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JAB OR JOB?

Workers warned the right to shun vaccine could be very costly

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIANS are endangering their jobs, incomes and families through resistance to taking the COVID-19 vaccine, a senior tourism official warned yesterday in urging: “Step up to the plate and get it done.”

Kerry Fountain, the Out Islands Promotion Board’s executive director, told Tribune Business that the economy’s post-pandemic rebound and international competitiveness could be threatened if persons became

By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net

NEW infections during the county’s third wave of COVID-19 are driven by international travel and a relaxed adherence to current health protocols, a health official said.

After nine new cases were recorded on Monday, the country’s overall infection toll reached 9,800.

Dr Mercelene DahlRegis, chairperson of the National COVID19 Vaccine Consultative

SEE PAGE EIGHT

PROBE INTO DETAINEE’S RAPE CLAIM

too focused on the debate over companies seeking to make vaccination mandatory for their employees.

Warning workers could undermine their employers and, ultimately, their own livelihoods by refusing to become inoculated without good reason, Mr Fountain said Bahamians needed to choose between economic revival and returning to preCOVID living standards or “going back on the employment line” - and pointed to other destinations such as Alaska, which is providing the vaccine to all visitors.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

VIRUS VARIANTS ARE CAUSE FOR CONCERN

Committee, explained the increase in cases at a press conference yesterday.

“New infections are being driven by international travel and a relaxed adherence to the health guidelines,” she said.

“The emergence of variant strains of COVID-19 is of significant concern.

There is a shift to the left with the age distribution of COVID-19 deaths, showing proportionate younger people are dying when compared to the profile of the earlier surge.

SEE PAGE FOUR

LEARN THE FACTS ABOUT VACCINE - I HOPE YOU TAKE IT

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

A WOMAN was allegedly raped while detained at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre, sparking an investigation into the claim by the Department of Immigration.

Given the nature of the allegation, the department and the Royal Bahamas Police Force have started to delve into what is said to have taken place, according to a high-level official yesterday.

SEE PAGE THREE

‘RECKLESS’ POSTS ON MASSACRE

THROW AWAY THE KEY

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

IN this image from video, former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin is handcuffed after he was found guilty on all counts yesterday for the 2020 death of George Floyd. See page ten for the full story.

OFFICERS’ ORDEAL IN DORIAN RECOVERY

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A CRIME scene investigator testified in the Coroner’s Court yesterday how he and a team of officers retrieved numerous bodies of victims who were trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings after Hurricane Dorian in 2019.

Police Sergeant Austin Bowles said he and a team of officers from the Central Detective Unit and Crime

SOME of the damage in Abaco after Hurricane Dorian.

Scene Investigation Unit were sent to Abaco to assist with recovery efforts after the monster storm hit the island, flattening homes and buildings.

His comments came during a Coroner’s Court inquest before Coroner Jeannine Weech-Gomez into the presumed deaths of people reported missing after Hurricane Dorian.

Sgt Bowles said the officers were given specific instructions as it relates to Dorian recovery efforts, though he did not detail what those orders included during yesterday’s inquest.

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE THREE

NATIONAL Security Minister Marvin Dames says he’s disturbed by social media reports naming police officers as responsible for the murders of six men last week and cautioned the public against spreading unsubstantiated claims.

While Police Commissioner Paul Rolle has repeatedly said there is no evidence to suggest officers were involved in any way in the murders, photographs of five men believed to be officers along with voice notes blaming them for the incident have been making the rounds on social media.

SEE PAGE THREE

TECHNOLOGY THE FUTURE IS ELECTRIC AT NAGB

SEE PAGE NINE

PAGE 2, Wednesday, April 21, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Bag it... and help the Earth

This week, the Ministry of the Environment and Housing will host several activities to commemorate Earth Day, which is being celebrated worldwide under the theme “Restore our Earth”.

On Tuesday, ministry officials including Environmental Health Services Department Director Melony McKenzie and Royal Bahamas Police Force officers gave away reusable bags in the Coconut Grove area.

Haitian migrants arrested after turning school bus into home

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net THREE Haitian male migrants found in a school bus turned into a home on Abaco were arrested and pleaded guilty to illegal landing before the Magistrate’s Court.

The Immigration Department said in a press release yesterday the men were arraigned in court on the island before Magistrate Ancella Evans. Officials said the men had no legal status in the country and revealed while in custody that they entered the country by boat in December 2020.

“Upon conviction, migrants were ordered to remain in immigration custody for deportation having been fined $300 or in default of payment, serve one month at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services,” the release stated.

An official complaint was lodged with the department after a video spread on social media of a school bus turned into a dwelling home for suspected illegal migrants in the Dundas Town, Abaco, area.

In the video, a man who identified himself as “a member of the Dundas Town Town Committee”, noted a church service on April 18 was taking place right across from the vehicle, which was parked in an area on the side of the road.

He wanted to find out information about what was

IMAGES of the school bus turned into a shelter by three Haitian men, as circulated on social media. going on in the school bus and gave commentary as he walked over to the vehicle.

“Nobody seems to want to tell you what’s going on here, but when you can get a wrecker to bring a bus here, there is a problem,” he said in the video.

The footage captured a man pushing what appeared to be a mattress into a yellow school bus. The

man recording the video also claimed there was a septic tank next to the bus, panning to a large hole that had been dug, and said that “people are already living in it (the bus).”

A lady was seen inside the bus closing the door as the camera was on her.

Another man said: “That’s my property I buy.”

The department noted

that on April 19, a joint operation consisting of officers from the department’s Abaco district, the Royal Bahamas Police Force, and officials from the Departments of Housing and Environmental Health, led to the arrest and subsequent conviction of the three Haitians.

“An official complaint was lodged with the

department after a video made the rounds on social media of a school bus that had been converted into a dwelling home for suspected illegal migrants in the Dundas Town, Abaco area. The team investigated the complaint and found three males, later discovered to be Haitian migrants onboard the bus. The trio attempted to evade custody,

however, did not make good their escape.

“It is expected that the Departments of Housing and Environment Health, or any other relevant agency, pursue legal recourse for infractions of any other laws with respect to this initial report.”

Probed on the arrest and the crackdown on immigration issues, Immigration Minister Elsworth Johnson explained the rules in place that are being followed.

Mr Johnson noted: “We have laws and regulations that govern the immigration to and from The Bahamas and what they’re simply doing is following the rules and procedure always.

Nothing has changed.

“The immigration is stationed throughout The Bahamas and they’re required to do certain things.

So wherever they have reasonable suspicion to believe that someone is not here properly resident in The Bahamas they have the authority to go and address those issue and that’s just what they’re doing. So they’re not picking on anyone – it is what the law allows.

“What we not only suggest, but say to persons, if that you want to come to The Bahamas and you want to live in The Bahamas, there’s a procedure.

That procedure is designed to protect you so we know who’s here if something should happen to you the foreign affairs department can properly respond to

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, April 21, 2021, PAGE 3

Officers’ ordeal in PROBE INTO Dorian recovery DETAINEE’S

RAPE CLAIM

from page one He said bodies were retrieved from underneath homes, trailers, churches and in some instances debris — mostly confined to the Marsh Harbour area — and were later photographed.

He also said there were times when officers used heavy duty equipment like a tractor to remove debris in order to collect the bodies, noting such equipment was used to collect those victims found beneath a church’s wall.

Asked by Coroner Weech-Gomez what happened to bodies after they were collected, Sgt Bowles said officers wrote on each victim’s body bags the date on which they were found and their locations of discovery.

He said the bodies were subsequently placed in a trailer, which he described as a makeshift morgue, at the Marsh Harbour Clinic.

Speaking of his experience, Sgt Bowles described it as being “horrible”, adding that he has never been “exposed to anything like that” in his life despite being on the force for more than 15 years.

“Anything you saw on TV was a drop in the bucket compared to what you actually saw,” he said.

Sgt Nelson Bolton also gave emotional testimony via Zoom yesterday regarding his experience during the storm.

The officer, who currently lives on Abaco, recalled how he and other officers carried out several rescue and recovery efforts on the island, assisting more than 100 people whose homes or shelters were either badly damaged or completely destroyed.

Sgt Bolton said the officers began their search and rescue operations after seeing first-hand the destruction left by Dorian, including dead bodies.

He also recounted the horror stories that were told him by locals who lost their loved ones to the storm.

“I remember a friend of mine telling me how he was trying to hold onto his wife and daughter but whatever metal he was holding onto started to sever his finger but he lost his wife and daughter after the waves carried them.

“Their bodies were recovered on Don McKay Boulevard and they were placed in a refrigerator.”

Asked to describe Abaco before and after Dorian, Sgt Bolton replied: “There is no word to describe the total loss of Abaco.”

For her part, Carlene Edgecombe testified how she lost two daughters — Jendayia Edgecombe, 17, and Myeisha, eight — to the deadly storm that fatal summer.

The Tribune has previously reported how the two sisters were never seen alive again after the roof of a local church in which they had sought shelter along with their father had collapsed.

Yesterday, the Abaco resident broke down in tears on Zoom while recalling when she first received the

from page one

SOME of the damage in Marsh Harbour after Hurricane Dorian. news from her husband.

“I waited at the government complex for (several) days and was walking up and down and asking about my daughters,” she told the court.

“About three days in, I saw my husband and asked him where the girls and he shook his head and started crying and walked away.”

Mrs Edgecombe said the last time she laid eyes on her daughters were August 31, a day before the storm.

Despite reports from residents that the girls’ bodies were taken by the relevant authorities and placed in trailers, Mrs Edgecombe said she still has not seen their bodies.

She told the court she believed her daughters drowned.

Asked if she gave DNA samples to the police, Mrs Edgecombe replied: “Every time I been there, it was like police couldn’t get their act together, so I left and I been there twice.”

Police have positively identified 11 out of 47 DNA samples taken from victims who died during Hurricane Dorian almost two years ago, a forensic expert testified yesterday.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Sheria King said she and a team of officers along with a medical doctor travelled to Abaco on several occasions in the months following the storm to assist with DNA sampling and analytical work after a number of dead bodies were found on the island.

