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VOLUME:117 No.106, APRIL 28TH, 2020

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HEALTH: HELPING FAMILIES MAKE FITNESS FUN

PM paints roadmap back to normality but warns:

Read my lips - don’t break quarantine

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis yesterday revealed the government plans to use technology to track people in quarantine and to impose severe punishment on those breaking isolation rules. In a wide-ranging speech in the assembly he also outlined steps to gradually reopen the country and to bring home Bahamians stuck abroad.

Breaking quarantine could result in a $20,000 fine or up to five years in prison, or both, he said. He also touted statistical analysis suggesting the country’s drastic social distancing rules have reduced the number of deaths

DR Hubert Minnis speaking yesterday Photo: Yontalay Bowe/BIS

SEE PAGE TWO

‘WE’VE FLATTENED THE CURVE’ RENT SCHEME’S 40% DEFERRAL

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net HEALTH Minister Dr Duane Sands said officials have managed to “flatten the curve” by having a maximum of six COVID19 cases on any given day,

but this does not mean the nation is out of the woods.

While giving local statistics on the disease, he said women account for 60 percent of the cases, but only represent 36 percent of the COVID-19 deaths.

“While we continue to have cases, and the

unfortunate deaths, we have managed to flatten the curve by having a maximum of six cases diagnosed on any one day and our acute care institutions have not been overwhelmed with SEE PAGE THREE

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced long-awaited details of his rental assistance programme yesterday, revealing an initiative that

will be based on deferrals and will apply only to residential rentals.

He said people who qualify for the programme will be able to postpone upto 40 percent of their rent payment for the next three months, beginning this month.

“This means for example, that if an individual’s rent is $800 per month, they will be required to pay $480 per month over the next three months,” he said. “The remainder will be deferred or postponed.”

SEE PAGE THREE

BURGER KING ‘KILLER’ WINS APPEAL

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A MAN who faced life in prison for murdering a fast food restaurant manager in 2009 had his conviction overturned yesterday by the Privy Council because he did not have an attorney during his trial. The matter has been sent back to the Court of Appeal, which will determine if there should be a retrial.

Simeon Bain, convicted

SIMEON Bain pictured in 2013 of killing 21-year-old Rashad “Shanty” Morris outside Burger King in

September 2009, appealed his conviction and 55-year sentence for the crime along with other related offences to the Privy Council in 2016.He was initially sentenced to eight, 19, 12 years and life imprisonment for the crimes.

Bain appealed his conviction and sentence, and though his appeal against his convictions were dismissed, the appellate court granted his appeal against

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE SEVEN

FACE-TO-FACE

RHONDA FINDS ONLINE SCHOOL IS PAYING OFF

SEE PAGE EIGHT

PAGE 2, Tuesday, April 28, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

from page one and confirmed COVID19 cases which would have otherwise occurred by now.

His communication came before Parliament passed a resolution to extend his 24-hour curfew and restrictions until May 30.

Citing information provided by Dr Merceline Dahl-Regis, coordinator of the country’s COVID-19 response, Dr Minnis said the health team has worked with experts to show that after restrictive measures were imposed, the country averted at least 23 cases by April 9 and prevented what would have been 33 percent more deaths by that date.

“What they’re saying is that the measures we implemented were working and are working and have reduced the number of infected cases by 36 percent,” he said.

“The aforementioned estimated reduction of 23 new cases translates into an estimated reduction of four deaths over this past week. This death reduction estimate is based on the country’s fatality record of eight deaths per 41 confirmed cases. Without the social distancing measures, we estimate the country would have recorded 12 deaths by Day 27. These unrealised deaths represent a 33 percent reduction in the number of estimated COVID-19 related deaths

by Day 27. Further, the reduction of 23 cases indicates a reduction in the case load for the doctors and hospital resources, and demand for beds.”

Minnis warns: Up to five years in jail if you break quarantine Health officials have been pressed in recent weeks on the strength of their oversight of people in quarantine and isolation.

Dr Minnis said: “Health officials have repeatedly noted that a number of those who should remain in quarantine or isolation at home are not doing so, which could result in greater spread of the virus.”

To address the problem, Dr Minnis said an app will be used to collect anonymous data that will ensure people’s privacy is respected.

