are empty streets, empty.

Nobody is moving too much.

They are staying inside. You’ve got people outside sometimes,” Coleby said.

DWIGHT COLEBY “I think it could be everyone is taking it seriously over here and staying indoors. I don’t see any cars from the distance. You see people staying inside, sometimes on the balconies.”

In February, Coleby joined Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari of Italy’s Lega Basket Serie A for the remainder of the season.

The club is the current European

Cup Champions. Coleby is with his third team in as many seasons and was averaging 11.5 points and a team leading 8.5 rebounds for Sigortam.net ITU in Turkey’s BSL League.

He previously spent the pre-season with Kalev/Cramo (KML) in Estonian league.

Coleby spent a portion of last season alongside his brothern Kadeem with the Akita Northern Happinets in the Japanese B-League following a short stint in Belgium with Liege Basket in Belgium’s Pro Basketball League (PBL). He played collegiate basketball at Ole Miss, Kansas and finished at Western Kentucky.

At this point, Coleby’s plan is to remain inside but to heed the advisement of the government and health care professionals.

“If we start to practice, I’ll go to practice. At the rate it’s going now (with numbers of infection and deaths), I don’t know about that happening. I think they still want the season to play on. It (season) ends in April.”

He said: “My advice is stay calm and obey the rules. If they say stay inside, don’t go out and touch people. It (social distancing) helps a lot. Some people are slow to the fact it is a serious virus and don’t take it seriously. See all the numbers. See the deaths.”

BAHAMIAN GARVIN CLARKE NAMED LEAGUE CO-PLAYER OF THE YEAR

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net GARVIN Clarke’s offseason began with several regional awards as the senior point guard was recognised for a standout year in Cleveland, Ohio.

He was named the Lake Eerie League Co-Player of the Year, Third-Team All-Ohio and Northeast Lakes All-District Division I First-Team by members of the Ohio Prep Sports Writers Association when the organisations announced their postseason awards.

In his lone season with the Cleveland Heights Tigers, Clarke averaged 15 points per game. The Tigers eventually advanced to the

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Euclid District semi-final where they were eliminated in a 49-44 loss to Brush. Clarke finished with 15 points in the season finale.

Clarke is already a verbal commit to an “in-state” programme, the Akron Zips, as he prepares to make his transition to the NCAA Division I level next season.

It was a year of ebbs and flows for Clarke and Cleveland Heights in a season where they were temporarily banned from Ohio High School Athletic Association postseason play.

The Tigers were reinstated to the Ohio state tournament by Cuyahoga Country Judge John Russo after an appeal to the ban was filed by the players’ parents against the OHSAA.

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The OHSAA originally deemed the Tigers ineligible for a violation of Bylaw 9-2-1 when they travelled to a showcase in Las Vegas last December.

Once reinstated, Clarke scored 13 points in the Tigers’ 82-46 win over Madison in the quarter-final before the aforementioned loss to Brush.

Clarke completed his prep career with the Cleveland Heights Tigers after spending his previous seasons with the Euclid Panthers, both in Cleveland, Ohio.

He was listed as a two or threestar recruit by several recruiting services and previously received Division I offers from Buffalo, Cleveland State, Florida A&M and Youngstown State, according to cleveland.com.

JOSHUA DAMES GETS OFFER FROM THE BULLDOGS

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net JOSHUA Dames has begun to garner attention from major Division I basketball programmes and received his first offer of what is expected to be an active recruiting process.

Dames was officially offered by the University of South Carolina State Bulldogs. The Bulldogs compete in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and finished last season at 11-18, culminating with a first round loss in the conference tournament.

The Grand Bahama native has impressed in his senior season with the British Columbia Christian Prep Panthers, averaging 18 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.8 steals and two assists per game while shooting 63 per cent from the field and 34 per cent from three-point range. Dames scored more than 30 points in at least eight games and had six games with at least six three pointers.

“In terms of basketball its been a tremendous year for me. Me coming to BC Christian Academy has been just a great experience for me and my family. It has helped me to take my basketball game to just a totally different level. Knowing how to use my emotion, being a composed basketball player, and being able to compete at the highest level has been tremendous for me,” Dames said.

“I’m blessed to receive my first offer at the start of recruiting season and its just really been an awesome and blessed year.”

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Friday, March 27, 2020, PAGE 15

WNBA Draft will be virtual event as a result of pandemic

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA draft will be a virtual event this year.