She told the court that by the end of January, the forensic lab received complete DNA profiles for 46 out of 47 samples that were submitted to an external lab for analysis.

ASP King is among dozens of people giving testimony this month for the Coroner Court’s inquest into the presumed deaths of people reported missing after Hurricane Dorian.

The senior police officer, who works in the police force’s Forensic Biology

Unit, said the samples taken from unidentified victims were later compared to the reference samples of relatives who gave DNA. She added that nine positive matches were made from the samples taken by family members.

Among them identified were Virginia Capron and Jillian Outten – who both lost their sons to the monster storm.

According to ASP King, a meeting was held last month with family members of unidentified victims to inform them of the results.

As it relates to the other two sample test results, she said they were identified as “first degree matches” or parent and child.

She continued that several samples have been received from unknown victims and family members, but have yet been sent to external labs, citing it as an “ongoing process.”

Police Inspector Altida Bowles also testified in court yesterday on the role she played in the DNA sampling process.

She explained how she assisted in recording statements and collecting DNA samples from several family members wanting to identify the bodies of their loved ones.

Asked by Coroner Jeannine WeechGomez how many family members she took statements from, Inspector Bowles was unable to say.

“I can’t say definitively how many family members because there were times when I would’ve taken statements from two to three different family members but at the end of the day there were 34 people were reported missing,” she said.

Dorian hit Abaco on September 1, 2019, as a Category Five storm.

The storm’s official death toll is 74, however many more people remain missing.

The inquest continues today.

FROM SPORTS LEADERS TO POLITICAL HOPEFULS

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE next elections will see a number of sports figures vying for constituencies.

Among the list are Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations president Drumeco Archer and Bahamas Basketball Federation president Mario Bowleg.

While Archer will be running for the FNM in Fort Charlotte, Bowleg will contest Garden Hills for the PLP. As a candidate, Archer said he’s eager to serve at the highest level, just as he did when he his G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time) team won the BAAA’s elections and he was ushered in as the new president.

“We’ve had other persons from organisations over the years, who would have had political involvement without any interference from its member federation,” said Archer, as he dispelled any suggestions he should resign as the BAAA’s president.

“Our constitution doesn’t preclude me from having personal ambitions, as long as it doesn’t affect the federation. I could hardly believe that any federation would be disenfranchised by any government, FNM, PLP, or DNA or otherwise.”

Archer is a former sprinter who graduated from St Augustine’s College before he earned his bachelor degree in economics

DRUMECO ARCHER

MARIO BOWLEG

at the University of Central Florida and his LLB from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados.

Archer, 49, a lawyer by profession, said he’s going full steam ahead with his campaign, just as he did when he went to the polls for the presidency of thed BAAA. “I pour myself into everything that I do. That is why I took this on,” he insisted.

“I am not your traditional politician. If I have a conviction and if I believe it makes sense, I will pour myself into it. This is no different.

“The country’s future is at stake and more importantly, the direction of young people’s lives is at stake. That is why I am doing this. I am doing this for the young people of our nation.”

He said he’s prepared to do whatever it takes to be the next MP for Fort Charlotte.

As a bipartisan organisation, Bowleg said he doesn’t

feel his nomination for the PLP will have any adverse effect on the BBF either.

“My decision was only made based on the present situation in the country and what needs to be done to uplift the youths and improve the sporting activities in the country,” Bowleg said.

Bowleg, a former player for the AF Adderley Fighting Tigers when they were a secondary high school competing in their own Hugh Campbell Basketball Classic, has moved to coach both the St Andrew’s Hurricanes and CC Sweeting Cobras senior boys’ basketball teams.

He also coached both the New Providence Women’s Basketball Association and the New Providence Basketball Association and on the BBF national team before he took over as the president.

“If you watched my tenure in anything and everything that I’ve done publicly, I would have always been in a position to train persons to take over,”

said Bowleg, a banker by profession.

“That trend continued.

I believe that the persons I am leaving behind in the federation, has the knowledge and understanding and commitment and ability to enhance what I would have left in place.”

Bowleg, however, said as he moves on to his next venture in life as his steps are “ordered by the Lord”, he doesn’t feel the need for him to resign from the BBF because his season “isn’t done yet” as he continues to make policies that benefit the sport.

“I don’t have any reservations about accepting the nomination. I will continue to be me and continue to do my part in the federation,” he insisted.

“I will continue to fight for the greater good of the people in this country and the youth of the nation as I have done over the past 25 years, I want to continue to see our youth grow and become productive citizens when we move off the scene.”

Aged 47, Bowleg said the campaign has been going quite well and he looks forward to the challenge.

“I’m quite confident and comfortable that the work that I’ve done and continue to do in the community and the country at large will continue to speak for me,” he stressed.

Bowleg said he’s just as confident that the people of Garden Hills will elect him as their next MP.

The Tribune was told the victim, a native of Suriname, was to be deported to her home country earlier this week, but immigration officials decided against it.

They want to ensure that the matter is investigated fully and properly, The Tribune was told.

It is unclear whether the alleged perpetrator was an immigration officer or a Royal Bahamas Defence Force officer. Both agencies carry out duties at the centre.

Yesterday, Immigration Minister Elsworth Johnson and Director of Immigration Clarence Russell did not respond to Tribune inquiries.

Rape allegations are not new to the Carmichael Road Detention Centre.

Back in 2013, it was alleged that a 24-year-old Cuban woman was raped and impregnated while at the holding facility.

However, it is not clear whatever became of the matter.

At the time, then Immigration Director William Pratt said that unless the alleged victim filed an official complaint, immigration officials would not be investigating the claim.

Mr Pratt said there was nothing his department could do because the victim had been deported to Cuba, but had not reported the alleged incident.

He added it was highly unlikely there would be any evidence to support claims after so much time had passed.

Mr Pratt said at the time: “If a rape report comes

to us, we normally would turn the matter over to the Royal Bahamas Police Force immediately. There is no report that any of my officers were involved, even if it was my officers or defence force officers, once the matter is reported it would be turned over to the Royal Bahamas Police Force for investigation. “[Immigration officers] are the administrators of the detention centre,” he also said at the time. “If a female lodged a complaint with the officer in charge, they would brief me on it and the matter would be handed over to the police.

We don’t take those charges lightly.”

A member of a Florida watchdog group, The Democracy Movement, made the rape claim against a RBDF officer at a press conference in Miami.

The next year a Jamaican woman, 28, claimed she had been sexually assaulted when she was released into the custody of an immigration officer on December 15, 2014.

While a criminal case into the matter was dismissed and the immigration officer was never convicted, the woman went on to file a civil suit against the government seeking damages for alleged battery, assault, false imprisonment and the breach of her constitutional rights.

In her claim, the woman describes a crowded and filthy detention centre with menstruating females left to bleed out on the floors and with no sanitary napkins or washing facilities.

The woman has sought at least $1m in damages.

That case has not yet concluded.

‘RECKLESS’ POSTS ON MASSACRE

from page one

Speaking to reporters yesterday, Mr Dames appealed to the public to be responsible as they use social media. He said the officers and their families should be taken into account.

“I had an opportunity to meet with him (the Commissioner) yesterday (Monday) and I am encouraged by the signs that I’m seeing with respect to their investigations and how they’re proceeding with the matter,” Mr Dames said outside Cabinet yesterday.

“Persons are just trying to investigate this matter by social media. I just want to warn members of the public that we must be careful as we go about the business of using social media and what we put on it and ensure that whatever is being put on social media is being put there responsibly.

“There has been some information circulated with respect to who may or may not have been responsible for the incident and names are being called with absolutely no factual information related to the matter.

“I just want to warn members of the public to be responsible. Now I know that there are certain individuals out there who are acting on behalf of others and it could cause problems.”

He continued: “You don’t want to call persons’ names when they are not connected with the matter because it is very difficult to bring that back and I am very concerned about that.

Sometimes it is persons who deem themselves upstanding citizens of this country.

“When you are making reckless statements and allegations regarding individuals and police officers especially.”

Last Thursday afternoon, Renardo Bastian, also known as “Crack Teeth”, Travis Cooper, Maurice Pinder, Kendal Lord, Delano Smith, and Dequant Brown were killed after the car they were in was riddled with bullets at the Jerome Avenue and Chesapeake

Road intersection.

They were approached by four gunmen who were said to be dressed all in black and armed with high powered weapons and handguns.

The killing came shortly after the men had been released from police custody for firearm possession.

A woman and two-yearold girl were also critically injured in the gun attack, but are said, although critical, to be in stable condition. Police suspect it was a gang related attack.

“Let’s leave the investigations up to police and let the police determine the outcome,” Mr Dames also said.

“If there are persons out there with information then they should forward that information to the police.

“Last week the Commissioner would have announced the opening up of an office at the Central Detective Unit for taking information from members of the public, but there are some individuals out there who seem to revel in chaos and there are others out there who use surrogates to put out false and erroneous information against others and this case involving where people are calling police officers names, it’s particularly disturbing to me especially when there are no facts to suggest.

“We need to take into account those officers and their families. I am proud of the Royal Bahamas Police Force and the work that they continue to do to keep us all safe.

“At the end of the day I am cognizant that from time to time there are some officers who go astray, but the vast majority of these officers in these agencies are upstanding citizens and we need to respect that and not be careless and reckless just in the name of advancing a cause or out there to cause problems. It bothers me.”

In a statement to The Tribune on Sunday, Commissioner Rolle said police were concerned about the “level of misinformation being perpetrated by persons making unsubstantiated assertions” regarding the case.

PAGE 4, Wednesday, April 21, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

VIRUS VARIANTS ARE CAUSE FOR CONCERN from page one

“New strains have been identified from the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa, and most recently from India. These variants spread more easily and are infecting younger age groups. The cases may be more severe.

And some countries are reporting more deaths are being recorded. We have been actively monitoring genomic testing.”