“It is envisaged that through the simple action of downloading an app, quarantined and isolated individuals could use their cellphones in a manner similar to a walkie-talkie,” he said, adding they could connect instantly with care agents, send an emergency assist alert for rapid response and talk to family and friends in a secure

space with the touch of a single button.

The prime minister revealed his emergency orders have been amended to ensure those who break quarantine are fined up to $20,000, face five years imprisonment or both.

“You break quarantine, we lock you up,” he said.

As for Bahamians struck abroad, Dr Minnis said officials are finalising details to ensure they are brought home and kept in a designated quarantine facility guarded by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force.

“I know that this has placed a burden on some Bahamians overseas,” he said. “I understand the frustration and worry of their families here at home. In keeping with the protocols of other countries, the government is finalising plans to secure a mandatory quarantine facility to accommodate the return of a number of Bahamians in

the United States to New Providence.

“At present there are 200 Bahamians who want to return home during the lockdown of our borders and we are finalising plans to bring those individuals home. I advise all those individuals who want to travel home that they should contact the consul general in Miami so they can be informed as to when they can be brought home.”

Warning that COVID19 will be with the country for the foreseeable future - even as numbers of cases stabilise and decline - Dr Minnis said his National COVID-19 Coordination Committee has began planning for the gradual reopening of the country, a process they surmise will culminate in the resumption of international travel and full operation of hotels.

According to their plan, the country is currently in phase 1a: essential businesses, hardware, auto parts

stores and nurseries are opened, some for just two days per week; NGOs are providing food to the needy with permission and people can exercise for 90 minutes in their neighbourhood from Monday to Friday.

During phase 1b, there could be a relaxation of restrictions on exercise and hardware, nurseries and auto parts stores can expand to five-day online delivery and curb-side services.

During phase two, there could be even further relaxation on exercises and worship services could be permitted with strict social distancing rules and use of masks. Business operations in Family Islands that have not recorded a COVID-19 case could resume during this phase and there could be the resumption of healthcare and manufacturing industry services that can develop protocols to maintain social distancing.

In phase three there

would be restriction reopening for non-essential stores, limited education services, relaxation of limits on weddings, funerals and social gatherings, reopening of parks and beaches with social distancing.

During the fourth phase, the government could allow restaurants, cultural facilities, gyms, movie theatres and entertainment faculties to operate with social distancing protocols and masks while resuming office operations and personal services such as hair care and nails with the use of personal protection equipment.

During the fifth phase, international travel can resume, hotels can fully operate along with public transportation and a general lift on movement.

Although he presented the reopening chart, Dr Minnis noted it is subject to change.

Editorial View - Page 6

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, April 28, 2020, PAGE 3

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

RENT SCHEME TO ALLOW TENANTS 40% DEFERRAL from page one The programme, he said, will apply only to people whose employment or income has been affected

by COVID-19.

He said landlords will not be able to evict tenants who were in good standing prior to April for the threemonth period and will not be able to disconnect the electricity or water of tenants who were in good standing prior to April. “…There should be no evictions between now and the end of June unless the tenant had been legally eligible for eviction before April.”

At the end of the threemonth period, people will have 12 months to pay back the deferred amount.

“I want to be clear, this is not permission for individuals not to pay their rent,” Dr Minnis said. “I advise those who are still able to pay their full rent to do so. It is important to recognise also that landlords depend on rental payments for their own income and often to pay off their bank mortgages on their rental properties and this is why those rental payments can be deferred but they cannot be eliminated. I am pleased to advise that the commercial banks have

indicated they are open to deferring the mortgage payments on rental properties to the extent that landlords are affected by this programme.”

Dr Minnis said to qualify for the programme, renters must have a monthly rental payment of $2,000 or less, be no more than one month in arrears with rent, be a Bahamian citizen or legal resident and able to demonstrate that their employment or income stream has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

They will have to sign an agreement to repay the amount deferred.

Landlords, Dr Minnis

said, may agree with the renter to provide a bigger deferment amount and qualifying renters can decide they want a smaller deferment or no deferment at all.

“I am asking landlords and renters to approach this with understanding and with patience,” the prime minister said. “Many renters are on unemployment assistance and will not have the means to pay full rent.

Many landlords have mortgage obligations to meet with the banks for these rental properties. They and other landlords also depend on the rental income to take care of themselves and their families.”