The league announced yesterday that its draft will still be held April 17 as originally scheduled, but without players, fans or media in attendance due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“The WNBA draft is a time to celebrate the exceptional athletes whose hard work and dreams are realised with their selections in the draft,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said. “Safeguarding the health and well-being of our prospects, players, employees, and everyone connected to our game as well as the general public is paramount.”

Logistics of the draft are still being worked out with ESPN although Engelbert confirmed she would announce the picks that night on the league’s broadcast partner’s network. She just isn’t sure where she’ll be doing it from; it could be her house, the league offices or another location.

The New York Liberty have the No. 1 pick and are expected to draft Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu, who won the AP women’s college basketball player of the year earlier this week.

The commissioner, who is beginning her first full season this year after starting the job midway through last year, said that the league will honour Alyssa Altobelli, Gianna Bryant and Payton Chester at the draft. The teenagers were among the nine people who died in the helicopter accident on January 26, including Kobe Bryant. Engelbert said the league also plans to honour the former NBA star at the draft and during the upcoming season.

The virtual draft is the only certainty Engelbert has about the upcoming season that is scheduled to begin on May 15.

She said the league has discussed a variety of scenarios that are contingent on the pandemic. Two WNBA cities are major hot spots for the virus: New York and Seattle. The Las Vegas casino where the Aces play is shut down as is the Connecticut Sun’s home arena. “There are a myriad of logistics involved from the start of training camp to the tip of season,” Engelbert said. “Always the main guiding principle is the health of the players, fans and employees. We are not taking any scenario of the season off the table, including the tip of the season on May 15.”

While it seems unlikely at this time the league will

start on May 15 because of the virus, Engelbert did say that the WNBA could begin its season before the NBA or other sports leagues resume.

“A league of our size and scale is smaller than other big leagues,” she said. “We might be able to tip this season off before some other leagues since we only have 12 teams and 144 players.”

The postponement of the 2020 Olympics also gives the WNBA some flexibility with its schedule, if the season doesn’t start on time. The league was going to go on month-long hiatus starting July 10 to allow players to participate in the Tokyo Games.

“We were already scenario planning around what our season would look like if we played games during our month hiatus,” she said. “We have an advantage here to use that time. We’re already looking at arena availability and how to get broadcasts of our game in that period.”

Engelbert is also exploring a host of other possibilities.

“Every day brings new information, we’re not locking in, taking anything off the table,” the commissioner said. “It’s premature to do that. We’re following the direction of public officials, state, local.”

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert speaks at a news conference.

The WNBA announced yesterday that its draft will still be held April 17 as originally scheduled, but without players, fans or media in attendance due to the coronavirus pandemic.

(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

PAGE 16, Friday, March 27, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

TOKYO OLYMPICS: LOOKING FOR A NEW DATE FOR OPENING, CLOSING

By STEPHEN WADE AP Sports Writer

TOKYO (AP) — The Tokyo Olympics need new dates for the opening and

closing ceremonies in 2021.

Nothing much can get done until those dates are

worked out by the International Olympic Committee, the Japanese government and Tokyo organisers.

“We must decide this soon, otherwise it will be hard to decide on other things to follow,” Toshiro Muto, the CEO of the organising committee, told his 30 senior directors — all men but one — seated in a large meeting room yesterday.

Two days after the unprecedented postponement was announced, the group gathered for the first meeting of what is being called the “Tokyo 2020 New Launch Task Force.” They must put the Olympics back together after they were torn apart by the coronavirus pandemic.

Muto and the president of the organising committee, Yoshiro Mori, each gave pep speeches. Mori, an 82-year-old former Japanese prime minister, drew on war memories from his youth to summon the resolve to redo in a few months what was seven years in the planning.

He talked of his father going “to the war in the Pacific” and leaving a rugby ball and a baseball glove behind for his young son.

“I’m sorry, I’m an old person and I talk about the old days,” Mori said.

“I’m comparing this to the old days and I might be criticised by the media.

However, this is the emotion I have inside me and this is the emotion I have as we face the predicament in front of us.”

Muto ran off a condensed string of issues to be resolved: ticketing, security, venues, merchandise, accommodation, the Athletes Village, transportation

TOKYO 2020 Organizing Committee President Yoshiro Mori arrives for the first meeting of the “Tokyo 2020 New Launch Task Force” in Tokyo yesterday, two days after the unprecedented postponement was announced due to the spreading coronavirus.

(AP Photo/Koji Sasahara) and lining up unpaid volunteers. He added he was looking at “thousands of contracts” and the interests of broadcasters, sponsors, the IOC, world sports federations and national Olympic committees.

“I didn’t imagine at all we’d be tested to this degree,” he acknowledged.