Dr Dahl-Regis said the rise in cases is not only due to international travel. The competent authority, she said, will give an update on revisions to current policies on travel due to the populace being inoculated.

“The increase in cases is not only due to international travel,” she said. “It is a combination of many factors. Some of it is due to relaxation of (preventative) behaviours. The parties, the social gatherings, not wearing masks at these gatherings are all contributing to the spread. So, it’s not only international travel.”

Asked if officials were considering introducing vaccinations as a requirement for travel in the future, she said: “The competent

authority will announce the various revisions or changes to the policy for travel.

“We are looking at all the options, given that we are an archipelago and some of our islands have gone almost 200 days without a case of COVID and should someone be fully vaccinated that policy is being considered and discussed and in a short time as we approach the second dose of vaccinations the competent authority will unveil whatever the new policy is. It is certainly being discussed.”

The variant strains are of serious concern, Dr DahlRegis said. She is calling for the inoculation programme to be accelerated.

“We must return to heightened surveillance and contact tracing if we are going to win this race in the shortest period of time,” she said. “At the same time, we have to accelerate the uptake in vaccines. The COVID19 vaccine provides you with the opportunity to develop an immune response to combat this infection.

“To help control the surge in new cases, we must test, isolate, trace, treat and vaccinate. Contact tracing

is being stepped up on New Providence, Grand Bahama and the Family Islands. All cases and contacts of cases must be identified to bring the spread of COVID-19 under control.”

She said this is not time to drop one’s guard and relax.

“Vaccination is a critical element in controlling the spread of COVID-19 and bringing an end to the pandemic,” she continued. “We are making progress. But our work is far from over.

To help slow the spread of the COVID-19 we must redouble our efforts. This is no time to relax.

“We must continue to practice the public health measures. Avoid large gatherings. Abide by the Emergency Orders. Wear your mask properly - over your nose and your mouth.

Keep a distance of six feet from others when you are out. Wash or sanitise your hands regularly. And when you are eligible, get vaccinated.”

She said the sooner the public gets vaccinated, the sooner the economy can be fully reopened.

There have been 194 deaths due to the virus with 24 under investigation. Forty-six people are in hospital.

TOTAL CASES

TOTAL DEATHS

9,800 194 NEWLY CONFIRMED CASES MONDAY 9 CASES NEW PROVIDENCE BIMINI & CAT CAY

TOTAL TESTS

82,713

8 1

HOSPITALISED

46

CASES IN ICU

4

RECOVERED

9,059

MINISTER BLAMES EASTER FESTIVITIES FOR THIRD WAVE

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

HEALTH Minister Renward Wells has said the spike in COVID-19 cases that helped to launch the country into a third wave can be attributed to Easter holiday festivities.

The day after the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention advised its citizens not to enter The Bahamas, the minister told reporters that health officials are deploying the same strategies that were used to beat back the second wave of the virus months ago.

Asked by The Tribune if additional restrictions were being discussed as a tool to fight this wave, Mr Wells said there “are no further restrictions at this point”, but reiterated this could change.

However, he expressed certainty that the stringent lockdown measures will not be used again.

Meanwhile, the government continues to focus on its vaccination strategy, which also involves continuing to work toward receiving the Pfizer brand of jab in the country.

The brand requires cold storage equipment which the public sector expects to receive soon.

While he shied away from revealing a definitive timeline, the minister said the private sector has the cold storage needed should the vaccine arrive soon.

“I’d just like to say that we all know that there is an

MINISTER of Health Renward Wells. increase in cases of COVID and at the end of the day, the ministry is engaging in those things that we would have done during the second wave, both to mitigate and to bring down the incidents of COVID-19 in the country,” Mr Wells said outside of Cabinet yesterday.

“We’re obviously about two weeks out from the Easter holiday and as we all know this virus has a 10 to 14 day incubation cycle. So, some of the increases we are seeing is really from the gatherings that may have happened during the holiday, but at the end of the day we would have already seen the three weeks prior

to that, that there was a trend in increasing cases and so we are doing all that we have done in the past in the ministry in order to continue to keep our hands around the COVID19 menace and pandemic that the globe has been experiencing.”

He also said: “Let us remember this is not our first rodeo. This is the second time around and we would have seen what we did during the first wave.

We made adjustments.

The whole system evolved during the second wave, so we’ve been through this.

“We understand what to expect in circumstances and so at the end of the day

Death Notice for Mr. Louis Grammatico It is with sadness but also with a sense of celebration for a life well lived that we announce the passing of Mr. Louis Grammatico at the age of 87 on March 20th, after a short illness.

He is survived by his wife of 63 years Joanna Grammatico, three children Dr. Dino Grammatico, Lisa Kemp and Michael Grammatico; daughter-in-law Rosalie Grammatico, various cousins, nieces and nephews including grand nephew Justin Roberts of J & L Feed Supply.

He was predeceased by his siblings Lena Saunders and Joseph Grammatico.

I will miss your “old stories” of by-gone years and how things use to be. I will miss hearing about the family as they settled from Italy to the Bahamas in the early 20th century. I have special memories of family gatherings at Christmas time as we all congregated at our grandparents house in celebration of the season. Unfortunately, many of the family members who were in attendance are no longer with us as Father Time marches on. I miss them all and think of them often.

But most of all I miss you my dear father.

As far as I’m concerned you are still the “last man standing”.

Arrangements by Kemp’s Funeral Home Limited.

we are back at it doing the things that we did to bring down the numbers. We’ve had five months of relative calm in the country in regards to COVID and we are going to do what is necessary to ensure that that takes place again.”

On the issue of further restrictions, Mr Wells said the government has decided to make a great push toward vaccination. More than 20,000 people have received the OxfordAstraZeneca vaccine.

“There are no further restrictions at this point in time,” Mr Wells said. “As I would have said previously, that does not mean that there may not be because the response in regards to any sort of restrictions and even just a change in the curfew time frame would be a change in the existing protocol, but at the end of the day those things were contingent on what we are experiencing in the country in regards to the increase.

“As I would have said previously we are in the business of seeking to

deploy the vaccine, get as many Bahamians vaccinated as possible. I have always said this: there are only two ways to herd immunity - everybody in the country is exposed to the disease or the vast majority of us become vaccinated. “… We have had an awful lot of Bahamians who’ve come forward. You would have seen the lines outside of Loyola Hall and the other sites of folks being vaccinated.

“I think we probably would have vaccinated somewhere around 20,000 or 20,000 plus persons.”

On Monday the US’ chief public health agency increased the country’s health notice from level three to level four.

The nation had remained at level three since late January, after previously being listed at level four by the Centres for Disease Control last year due to virus infections.

In response, Mr Wells said he believed the advisory change related to the increase in cases and not

the rate of vaccination.

“On a weekly basis we are opening sites, opening islands where we are actually deploying the vaccine,” he said.

“The CDC’s alert I think it has more to do with the increases of cases and the CDC would put that out on any particular where they see there is a rise and your positivity rate is changed.

“They see it as their duty to be able to inform their citizens that cases are rising in a particular country, but as it has been shown in both the UK and Israel with the deployment of the vaccine with the instituting of the health protocols, while the vaccine is being deployed Israel would have seen its own transmission rate go down to some 70 or 80 percent I believe and it’s gone down even further and as I said we know what we need to do in country to continue to keep our hands around this disease and the Ministry of Health is in full engagement in ensuring that that process is taking place,” Mr Wells said.

EDUCATION officials say health officials have not reported the existence of any cluster of cases in the public education system nor any connection between the positive cases identified, which are in different institutions.

Officials said five individuals — students and staff members — tested positive in New Providence over the past two weeks.

Yesterday, Education Minister Jeff Lloyd also cleared up misinformation spreading about positive cases in the school system, saying some claims previously circulating are incorrect — including that a student as young as five tested positive for the virus.

“Yesterday (Monday) it was reported to me that there was a case in Fresh Creek, Andros,” Mr Lloyd said. “Upon further investigation, (we) found that that was not the case. It was further announced by way of a voice note that a child, student in the public system, as young as five years of age, had contracted the virus.

Again, upon further investigation, that was not the case.

“So as you would accept and understand, there is quite a bit of information that is circulating in the public environment and sometimes when you all ask if that is so, I can confirm to you that I have not received such information and even when we do find the information, we most times find that it is not true.”

Asked if this meant there was not a rise in cases in the school system, Mr Lloyd said: “We, by way of the Ministry of Health, had a report of five cases and those would be in New Providence across five schools... so this reflects that which is in society.

“We are obviously concerned, paying very close attention to the situation in our schools and this is why we are insistent on encouraging all of our students and visitors, administrators, teachers and support staff to do what they are told to do by the Ministry of Health and health officials, and that is observe social distance and so on.”

He said the Ministry of Health has not advised that public schools in New Providence return to virtual learning.

“They have said to us that they don’t see the need for that at this time,” Mr Lloyd said. “We can continue with the hybrid instructional model that we have been conducting over these past several months.”

National exams began on April 13 and Mr Lloyd does not foresee any interruptions but will be guided by future advice from the Ministry of Health.

In a statement released yesterday, the Ministry of Education said based on information received from the Surveillance Unit of the Ministry of Health, suspected cases of COVID-19 were reported in the following New Providence schools

within the past week: HO Nash Junior High School; LW Young Junior High School; Sadie Curtis Primary School; Carlton Francis Primary School; CR Walker Senior High School; TG Glover Primary School and Garvin Tynes Primary School “The Surveillance Unit also advised that five individuals (students and staff members) tested positive in New Providence over the past two weeks,” the statement said. “The Ministry of Health has not reported the existence of any cluster of cases in the public education system nor of any connection between the positive cases identified, which are in different institutions.

“As is the practice, following assessments of each situation, several students and staff members have been requested to enter a 14-day quarantine period, having been considered significant contacts of COVID-19 positive individuals.

The Ministry of Education has not received any report from the Ministry of Health of a five-yearold student in the public education system having tested positive for the COVID-19 Virus.”