Dr Minnis also announced the National Food Committee will create a digital distribution plan to ensure Bahamians in need have sustenance while coordinating with various food sector agencies and groups to distribute the items.

“Once those individuals are within the digital system we can keep abreast and ensure that those individuals are adequately supplied and supported with their food needs,” he said of people in need. “This will also reduce the possibility or chance of double or triple dipping with individuals moving from

one distribution centre to another because it’s all a national distribution network.”

Dr Minnis noted that people vulnerable to food insecurity now include “the newly unemployed, selfemployed people whose businesses have been adversely affected, senior citizens unable to leave their homes because of the virus, school children who do not have sufficient food and some patients and those who provide them with care at home.”

He said he has appointed Susan Holowesko Larson as coordinator of the committee.

“The case fatality ratio of The Bahamas stands at 13.8 percent. Now the case fatality ratio is a measure of severity of a disease. It is calculated by comparing the number of cases that have died from COVID-19 to the number of cases of the disease. Notwithstanding the significant level of comorbid illnesses that have contributed to this level of lethality, we expect the case fatality rate to fall as we liberalise the criteria

for testing. More tests... more positive cases.”

Case confirmation, Dr Sands said, is tied to laboratory testing capacity.

Significant strides continue to be made in this area.

The Bahamas has accepted 1,000 donated RT PCR test kits as well as more than 700 RNA extractor kits and other reagents required for testing.

Despite an inventory of at least 4,000 RT PCR kits, he said officials remain challenged to expand

testing to reach the elusive goal of testing-on-demand because of international supply chain limitations.

He said currently, the country’s swab inventory stands at 1,100 swabs remaining and the government’s lab is currently exploring multiple avenues for enhanced capacity. On order are 3D printed swabs, validation of samples such as sputum instead of nasopharyngeal swabs and locally produced viral transport media, he said.

Sands: We’ve flattened the curve on infections from page one

assessment and management of COVID cases,” Dr Sands said. “We are not out of the woods by any stretch. We must continue the public health and social measures implemented. It is our best chance for us to make the best outcome of this unfortunate situation for all.”

To ensure the country remains on this path, Dr Sands said detection will “very soon” include testing for any person wishing to know their COVID-19 status. These people will be able to have tests done at approved private labs.

However, the minister did not announce a timeline for this portion of test expansion.

However, the government has tested around 200 high-risk healthcare workers at Princess Margaret Margaret Hospital.

While tests are still being conducted, preliminary findings, he said, were that 25 percent of the tests yielded negative results.

Fifteen confirmed cases and one death has come from this vulnerable group.

Previously, officials said other vulnerable groups including eldercare homes and the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services would also be the focus of priority testing, but Dr Sands told Parliament yesterday the focus has shifted to people who may have come into contact with at-risk medical workers.

Apart from this, Dr Sands said officials now have data to understand more about how the virus has spread throughout communities. He said most recently it has been found that Bimini is emerging as a COVID-19 hotspot, while New Providence accounts for 80 percent of the cases.

The Bahamas’ case fatality ratio stands at 13.8 percent, he said.

As of April 26, there have been 80 confirmed cases, with 11 deaths. Twentyone days prior, there had been 29 cases. Eight of 80 confirmed cases are hospitalised in serious or critical condition at Doctors Hospital West.

HEALTH Minister Dr Duane Sands “The total number of 80 cases represents a 121 percent increase over the last report,” Dr Sands told Parliament yesterday. “Of the total cases, 22 have recovered and 47 remain active. As may be expected, most of the cases 64 are in New Providence accounting for 80 percent of all cases.

“Grand Bahama, Bimini and Cat Cay account for the remainder of cases with seven and nine cases, respectively.

“Females account for 60 percent of all cases although only thirty-six 36 percent of deaths. Most cases, both sexes, fall in the age group 40-59 years. The case fatality ratio now stands at 13.8 percent. What is extremely notable is that Bimini has emerged as a hot spot for the COVID-19 virus in The Bahamas.”

He continued: “Current data in my ministry on this outbreak, supports the view that spread of COVID in The Bahamas is occurring mostly through community transmission, recording just one imported case early in the outbreak and four import-related cases. The remaining 75 cases have all been determined to have occurred through spread of the virus within the country.”