He also voiced another reality.

“Additional expenses are going to be quite massive we assume,” Muto said.

The Japanese financial newspaper Nikkei has estimated added costs due to the delay of $2.7 billion.

This would go on top of an official budget of $12.6 billion.

A Japanese national audit agency, however, says the actual amount of spending is about twice that size.

IOC President Thomas Bach said Wednesday that “all options are on the table” for new dates.

He said next year’s Olympics don’t have to be restricted to summer in the

Northern Hemisphere and might occur sooner.

Two of the marquee Olympic events — track and swimming — have already scheduled their own world championships for July and August of 2021.

If the Olympics are moved into spring, when it’s cooler in Tokyo, they clash with the end of the European soccer season. In North America, they would bump into Major League Baseball, NBA basketball, NHL hockey and possibly even college basketball.

That’s assuming normal sports schedules resume by then.

“The postponed Olympic Games will need sacrifices,” Bach said.

Hidemasa Nakamura, the games delivery officer, was pressed again on dates.

“That’s something we haven’t decided on yet,” he said. “We have no idea when we will be able to finalise the dates. We don’t have a fixed plan how to proceed from here.”

Record-setting Olympians stretch careers for 2021

By JAMES ELLINGWORTH AP Sports Writer DÜSSELDORF, Germany (AP) — Even if it takes an extra year, Nino Salukvadze will still be aiming for an Olympic

record.

The Georgian shooter has competed at every Olympics since 1988, where she won a gold medal for the Soviet Union.

At the Tokyo Olympics — now postponed until 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic — she will set a women’s record of nine appearances.

She’s happy to wait for it.

“We’re restructuring my training and there’s nothing terrible about that.

The main thing is health,” Salukvadze told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from her home in the South Caucasus nation.

Salukvadze is one of a host of Olympic veterans taking the extra year in stride. There’s also 37-yearold American hurdler Lolo Jones, who is hoping to return to the track in Tokyo, and Uzbek gymnast Oksana Chusovitina, who has qualified for her eighth Olympics — breaking her own record in the sport.

Chusovitina has considered retirement before but chose to carry on. This time around, the 1992 gold medallist said Tokyo will be her last Olympics.

“It’s already good that they have postponed. Everything will calm down and everything will be fine, and I think then the Olympics will go ahead as normal,” said the 44-year-old Chusovitina, who is training in restricted conditions because of the virus outbreak. “I want to compete in Tokyo and retire.”

Chusovitina said Uzbek officials sent her home from a training centre after the Olympics were postponed, leaving her to spend unexpected downtime with her husband and dogs.

It’s a rare quiet point in her uniquely long-running gymnastics career. Chusovitina has been competing at elite level since the 1980s, long before most other current gymnasts were born.

Salukvadze hasn’t set a date for retirement, but said each Olympic cycle is tougher than the last. Experience is a strength, though.

“The physical burden is one thing, but the psychological side plays a big role,” she said.

The delay caused by the outbreak may even

be a boost to the 51-yearold Salukvadze’s hopes of adding to her career tally of one gold, one silver and one bronze in shooting.

She had eye surgery in December and needs time to adapt to the change.

For now, she is in limited fitness and air pistol training at home with her son Tsotne Machavariani, a shooter who competed at his first Olympics in 2016.

They’re in isolation for 14 days after returning home from neighbouring Azerbaijan and are passing the time with table tennis.

Salukvadze secured a qualifying spot in 2019 and the International Shooting Sport Federation told the AP on Wednesday it will confirm already-qualified athletes despite the postponement. When the Tokyo Olympics happen — no new date has been selected — Salukvadze will pull ahead of the two other eight-time female Olympians with whom she shares the record.

German-Italian canoeist Josefa Idem retired after the 2012 Olympics and Canadian rowing cox Lesley Thompson-Willie moved into coaching since her last Olympic appearance in 2016.

The all-time record holder, male or female, is 73-year-old Canadian show jumper Ian Millar, who competed at 10 Olympics between 1972 and 2012. He retired last year.

Salukvadze’s long Olympic career has come despite many hardships.

In 1992, she competed shortly after the Soviet Union had fractured and her home state of Georgia was sliding into conflict. She reached the 1996 Atlanta Games despite economic turmoil.

During the 2008 Olympics, Georgia was at war with neighbouring Russia, and Salukvadze embraced a Russian competitor on the podium in a call for peace.

But the memories of tough times are memories of hope, too.

“There was war. There was hunger. We lived without light or gas. In the 1990s, we lived through worse than this with the coronavirus.”