This counters a claim from Bahamas Union of Teachers President Belinda Wilson, who released a voice note this week claiming that most of the cases are students, some “as young as five years old”.

‘NO CLUSTER OF CASES IN PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM’

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, April 21, 2021, PAGE 5

‘Don’t like my policy on worker vaccines? Sue me’

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net SUSHI Rokkan coowner Michael Scott is standing firm against the backlash his restaurant has received to its mandatory vaccine position for employees, telling The Tribune “if they feel that strongly about it, someone should sue me”.

The restaurant in Old Fort Bay Town Centre has mandated that employees receive the COVID-19 vaccine by June 30 or they may face reassignment or

termination unless there is a valid medical reason.

A trade union leader has compared forcing Bahamian workers to take the vaccine as a condition of their continued employment to “taking us back to 1942” and the Burma Road riots.

“We have a constitution, you know,” Obie Ferguson, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) president, said earlier this week. “That’s a supreme authority in this country. I know some people believe they can treat people any old way and because they don’t

have the means to sue them they get away with it. No, it’s illegal, it’s unconstitutional. The constitution of this country does not provide any mechanism for an employer to vaccinate a worker outside of their agreement.”

When contacted yesterday, Mr Scott hit back at the backlash.

“Well, if they feel that strongly about it someone should sue me, but you know that’s not likely to happen because it’s just a case of people you know, running their mouths and as far as I’m concerned what

I’m doing is in the public interest... protecting the public,” said Mr Scott.

“If you read the Health and Safety of Work Act Sections 4, 5, and 7 it is clear to even the most innocent of human beings that there is the duty on the part of employers to protect employees in the workplace as well as members of the public visiting that place. So, I don’t understand what the fuss is all about. It should be welcomed by the public. I should not be the butt of sarcasm or controversy or being publicly abused this way.

“Quite frankly, people

have threatened to boycott the restaurant but I can tell you for every idiot that boycotts the restaurant, there are two intelligent people (that have) become customers.”

When asked about an update about the restaurant’s new vaccine policy, he said “things are going ahead”.

He preferred not to give the figures on how many workers have indicated they have been vaccinated.

“The fact of the matter is that most people want to be vaccinated maybe except those who may (have)

allergies to vaccines,” he said.

Last week, Mr Scott told Tribune Business he had “smoothed out” any concerns at a recent staff meeting with Sushi Rokkan’s 30-40 workers, making it clear “we’re not going to force” people to take the COVID-19 vaccine if their doctor advises against it while warning that they should “find another job” if other excuses are invoked.

Director of Labour John Pinder has said it is not legal to mandate people get vaccinated for COVID-19 as a condition of continued employment.

MORE THAN 21,000 PEOPLE HAVE RECEIVED VACCINATIONS

By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net

MORE than 21,000 people have been inoculated against the COVID-19 virus to date, as the government awaits the second shipment of COVAX-generated vaccines scheduled to arrive in May. Dr Mercelene Dahl-Regis, chairperson of the National COVID-19 Vaccine Consultative Committee, made this announcement at a press conference yesterday updating the nation on the roll out of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. As the roll out continues, some people who have taken the vaccine are concerned about there being enough shots available for them to receive a second dose.

Dr Dahl-Regis said officials are “committed to the two-dose vaccine schedule”.

There is still concern in some quarters about the side effects of the vaccine and even some reports about vaccine recipients contracting the virus after taking it.

Dr Dahl-Regis addressed both points.

“There might be side effects from the vaccine, but these side effects have not shown to be life threatening,” she said during a press conference. “The monitoring of all adverse events supposedly attributed to the vaccination is ongoing.

This provides for the documentation of adverse events following vaccination.

“To date of all the doses given, there have been no hospitalisations or deaths recorded in vaccinated individuals. Following vaccinations, the immune response build-up is over a 90-day period on average. During this time, the individual may become infected with the COVID19 virus but is unlikely to have severe disease. While infected, you may also transmit the virus.”

As for the second dose, which is suggested to take place eight to 12 weeks after the first shot, Dr DahlRegis said she does not think supplies will run out.

The administration of the second dose will begin on May 10.

“We are committed to the two-dose vaccine schedule,” she continued. “Given the uptake, I do not think we are going to run out of second dose options. The

THE VACCINATION site at the Church of God of Prophecy at the weekend. calculations are ongoing, but we do as a committee commit to recommending the second dose, although as the science is published, we are pleased to learn that the efficacy of the AstraZeneca has increased to 81 percent in some studies.

“So, you are protected even with the first dose. We are hoping that we are able to give the booster dose based on our calculations and the commitment of the supplies.

We have gotten the commitment already, we just have to receive the supplies.”

Officials said 21,907 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine have been administered in The Bahamas. Of this figure, 16,934 people have received inoculations on New Providence; 3,512 on Grand Bahama; 832 on Abaco and 638 on Eleuthera.

Dr Dahl-Regis was asked about the third wave of COVID-19 and the possibility of ramping up the inoculations to ward off the threat. She said every attempt is being made to do the same.

“We would very much like to do that,” she said.

“We have been told that we are overly ambitious. The success in the Abacos, the team said they have very little sleep. They travelled long hours and they vaccinated many people. We did Abaco and the cays over a five-day period. It appears that we maybe taxing the human resource capacities

that we have, but they are willing to try and that’s our attempt at accelerating the vaccine programme in the Family Islands.

“When it comes to New Providence, we are going to do our best to keep the sites open with the staff that we currently have. We also welcome any volunteers, any retired persons; you are more than welcome to this proposed acceleration. We have virtual training and we can certainly do what we can with more people.”

The committee reported that The Bahamas has been informed by the Pan-American Health Organisation that it will receive the second tranche of AstraZeneca vaccines through the COVAX Facility before the end of May. This tranche, the committee said, will consist of 33,000 doses, with a remaining 34,200 doses to be received through the COVAX Facility.

Appointments are available at the Kendal G L Isaacs National Gymnasium, Loyola Hall, Pilgrim Baptist Church, Church of God of Prophecy and St Anselm’s Church, starting Thursday.

Most sites are open at 9am to 3pm. The Kendal G L Isaacs Gym site is open from 2pm to 6pm. This week, more than 4,000 appointments will be offered to the public via the vax.gov.bs portal.

Vaccinations will be administered in Family Islands beginning Monday.

SAHARA DUST BRINGS HAZY CONDITIONS HAZY conditions will persist throughout the country for the next few days due to the yearly inflow of Sahara dust, the Department of Meteorology advised yesterday.

A quasi-stationary front in the extreme Northwest Bahamas may produce a few showers and isolated thunderstorms, the department added.

In a statement issued yesterday, weather forecasters added that The Bahamas should not expect to experience any inflow of volcanic ash and sulphur dioxide in appreciable quantity or precipitation stemming from the recent volcano eruption on the island of Saint Vincent.

“The explosive eruption

of the volcano, La Soufriere, in Saint Vincent (Eastern Caribbean) on the 9th April 2021 and subsequent moderate eruptions have increased the level of ash and sulphur dioxide in the atmosphere significantly in the vicinity of the Eastern Caribbean,” the department said. “The latest advisory issued by the Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center indicated that the plume of ash from La Soufriere has diminished and is no longer visible via satellite.

“Westerly winds in the upper levels have taken the majority of the volcanic ash eastward across the Atlantic to as far as the Indian Ocean, reducing its concentration in the immediate area. The Bahamas, located

geographically to the north and west of the site of eruption, should not expect the inflow of volcanic ash and sulphur dioxide in appreciable quantity or precipitation acidic in nature.

“For the next few days, hazy conditions will persist throughout The Bahamas owing to the inflow of Sahara dust, a yearly occurrence. Moreover, a quasi-stationary front, a dominant weather feature, in the extreme Northwest Bahamas may produce a few showers and isolated thunderstorms. The Bahamas Department of Meteorology will continue to monitor the activity of La Soufriere and advise of any potential hazards should they arise.”

Photo: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff

PAGE 6, Wednesday, April 21, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

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Vaccinations and the workplace SHOULD an employer be able to require a worker to be vaccinated if they want to keep their job?

It’s a debate that is still only just starting to emerge, but has been pushed to the fore by the approach of Michael Scott, co-owner of the Sushi Rokkan restaurant.

He has told his staff they need to get the vaccine by June 30 or they may face reassignment or termination unless they have a valid medical reason.

The government has not made vaccination compulsory, so are employers within their rights to make it compulsory for people to keep their jobs?

Union leader Obie Ferguson has been clear in his opposition, saying: “It’s illegal, it’s unconstitutional.”

Mr Scott, on the other hand, points to the Health and Safety of Work Act and the duty to protect employees in the workplace as well as members of the public visiting that place. In other words, he thinks by insisting on vaccinations, it protects the other staff and it protects the customers. If anyone thinks differently, he invites them to sue him.

Director of Labour John Pinder, meanwhile, has said it is not legal to mandate vaccinations for continued employment.

It seems likely to end up in court at some point or another – but there is more to consider.

Kerry Fountain, the Out Islands Promotion Board’s executive director, has also spoken in today’s Tribune about the problem of the country’s rebound if we get too caught up in a debate over whether vaccines are mandatory for employees. He also points to rival tourism destinations, which are offering the vaccine to visitors. In other words, we’re arguing about the detail while others are thinking about the big picture.

Here’s another part of that picture – Dr Merceline Dahl-Regis, who leads the vaccine consultative committee, warns in today’s Tribune about the increase in cases we are experiencing and the fact that new strains are already here in The Bahamas.

“We must return to heightened surveillance and contact tracing if we are going to win this race in the shortest period of time,” she said, then added: “At the same time, we have to accelerate the uptake in vaccines. The COVID-19 vaccine provides you with the opportunity to develop an immune response to combat this infection.”

The vaccine is our key. That’s how we get out of this, and more people should be wanting to get the vaccine than worrying about whether it is

demanded of them.