Of these cases there have been 48 women and 32 men.

There have also been successes, Dr Sands said.

“Moreover, what is our unsung success, Mr Speaker, is that we now have a total of 22 persons

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who have recovered from COVID-19. This simply means that they are no longer shedding the virus and infecting others.”

However the deaths, 11 in total, have affected those most vulnerable. Their ages range from 50 to 91.

“All these cases remain in the category of the most vulnerable. There are seven males and four females; and one of the deceased is from Bimini, eight from New Providence and two from Grand Bahama.

PAGE 4, Tuesday, April 28, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

Struggling to survive as slowdown in economy bites

THE TRIBUNE talked to Frederick Isaacs, above, and Cattieann Marshall outside the Department of Social Services at Baillou Hill Road yesterday.

Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

By EARYEL BOWLEG ebowleg@tribunemedia.net WITH her son cradled in her arms, unemployed single mother Orytha Ingrahm was awaiting food assistance from the Department of Social Services at Baillou Hill Road yesterday.

The 25-year-old was among several people outside the department looking for relief during the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, some of them had fallen on hard times before the economic slowdown.

Chairs lined the building’s entrance and a tent was set up on the side to provide shade from the sun.

Although there was a sign posted explaining people must wear masks, there were individuals seen entering the building without one.

“I’ve been unemployed from before this,” Ms Ingrahm told The Tribune.

A Private Funeral Service for

BRADLEY ROBERTS, 75 of Ridgeway Drive, will be held on Friday, May 1st, 2020, at Grace and Peace Wesleyan Church, Twynam Avenue, Yamacraw Estates.

Officiating will be Pastor Leonard Roberts Jr. and Rev’d Emily Demeritte.

In compliance with current Government regulations, attendance is limited to ten (10) family members.

Left to cherish his fond memories are his Mother: A. Dorothea Roberts; Wife: Alexandria Roberts; Daughter: Dr. Rhonda Carter; Son: Kevin Roberts; Sisters: Andrea Gordon, Christal Wildgoose, Elaine Robinson; Brothers: Perry & Leonard Roberts Jr.; Daughter-in-law: Brodwynn Roberts; Son-in-law: Dr. John Carter; Sisters-in-law: Laura & Marcia Roberts, Paulette, Pauline & Patricia Wilson; Brothers-in-law: Gaselle Gordon, Charles Wildgoose & Stafford Robinson, Luther, Daniel & Milton Wilson; Granddaughter: NyAshia Carter; Grandson: Ethan Roberts; Nieces & Nephews: Okedda Turner, Chrystof Roberts, Gaselle Jr., Nicola, & Geoffrey Gordon, Dr. Edward, Lacara & Brandon Wildgoose, Lisa Adams, Brian Robinson, Dr. Kristen Barrett, Leonard Roberts III, Summer McPhee, Dr. Levard Roberts, Gem Roberts, Debbie, Suzanne, Julianne, Denise, Karen, Stacy & Kyle Wilson; Aunt: Eleanor Newbold & Una Wiggins; Uncle: Clarence Wiggins; A host of other relatives and friends including: Louis Hanchell, Patrice McDonald, Anton & Lisa Newbold, Darville Walkine, Warren (Doc) Thompson, Nello Coerbell, Sandra Wilson, W. Mortimer, Andrew Darville, Pat Hanna, Sheila Cox, Mr. & Mrs. Don Smith, Carolyn Major, James Gilbert, Kenneth Pratt, Dr. Sheena Antonio-Collie, Dr. T. Turnquest, Dr. D. Curling, Dr. C. Rahming, Dr. Deborah Newbirth, Dr. S. Williams-Lockhart, Rev. Emily Demeritte, Rev. Dr. Kenneth Huggins, Rec. Cecil Newbold, Rev. Carl Campbell, Angie Tynes & the Providence Methodist Church family & the entire Methodist community, the Newbold, Archer, & Munroe Families.

Friends may pay their last respects at Bethel Brothers Morticians & Crematorium, #44 Nassau Street on Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

“How I get by is assistance from churches. People come and donate food and then I come and I just make meals with what I get.”