The courts will have their say on employer demands – but every employer, every union should be encouraging workers to help beat this pandemic in every way we can. And the biggest part of that in the long term will be getting the jab.

Chauvin guilty

Police officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd.

That was the verdict of the court case that came to its conclusion – apart from sentencing – in Minneapolis yesterday.

Chauvin knelt on George Floyd’s neck until he suffocated. He stayed there even after Floyd was dead.

Several other officers were around him, but it wasn’t thanks to them that the case reached the courts. They didn’t stop Chauvin, they didn’t arrest him.

The guilty verdict is thanks to a 17-year-old black girl, Darnella Frazier, who took her phone out and recorded the incident.

It is thanks to her that we know it was nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds that Chauvin kept his knee on a dying man’s neck.

It is thanks to the crowd of onlookers, who tried to get the police to stop, with a number going on to testify in the trial.

It is thanks to the senior officers who testified against Chauvin to reiterate that his action was not appropriate or police policy.

It is thanks to the global response to George Floyd’s death, with protests around the world saying this cannot continue.

And yet, this verdict is not enough.

Ahead of the verdict, how many of us really believed a white policeman would be found guilty of the murder of a black man? How many of us had that seed of doubt in our hearts that somehow, some way, he would be allowed to walk free?

This isn’t just a problem in the US, it’s a problem here at home too. How long before a police shooting is recorded on a phone camera, or how long before body cam footage is routinely released here so that people can see whether actions were justified – or whether accountability is required.

Until such time as it is the expectation that a police officer who commits a wrong will be found guilty rather than a hope, we’re still nowhere near justice, in the US or in our own communities. It’s a long road, but today was a sign that change is possible.

Clearing banks EDITOR, The Tribune.

TO those Bahamians who were paying attention, the emptiness, shallowness and myopia of the FNM’s supposed project to assist middle class professionals with access to affordable land was sharply exposed by the response of the Clearing Banks Association to the initiative.

Warning that its members are motivated by risk, rather than politics, it said “We don’t want to be in the land selling business or the liquidation business. We want to give (loans) to a customer who will pay their loans”, which may disqualify many applicants under such a scheme, notwithstanding even government guarantees.

If this latest political gimmick has the feel of a distraction from the real issues facing our country (young professionals included) that’s because it is exactly that, as the Clearing Banks Association seems to understand.

At its root, the Bahamian middle class (or what’s left of it) does not have a land

problem. It has a disposable income problem. And this problem relates directly to thirty years of policies (initiated by the FNM but never sufficiently reversed by the PLP) that shift disposable income away from the middle and working classes and into the hands of wealthy corporations and individuals.

When it came to power in 1992, the Free National Movement gifted its wealthy backers in the jewelry, furniture, car sales and consumer goods industries with a policy always resisted by the Pindling government: it permitted them to enter unlimited direct salary deduction contracts with government employees.

While even conscionable employers like Atlantis restricted the scope of these contracts, not so for government, whose employees often took home a pittance after deductions for credited consumption. Does it take a genius to see that this, among other policies, militates against a landowning middle class?

At the same time,

government’s senseless and internationally embarrassing refusal to tax the incomes of wealthy individuals and domestic corporations (including those it gifted with direct access to civil servants’ income) has been financed partly at the expense of (frozen) public sector wages and partly by the accumulation of crippling fees, taxes and charges on everything – from 12 percent VAT to the $140 charged for a COVIDtest (free in most countries) and increased Bahamasair rates to travel inter-island.

Having created an environment where wages are intentionally suppressed while costs increase daily and the rich live tax free, government now proposes to solve the problem of a dwindling middle class by giving out Crown lands to “young professionals” who even the banks can foresee will never be able to pay for homes on them. It would be comical if it were not so tragic.

ANDREW ALLEN Nassau, April 20, 2021.

Government and legal plunder EDITOR, The Tribune.

OVER the past forty odd years governments all over the world, inclusive of The Bahamas, have evolved into organisations which seemingly tax the poor while enriching those who are already considered to be amongst the elitist classes. The marginalised and the poor, as spoken of in the Bible, are ever with us.

The Prime Minister has announced the creation of at least two government sponsored subdivisions here in New Providence and one in Central Abaco, according to the outgoing Attorney General. These are, of course, pure election gimmicks of the highest order.

There is no way in the world that these proposed subdivisions can be laid out; prepared with all of the required infrastructure and actual construction of even a chicken coop within the next six months or so.

By that time general elections would have come and gone.

In my opinion this socalled housing initiative is so deceptive and grossly discriminatory that it is not laughable.

The PM went on to say that the one being proposed over in Gambier will be exclusively available to Bahamians and residents under forty-five (45) years of age. If you are older you need not apply.

A “committee” will be established to determine who gets a bite of this piein-the sky cheese cake.

Of course, it will be nonpartisan and comprised of members of the FNM; PLP; DNA; Coalition of Independent Candidates and Ali McIntosh and crew. Give them all a say and watch the fireworks begin.

With general elections looming it would appear that Peter is about to rob Paul to take care of John

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net via a housing scheme.

To use collective taxpayers’ money to buy or procure the political support of Bahamians is dead wrong and should and must be condemned by all right thinking Bahamians.

This is nothing short of legal plunder by government. A long dead French political and economic philosopher, Frederic Bastiat, who was a member of the elected French Chamber of Deputies in the 1940’s wrote: “The state is the great fiction by which everybody tries to live at the expense of everybody else.’’

By what rationale is Minnis proposing to economically empower an arbitrary and selected group of Bahamians at the glaring and discriminatory expense or peril of other Bahamians?

Who gave him and his cowboy government such a mandate and when did they do so? If this outgoing PM really wanted to assist all qualified Bahamians he and his hapless government would liberalise Crown Land immediately and grant land without discrimination or favour.

The PM is pandering on the basest level without an ounce of shame. Bahamians may be docile, but they are not stupid.

A visually challenged person can see through this charade and pantomime.

With his inept handling of the government’s response or lack of it to COVID-19 and before that Dorian, Minnis must know that his days in high office are over.

He came, he saw but he could not govern. It is as simple as that and no matter what he and his crew attempt to do at this stage will persuade

a single Bahamian to go with them to the dance again. Not a single one of his campaign promises have been kept….no not one. Bahamian politics is like an adulterous marriage. If you cheated on me once before, why should I trust you not to do so again?

Minnis and his band of merry men and one woman need to go and the sooner they do so the better it will be for The Bahamas. The incoming New PLP under the proven leadership of the Hon Philip ‘Brave’ Davis, QC (PLP-Cat Island) has a clear vision plan for our wonderful nation and they know that it cannot be a 2.0 vision of former PM brother Christie.

The economic and political inertia which has plagued us since the political exit of the Rt Hon Hubert A Ingraham, is no longer sustainable.

We have literally wasted some 40 odd years in the wilderness going around in circles. It is now time to go over the Jordan and finally enter The Promised Land. Minnis is the ‘leader’ of the blind, with all due respect to actually blind people, and he has and will continue to lead us into a ditch. To God then in all things be the glory.

Jr

ORTLAND H BODIE Nassau, April 20, 2021.

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THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, April 21, 2021, PAGE 7

Brother of shooting victim in court for crossing crime tape line

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net THE brother of one of the men who was shot and killed during a suspected gang attack last Thursday was yesterday placed on probation after he admitted going beyond the crime scene tape in an attempt to get to his dying sibling.

Mario Brown, 31, was charged with disorderly behaviour and resisting arrest after he went beyond the police cordon set up after six men were gunned down at the intersection of Jerome Avenue and Chesapeake Road on April 15.

He owned up to the offences when he appeared before Senior Magistrate Derence Rolle Davis yesterday.

The court heard police responded to the shooting incident around 5pm that afternoon.

The

prosecution said while officers were securing the scene by placing caution tape around the relevant areas, Brown went beyond it. When he was asked to stop, he did not comply.

The court was told when officers tried to restrain Brown, he began swinging his hands. He was subsequently cautioned for acting disorderly; however, when officers attempted to arrest him, he pulled away and stated: “Leave me officers, that’s my brother.”

When he was eventually apprehended and questioned in police custody, he denied the offences.

Yesterday, Brown was represented by Wayne Munroe, QC. He told the magistrate the incident was related to the “tragic murder of the six young men” last week and explained that one of the victims was his client’s

younger brother.

He said the “human reality” was that his client came on the scene. He also said since there was still “controversy on whether people in the car were alive,” Brown’s “only desire” was to “check on his little brother and see if he was alive so he could help him”.

In response, Magistrate Rolle Davis said while Brown suffered a loss, when there was a crime, it was “absolutely paramount” for officers to cordon off the scene to prevent people from contaminating it. He told Brown while it was a “human trait” to want to help, his actions were not something the court could “close its eyes on”.

As a result, he placed Brown on probation for three months. He said if the defendant failed to be of good behaviour during that time frame, he would be fined $300.

FRAUD ACCUSED GRANTED BAIL

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

THE 35-year-old woman who was charged with over 100 fraud-related offences in connection to the recent trend of fake COVID-19 test results was yesterday granted bail prior to the reading of the remaining charges brought against her.

Laderia Russell appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt charged with 160 counts of forgery and possession of a forged document which the prosecution alleged she committed between November 2020 and March of this year.

Police allege Russell, with the intent to deceive, was found with forged Doctors Hospital and Premier Clinical Lab health system negative COVID-19 RT-PCR tests in the names of several different people, knowing they were not genuine.

It is further alleged the defendant, with the intent to evade the requirement of the law, forged the COVID19 tests in the name of the individuals to purport them as genuine.

On Monday, the accused pleaded not guilty to 40 of the allegations. After spending one night on remand, she returned to

court yesterday and denied an additional 70 counts.

Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt said because of the court’s busy schedule, Russell would not be able to enter a plea to the remaining charges until April 26.

The accused, who is represented by attorneys Ian Cargill and Wendawn Miller, was granted $40,000 bail with two or three sureties in the interim.

CORRECTION: In yesterday’s Tribune we incorrectly reported that Laderia Russell had admitted a number of offences which was not the case. We apologise for the error.

SUSPECT DENIES FIREARM POSSESSION

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 27-YEAR-OLD man who denied being in possession of an unlicensed firearm and quantity of ammunition was granted

bail ahead of his trial.

Dominique Adderley was accused of having a black and silver .9mm pistol and four live rounds of .9mm ammunition on April 16.

He denied the charges before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt and

the matter was adjourned to July 21 and 22 for trial. In the meantime, the accused was granted $8,500 bail.

Adderley is required to to report to the Fox Hill Police Station every Wednesday on or before 6pm leading up to his trial.

HAYWARD JOHNSON, above left, Drexton Bellony, below left, and Shamar and Steffon Moss, above and below right, outside court yesterday.

FOUR ACCUSED OVER GUN FIND

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

FOUR Freeport men were arraigned on the charge of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life on Tuesday.

Drexton Bellony, 27, of Frobisher Drive; Steffon Moss, 22, of Weddell Avenue; Shamar Moss, 20, of Garden Villas; and Hayward Johnson, 21, of

Gordon Avenue, appeared before Magistrate LaQuay Laing in Grand Bahama.

It is alleged that on April 16, at Freeport, the accused being concerned together possessed a firearm with intent to endanger life.

They pleaded not guilty to the charge.

They elected summary trial and were each granted $5,000 cash bail.

The case was adjourned to June 15.

A Private Graveside Service for

CECIL AUGUSTUS CARTWRIGHT I, 89 of Jean Street, will be held on Thursday, April 22nd, 2021 at Lakeview Memorial Gardens & Mausoleum, John F. Kennedy Drive.

Officiating will be Pastor Valentino Campbell, Maranatha SDA Church, assisted by Pastor T. Basil Sturrup, Pastor C. Melvin Lewis and Elder Warren Farquharson.

Due to current Government regulations in respect of Covid-19, attendance is limited to Forty (40) persons.

A Private Graveside Service for

ELIZABETH VANDA TAYLOR, 61 of Fire Trail Close, will be held on Thursday, April 22nd, 2021 at St. Barnabas Anglican Church Cemetery, Moore Avenue. Officiating will be Bishop Gilbert Thompson, assisted by Canon Basil Tynes, Fr. Donald Kerr and Deacon Kristopher Higgs.

Due to current Government regulations in respect of Covid-19, attendance is limited to Forty (40) persons.

Left to mourn and cherish her memories are her Children: Clinton C. Clarke (Latesha) and Valdimire Williamson; Grandchildren: Paityn Clarke, LiAnn Williamson, Valdimire Williamson Jr., and Amir Williamson; Sister: Isadora Lamb; Brother: Timothy Coakley; Numerous nieces and nephews and a host of other relatives and friends too numerous to mention.

In remembrance of Elizabeth’s life, the family ask that those who wish to express sympathy to consider making a donation to The Sister Sister Breast Cancer Support Group in Elizabeth’s honour.

May Her Soul Rest in Peace!

Friends may pay their last respects at Bethel Brothers Morticians & Crematorium, #44 Nassau Street, on Wednesday April 21st from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Precious Memories Are left with his Children: Christopher Livingstone, Wayne (Mavis), Stephanie (Orthnell) Hield, Cecil II (Eldena), Constance (J. Anthony) McKinney, Sheldon, Patricia Michelle (Phillip) Johnson, Brendan, Antoinette Cartwright (Michael) Moxey; Grandchildren: Christophe, Christie Khia, Christiaan, Omar, Krysten Consuelo, Annick, Nicole, Opal Cartwright (Arthur) Ferguson, Kimberly Knowles (Rashaad) Sutherland, Kimiko, Kimali Knowles, Jakiel, Cecil III, Cepal, James II (Jillyan) McKinney, Jace (Joy) McKinney, Alexiou, Vito, Kadisha Cartwright, Ashley Murphy, Adam Jordan, Brenandan Cartwright, Antwoia and Antwoine Moxey; Numerous Great Grandchildren: Seth, Aaliyah, Brittany, Jayden, Jaime-Dior, Arielle, Ariyah, Oziah, Angel, Amber, Carl, Jerai, Kai, Annheli, Kymani, Kymari, Kimoni, Jah’zari, Jalen, Caro, Jada, Jedidiah, James III, Judah, Alexiou Jr. Alexis Kahmarie, Adaiah; Siblings: Oris Stillings, Claris, Delores and Theresa Cartwright and Joy Whyms; Sister-in-law: Elizabeth Cartwright; Nieces and Nephews Including: Donna, Sherimerdine, MacLeish and Egan Cartwright, Todd Cole, Tranquilla, Hindle, Gia Devore, Lolita Wright and Lamark Stillings Sr. Christopher and Tiffany Kitchens, Dwight, Dr. Samantha and Nadia Cartwright, Alveta Knight and Zaneta Burton, Lamont, Omar, Donovan Whyms and Kenisha Smith; Godchild: Franklyn “Bob” Taylor; Other Relatives and Friends Including, Drexel Dorsette and family, Sandra Rolle and family, Sidney Dorsette and family, the children of the late Edwin Culmer, the late Ellen Taylor, the late Rudolph Culmer, Frank Culmer, the late Garnet Culmer, the late Lona Wells, Olga Culmer and family, the Archer family, Erskine Oliver and family, Mr. and Mrs. Ray Strachan, Adelma Roach, Crislyn Skippings, The Lewis family, The Haven family, Stanley and Ruby Major and family, Amos Flowers and family, The Antonio’s, Pastor Howard Barr and family, The Knowles’, Davis’ , Turner and Smith families of Boyd Road, Vivian Young, Lorraine Marshall, Prisca Gibbs, former Colleagues of the Ministry of Works, Business Associates, Edward Williams/National Products, A.D. Hanna and Associates, Community of Palm Beach Street, Henry Dean/United Sanitation, Dr. Kevin Moss and the Staff of Private Surgical, PMH, Pastor and members of Maranatha SDA Church, The dedicated and committed staff of Cartwright Building Supplies Co. Ltd. May His Soul Rest in Peace!

Friends may pay their last respects at Bethel Brothers Morticians & Crematorium, #44 Nassau Street, on Wednesday April 21st from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

PAGE 8, Wednesday, April 21, 2021

By Alicia Wallace

LAST week, I got my first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. I had been watching and waiting to be eligible, ready to get vaccinated even before the vaccines were ready.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, I have been doing my own research to learn about how vaccines are made. I have also been paying close attention to the development of the COVID-19 vaccines, realising early on that it did not start in March 2020, or even in November 2020.

COVID-19 is not the first coronavirus. There have been others, and scientists were not starting from scratch to develop a vaccine to protect against this particular strain. They had a start because they had already been working on a coronavirus vaccine and, while they clearly needed to expedite its development, they were not throwing caution to the wind.

I am aware of the possible side effects of the vaccine and I have decided the protection from COVID-19 is worth the risk of these side effects. I am also aware being vaccinated does not mean there is no chance I will contract COVID-19. I am happy to have a lower risk of it leading to hospitalisation.

On one hand, it is a bit confusing to see so many people upset about the very existence of the vaccine and are truly afraid of getting it. We have been getting vaccinated for decades, from infancy.

When I was preparing to go to university, I found my immunisation record was incomplete. Trying to find the missing part was quite the task, and I eventually decided that I would simply get the vaccine again. I went to the Blue Hill Road clinic where I had a nice chat with

the nurse who told me students often have to come to get vaccines again to enable them to study elsewhere.

She advised me the vaccine I was getting then had two parts, so she was giving me the first one and I would need to get the second from the nurse on campus. My record was updated and I now have proof of that immunisation.

On another occasion, I had to get the yellow fever vaccine for travel. It is a requirement for numerous countries. I was excited about my first trip to Suriname, and I did not think twice about getting the vaccine. There was a line of about a dozen adults waiting to get the same vaccine, probably to visit the same country. We went in one by one, received our vaccines, took our new verification cards and went about the rest of our days.

I neither expected nor had any adverse reactions. I was happy to be able to go and experience another culture.

On the other hand, it is understandable people are nervous. No black person and no-one in the developing world could be blamed for scepticism when it comes to the practice of medicine. We, historically, have been used and abused by the medical industry.

A quick look at the Tuskegee Study (of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male) is all you need to understand the aversion many of us have to doctors, studies, treatments, and vaccines. The participants in the study were told they would receive free medical treatment from “bad blood”. They went through blood tests, x-rays and spinal taps. When they died, they were autopsied.

Participants were given “treatments” that were ineffective and prevented

THE TRIBUNE

If you’re worried about the vaccine, read up, learn the facts and hopefully, like me, you’ll take it

from getting real treatment, just to convince them that the study was about treating

Memorial Service for HORATIO DAVID BANNISTER, 92

of Winton Meadows, will be held on Friday, April 23rd at Christ The King Anglican Church, Ridgeland Park at 10:00am.

Officiating will be Archbishop Kingsley Knowles, assisted by Canon Crowley Walkine, Fr. Chester Burton, Fr. Ranfully Brown, Rev. Deacon Desiree Sturrup.

He is survived by his Wife of 45 years: Sheila G. Bannister; his children and their spouses: Valeria L. Thurston and her husband David, Deputy Prime Minister The Honorable T. Desmond Bannister M.P., Minister of Public Works and his wife Donna, Brian C. Bannister, Pamela D. Bannister, Donna D. Bannister-Duncombe (predeceased), Lesley Amanda Sheldon and her husband David, Dominique Ian Bannister and his wife Deisha; Numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren; Nieces and Nephews: Rodger and Sharon Johnson, Cheena, Rupert, Mais, Matthew, Timothy, Sean, Dillon Johnson; Odel Johnson (Mrs.); Kendal Young and Miriam Jones (Mrs.); Extended Family: Sean I.R. Smith and family, Uncle Henry and Elise Matthew and family, Mr. and Mrs. Desmond Mason, Wendy Fisher and family, Jean Hlyma and family, Shirley Sands and family, Millie Cambridge and family, China Ferguson, Shavonne Johnson, Mrs. Vernell Storr; Special Family and Friends: The Venerable Kingsley Knowles, Deacon Desiree Johnson, and Christ The King Anglican Family, including the Altar Guild, ACM, ACW, the Usher Board, and the church choir, Canon Crosely Walkine, Father Chester Burton and the St. Matthew’s Church Family including the Lay Readers and the Chalice Bearers; Special Thanks To: Father Atma Budhu of Epiphany Church, Father Dr. Roland Hamilton, Dame Janet Bostwick and family, Mr. and Mrs. Greaves and family, Mrs. Ree Bourne and family, Dr. and Mrs. Roger Brown and family, Mr. and Mrs. John Bowleg and family, Mr. and Mrs. James Weech and family, Ms. Leah O’Brien and family, Mrs. Agnes Cartwright and family, Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Bowe and family, Ms. Corinne Laville and family, Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Ingraham and family, Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Bethel and family, Jackie Rutherford and family, Denise White and family, Mrs. Lucy Rolle and family, The Dominican Association, Commadore Clifford Scavella and family, Oralee Major and family, The Honorable Dr. Earl Deveaux and family, Reverend Dr. Kenris L. Carey and family, Bianca Black and family, Oralee Smith, Sheila Wilson, Vaughn Evans, Reverend Marie Roach Hepburn, Melanie Roach, ClarettaDuncombe, The Staniard Creek Community, Dr. Marcus Cooper; Caregivers, Kayla Barnes and Pamela Sands, Chena Davis (Plumber).

Relatives and friends may pay their respect at Evergreen Mortuary located on Village & Parkgate Roads on Wednesday from 10:00am - 5:00pm.

them while observing the effects of syphilis on them.

The researchers said that the black men did not want to attend doctors, but the truth was they thought they were already being treated. The study continued beyond the World Health Organization’s 1964 Declaration of Helsinki which set out ethical principles for human experimentation, including the right of every participant to make informed decisions.

The Tuskegee study only ended after a whistleblower leaked information to the New York Times which published it in November 1972 on the front page.

The Tuskegee Study is one of the most well-known examples of the maltreatment of black people by the medical industry. Other examples include Henrietta Lacks whose cells were stolen. Now known as HeLa, they have been used in over 70,000 medical studies and fuelled the development of in vitro fertilization, cancer treatment, the polio vaccine and the human papilloma virus (HPV).

We see the racism in the industry continues as cystic fibrosis receives far more research funding (per patient) than sickle cell disease. While the two diseases

are very similar, cystic fibrosis is more commonly found in white people while sickle cell diseases is commonly diagnosed in black people.

There is good reason for black people to be afraid of doctors, surgeries and the intervention of western medicine. The fear of vaccines has not come out of nowhere. Especially for those of us who are aware countries like ours do not get the first pick of the goods. People, for example, have questioned the “for export only” stamp on many food items. Sure, it can be explained away, but does that invalidate the concern?

Whether or not you get the vaccine is a personal decision. I believe everyone who can should get vaccinated. I see it as a personal and community responsibility. At the same time, I understand the different opinions.

There are definitely a lot of people who have made a decision without doing any of their own research.

Some have allowed others to make the decision for them. When it comes to our bodies and our overall wellbeing, it is important that we are in control, making our own decisions based on an understanding of the risks and benefits.

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis at the time of getting his first vaccine shot.

For those who don’t feel like they know enough about the vaccine yet, I understand.

Get more information.

For those who are pressured by the people around them, I understand. Have those conversations, focus on the facts and make the right decision for yourself.

For those who are not so sure we are getting the best possible version of the vaccine, I understand. Do your research on what is available and determine how you can get what you need— whether that is another vaccine or settling for what we have because it is better than nothing.

For those who simply want to wait to see how others fare, I understand.

There are always early and late adopters.

For those who weren’t sure about the process, I understand. It is running incredibly smoothly, I was in and out in 20 minutes (including the 15-minute observation period), all of the volunteers were helpful and I experienced no side effects aside from a sore arm for a few days.

As we enter debates about the vaccine, let’s do it with a preference for facts and an abundance of respect for each other. We will not all make the same decision. Even among those making the same decision, there are differences in reasoning.

Of course, we need to dispel the myths and discourage the spread of misinformation. There is no room in reasonable dialogue for talk of the mark of the beast, microchips or mind control. Focus on facts, and steer others toward them.

More people with vaccines makes for a safer environment for everyone.

We do, however, need to keep in mind that getting a vaccine does not mean we should gather in large numbers, maskless and without social distancing.

We still need to stay aware of the COVID-19 safety protocols and keep up with the latest findings so that we can govern ourselves accordingly.

I am looking forward to the number of vaccinated people going up as we have more constructive conversations about our current reality and the one the vaccine can create for us.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, April 21, 2021, PAGE 9

NAGB INSTALLS ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING STATION

TECHTALK

DIRECTOR of the NAGB Amanda Coulson said the new charging station ‘fits in to the sustainability goals of the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas to reduce our carbon footprint.’

THE National Art Gallery of The Bahamas just put themselves on the map – of free charging stations now available to electric vehicle drivers, that is!

A leading local art institution that provides access to Bahamian art through exhibitions and programming, the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas (NAGB) is also positioning itself as a leader in reducing carbon emissions by adding an electric vehicle (EV) charging station to its grounds that will be free for anyone to use, says Director of the NAGB Amanda Coulson, who donated the charger as a parting gift as she wraps up her decade in service to the institution at the end of this month.

“Just like the decision to massively reduce our paper usage at the institution, this new charging station fits in to the sustainability goals of the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas to reduce our carbon footprint,” says Coulson.

“Since the NAGB is now free to visit for anybody living in The Bahamas, if someone wants to charge their electric vehicle,

maybe as they renew their cars, they’ll pop into the gallery and renew themselves with nourishing, uplifting, beautiful Bahamian art at the same time.”

Installed by Easy Car Sales, this EV charging station is the latest addition to a growing network of public charging points free to use on New Providence, facilitated by businesses to encourage Bahamians to make the switch to cleaner transportation.

Owners of electric vehicles who usually charge their car at home, can top up while shopping or dining at an increasing number of local businesses and institutions who are aligning their brands with green and sustainable values.

Charging an electric car from the BPL grid costs only $1 to go the same distance as a gallon of gas priced at almost $5 —one of the many benefits that Amanda Coulson, who recently made the switch to an electric vehicle herself, loves about her new car, along with powerful, quiet performance and easy maintenance.

Overall however, knowing that she is making the world a better place by driving cleaner is her favourite part about making the switch to electric—and why she encourages Bahamians to do it, too.

“Where I work, the building requires a lot of maintenance due to the exhaust fumes and oil coming off all of the cars that drive around in the environment,” says Coulson. “I love that I’m not damaging the earth – as I drive along the coast and I look out onto the ocean, I know I’m driving clean and supporting our beautiful Bahamaland.”

“I would encourage people to make the switch – it’s clean, it’s easy, and it’s such a joy to drive electric.”

• This article is by Easy Car Sales – check out the map of free EV chargers at www.easy242. com.

Want to put your business on the map, or test drive an electric vehicle for yourself?

Reach out online or call 4610103 to find out more.

APPLE UNVEILS NEW PRODUCTS, SCHEDULES PRIVACY CRACKDOWN

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer SAN RAMON, Calif.

(AP) — Apple spruced up its product line at an event Tuesday while slipping in quiet notice of a software update, now due next week, designed to enhance the privacy of iPhone users at the expense of digital advertisers such as Facebook.

Timing for the software upgrade trickled out during a series of announcements for new iPads, iMac computers and more during a pre-recorded event that sometimes seemed like a one-hour infomercial for Apple.

Apple also unveiled a new subscription option for podcasts and a gadget called AirTags — coinsized devices that can be attached to keys, backpacks, purses and other items to help people track them down via iPhone if they’re misplaced.

The AirTags, due in stores April 30, will require the iPhone software update called iOS 14.5.

That update will also include a new feature requiring apps to obtain explicit permission from users before tracking their activity and whereabouts.

IN this illustration photographed in La Habra, Calif., the new iPhone 12 models are introduced during a virtual event held to announce new Apple products, Tuesday. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) Apple said in a footnote to its AirTags announcement that the update will be released at some point next week.

Apple had previously only said that the update would be available in the spring. A similar software update is coming out for iPads as well.

The new privacy tool could drain billions of

dollars of revenue from apps such as Facebook, which rely on following people around on iPhones to collect personal information that helps them sell targeted ads.

That feature, called App Tracking Transparency, will force apps to obtain permission before collecting such surveillance data, even those that are already installed on the device.

To date, such apps have been free to track iPhone users automatically unless people take the time and trouble to prevent the snooping.

Apple originally planned to released the ant-tracking feature last September, but delayed it to give apps that ad-dependent “free” apps to adjust to the changes.

Facebook spent part of the delay blasting Apple for

a change that it says could make it difficult for smaller apps to survive without charging consumers. At the same time, Facebook has acknowledged to investors that its own ad revenue could also be hurt.

On the product front, Apple is rolling out new iMacs with better cameras and speakers for improved video meetings and sound and new iMac keyboards with the same fingerprint ID sensor that unlocks iPhones and iPads.

The latest iPad Pros will work on ultrafast 5G wireless networks that are still being built out.

Apple’s new paid podcast option will join an increasingly crowded field of digital antertainment and information subscription services.

Those already include several from Apple, including music and video streaming options that feed off the nearly 1.6 billion devices currently in use by the company’s mostly affluent customers.

The popularity of those products and services have turned Apple into one of the world’s most profitable companies with a market value of $2.2 trillion, twice where it stood when the pandemic began.

• BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A project aimed at reducing plastic pollution along the Mississippi River is deploying new technology in an ancient form: This is not your average message in a bottle.

Scientists are placing GPS devices inside plastic bottles to study how trash enters the watershed and travels downstream, with the ultimate goal being to reduce pollution in rivers and oceans. The initiative was launched last Saturday in Baton Rouge, the first of three cities participating in a pilot programme that involves tracking several bottles on their journeys toward the Gulf of Mexico.

East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor Sharon Weston Broome held a news conference on the morning of April 11 on a floating barge at Shamrock Marine.

With the river flowing swiftly behind her, Broome said Baton Rouge is proud to be the first pilot site.

She serves as co-chair of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative, which is organizing the program.

“I’m sure you recognise the value of this monumental waterway,” she said. “It physically shapes our community, it is a staple of our economy and it is an asset to our environment in Louisiana.”

Researchers are focusing on the Mississippi River watershed, the drainage system for 40% of the continental United States.

The other pilot cities are St. Louis, Missouri, and St. Paul, Minnesota, near where the river begins. A total of 10 plastic bottles will be divided between the pilot cities, including at least three in Baton Rouge, researchers said.

• LOS ALTOS, Calif. (AP) — Charles “Chuck” Geschke — the co-founder of the major software company Adobe Inc. who helped develop Portable Document Format technology, or PDFs — died at age 81.

Geschke, who lived in the San Francisco Bay Area suburb of Los Altos, died Friday, the company said.

“This is a huge loss for the entire Adobe community and the technology industry, for whom he has been a guide and hero for decades,” Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen wrote in an email to the company’s employees.

“As co-founders of Adobe, Chuck and John Warnock developed groundbreaking software that has revolutionized how people create and communicate,” Narayen said. “Their first product was Adobe PostScript, an innovative technology that provided a radical new way to print text and images on paper and sparked the desktop publishing revolution. Chuck instilled a relentless drive for innovation in the company, resulting in some of the most transformative software inventions, including the ubiquitous PDF, Acrobat, Illustrator, Premiere Pro and Photoshop.”

His wife said Geschke was also proud of his family.

“He was a famous businessman, the founder of a major company in the U.S. and the world, and of course he was very, very proud of that and it was huge achievement in his life, but it wasn’t his focus — really, his family was,” Nancy “Nan” Geschke, 78, told the Mercury News on Saturday.

“He always called himself the luckiest man in the world.”

PAGE 10, Wednesday, April 21, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

A PERSON reacts near Cup Foods next to a mural of George Floyd after Derek Chauvin was found guilty.

Photo: Morry Gash/AP

Cop who killed George Floyd convicted of murder MINNEAPOLIS Associated Press FORMER Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted yesterday of murder and manslaughter for pinning George Floyd to the pavement with his knee on the Black man’s neck in a case that triggered worldwide protests, violence and a furious reexamination of racism and policing in the US. Chauvin, 45, was immediately led away with his hands cuffed behind his back and could be sent to prison for decades.

The verdict — guilty as charged on all counts, in a relatively swift, across-the-board victory for Floyd’s supporters — set off jubilation mixed with sorrow across the city and around the nation.

Hundreds of people poured into the streets of Minneapolis, some running through traffic with banners. Drivers blared their horns in celebration.

“Today, we are able to breathe again,” Floyd’s younger brother Philonise said at a joyous family news conference where tears streamed down his face as he likened Floyd to the 1955 Mississippi lynching victim Emmett Till, except that this time there were cameras around to show the world what happened.

The jury of six whites and six Black or multiracial people came back with its verdict after about ten hours of deliberations over two days. The now-fired white officer was found guilty of seconddegree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and seconddegree manslaughter.

Chauvin’s face was obscured by a COVID-19 mask, and little reaction could be seen beyond his eyes darting around the courtroom. His bail was immediately revoked. Sentencing will be in two months; the most serious charge carries up to 40 years in prison.

Defence attorney Eric Nelson followed Chauvin out of the courtroom without comment.

President Joe Biden welcomed the verdict, saying Floyd’s death was “a murder in full light of day, and it ripped the blinders off for the whole world” to see systemic racism.

But he warned: “It’s not enough. We can’t stop here. We’re going to deliver real change and reform. We can and we must do more to reduce the likelihood that tragedies like this will ever happen again.”

The jury’s decision was hailed around the country as justice by other political and civic leaders and celebrities, including former President Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a white man, who said on Twitter that Floyd “would still be alive if he looked like me.

That must change”.

At a park next to the Minneapolis courthouse, a hush fell over a crowd of about 300 as they listened to the verdict on their cellphones. Then a great roar went up, with many people hugging, some shedding tears.

At the intersection where Floyd was pinned down, a crowd chanted, “One down, three to go!” — a reference to the three other fired Minneapolis officers facing trial in August on charges

FORMER Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin listens as the verdict is read in his trial for the 2020 death of George Floyd, yesterday. of aiding and abetting murder in Floyd’s death.

Janay Henry, who lives nearby, said she felt grateful and relieved.

“I feel grounded. I can feel my feet on the concrete,” she said, adding that she was looking forward to the “next case with joy and optimism and strength.”

Jamee Haggard, who brought her biracial four-year-old daughter to the intersection, said: “There’s some form of justice that’s coming.”

The verdict was read in a courthouse ringed with concrete barriers and razor wire and patrolled by National Guard troops, in a city on edge against another round of unrest — not just because of the Chauvin case but because of the deadly police shooting of a young Black man, Daunte Wright, in a Minneapolis suburb April 11.

The jurors’ identities were kept secret and will not be released until the judge decides it is safe to do so.

It is unusual for police officers to be prosecuted for killing someone on the job. And convictions are extraordinarily rare.

Out of the thousands of deadly police shootings in the U.S. since 2005, fewer than 140 officers have been charged with murder or manslaughter, according to data maintained by Phil Stinson, a criminologist at Bowling Green

State University. Before Tuesday, only seven were convicted of murder.

Juries often give police officers the benefit of the doubt when they claim they had to make splitsecond, life-or-death decisions.

But that was not an argument Chauvin could easily make.

Floyd, 46, died May 25 after being arrested on suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 bill for a pack of cigarettes at a corner market. He panicked, pleaded that he was claustrophobic and struggled with police when they tried to put him in a squad car.

They put him on the ground instead.

The centerpiece of the case was the excruciating bystander video of Floyd gasping repeatedly, “I can’t breathe” and onlookers yelling at Chauvin to stop as the officer pressed his knee on or close to Floyd’s neck for what authorities say was 9 1/2 minutes, including several minutes after Floyd’s breathing had stopped and he had no pulse.

Prosecutors played the footage at the earliest opportunity, during opening statements, and told the jury: “Believe your eyes.” From there it was shown over and over, analyzed one frame at a time by witnesses on both sides.

In the wake of Floyd’s death, demonstrations and scattered violence broke out in Minneapolis,

around the country and beyond.

The furor also led to the removal of Confederate statues and other offensive symbols such as Aunt Jemima.

In the months that followed, numerous states and cities restricted the use of force by police, revamped disciplinary systems or subjected police departments to closer oversight.

The “Blue Wall of Silence” that often protects police accused of wrongdoing crumbled after Floyd’s death. The Minneapolis police chief quickly called it “murder” and fired all four officers, and the city reached a staggering $27m settlement with Floyd’s family as jury selection was underway.

Police-procedure experts and law enforcement veterans inside and outside the Minneapolis department, including the chief, testified for the prosecution that Chauvin used excessive force and went against his training.

Medical experts for the prosecution said Floyd died of asphyxia, or lack of oxygen, because his breathing was constricted by the way he was held down on his stomach, his hands cuffed behind him, a knee on his neck and his face jammed against the ground.

Chauvin’s attorney called a police use-of-force expert and a forensic pathologist to try to make the case that Chauvin

acted reasonably against a struggling suspect and that Floyd died because of a heart condition and his illegal drug use. Floyd had high blood pressure and narrowed arteries, and fentanyl and methamphetamine were found in his system.

Under the law, police have certain leeway to use force and are judged according to whether their actions were “reasonable” under the circumstances.

The defence also tried to make the case that Chauvin and the other officers were hindered in their duties by what they perceived as a growing, hostile crowd.

Chauvin did not testify, and all that the jury or the public ever heard by way of an explanation from him came from a police body-camera video after an ambulance had taken the 6-foot-4, 223-pound Floyd away. Chauvin told a bystander: “We gotta control this guy ‘cause he’s a sizable guy ... and it looks like he’s probably on something.”

The prosecution’s case also included tearful testimony from onlookers who said the police kept them back when they protested what was happening.

Eighteen-year-old Darnella Frazier, who shot the crucial video, said Chauvin gave the bystanders a “cold” and “heartless” stare. She and others said they felt a sense of helplessness and lingering guilt from witnessing Floyd’s slow-motion death.

“It’s been nights I stayed up, apologising and apologising to George Floyd for not doing more, and not physically interacting and not saving his life,” she testified.

Biden to America after Floyd verdict: ‘We can’t stop here’ President Joe Biden said the conviction of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd “can be a giant step forward” for the nation in the fight against systemic racism. But he declared that “it’s not enough.”

Biden spoke from the White House hours after the verdict alongside Vice President Kamala Harris, with the pair saying the country’s work is far from finished with the verdict.

“We can’t stop here,” Biden declared.

Biden and Harris called on Congress to act swiftly to address policing reform, including by approving a bill named for Floyd, who died with his neck under Chauvin’s knee last May. Beyond that, the president said, the entire country must confront hatred to “change hearts and minds as well as laws and policies.” “‘I can’t breathe.’ Those were George Floyd’s last words,” Biden said. “We can’t let those words die with him. We have to keep hearing those words. We must not turn away. We can’t turn away.”

Harris, the first Black woman to serve as vice president, said racism was keeping the country from fulfilling its founding promise of “liberty and justice for all.”

“It is not just a Black America problem or a people of color problem. it is a problem for every American,” she said. “It is holding our nation back from reaching our full potential.”

“A measure of justice isn’t the same as equal justice,” she said.