The young mother said she chooses not to bother her children’s father for support and prefers to shoulder the burden of taking care of them. Instead of depending on him, she said her sister, mother and other relatives pitch in with the youngsters. Already experiencing hard times, the economic slowdown brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic has made things worse.

She said because of the COVID-19 situation, she

can’t look for a job at the moment.

“I really can’t do nothing about it. I just got to follow what we have to follow and… just, you know, adjust to it. Even though you might say you don’t want to go another month, you can’t do nothing about it so just got to face the reality for right now and just try to do as you can do until it’s over.”

Also seeking food assistance was husband and father-of-three Frederick Isaacs. He has young children ranging from six down to six-months-old.

The 31-year-old became

unemployed at the beginning of March. He said he worked on Cabbage Beach.

Mentally, he admitted this time has been “traumatising” for him.

He added: “I ain’t never been through this in my life… All of my earnings, whatever I had in savings, I spent everything... Everything is gone.

“Right now, for me it’s just surviving. Just eating.

Just food and water - the basics. It’s hard for me to get those stuff.

“I’m just at a point of just getting help however I could get it.”

Rent assistance was

another popular aid people were seeking. Cattieann Marshall said she owes her landlord a few months in rent and her bills are piling up. She said her landlord would normally be understanding, but she has been behind now for a few months.

“I owe her a few months now because now where I have two bad knees I really out of work. Now since the rental assistance came up, I just say well let me try and come get something to try to repay her back ‘cause she’s really been good with me when it comes to the rent,” she said.

MAN FINED $500 FOR HELPING OUT HIS GREAT GRANDFATHER

By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A MAN who claimed he violated the weekend lockdown because he had to get water to clean his great grandfather’s faeces off their bathroom floor was fined $500 yesterday.

He was among several people who appeared before Magistrate Andrew Forbes for curfew and lockdown infractions. Many of those charged admitted to being aware of the country’s emergency orders when they were found outside the confines of their homes.

Mario Bryce, 32, was charged after officers found him on Andros Avenue around 9.45pm on April 26. He pleaded guilty to the charge and was fined $500 or three months in prison.

Prosecutor Lincoln McKenzie told the court on the night in question, officers observed Bryce walking on Andros Avenue. However, when they approached him, he “broke off running.” Sgt McKenzie said officers eventually found the defendant in some nearby bushes.

Asked why he was outside during the lockdown, he told the police he was just walking.

When given an opportunity to speak, Bryce told Magistrate Forbes that his great grandfather had defecated in the bathroom.

He also said that there was no running water in the house so he had to go

outside to get some water to clean up the mess. He said even though it was late he decided to take the risk because his great grandfather used the bathroom a lot in the night and he didn’t want him to use it in its current state and “fall” in his own faeces.

After hearing his explanation, Magistrate Forbes told Bryce if he had explained his situation to the officers that night, he would not have had to appear in court on Monday. In response, Bryce told the magistrate prior to being arrested he had been stopped by two other police cars who had given him permission to get the water. Still, he admitted when he saw a third police car approaching him that night, he panicked and ran.

Meanwhile, Carine Ceremy, 38, was also charged after police found her on John Road around 12.45pm on April 25. She pleaded guilty but was discharged after the prosecution elected to withdraw the charge.

During the arraignment, Ceremy told Magistrate Forbes that she was currently homeless and was living in a friend’s car that was parked in front of their residence. She said at the time of her arrest, she was standing right next to the car trying to “stretch her legs.” She insisted that she did not mean to be a “nuisance to the law.”

In response, Magistrate

Forbes said the court would try to find some accommodations to assist Ceremy in her situation.

Shanice Thomas, 25, of Kingston Jamaica, was also charged after police found her on New Providence Highway around 10.25pm on Sunday. She pleaded guilty to the charge and was fined $500 or three months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

During the hearing, she told Magistrate Forbes that she had only left her residence because she had received a call from a male friend who asked her to come to his office for two hours to help him. She said at the time, her friend had told her he had called the COVID-19 hotline to get permission.

In response, Magistrate Forbes told Thomas if she needed to leave her residence, she should call the emergency hotline herself.

He also told her she would be deported to Jamaica once the current travel restrictions were lifted.

Officers found 39-yearold Shayne Campbell near Killdeer Drive, Monastery Park around 10.25am on April 26. He pleaded guilty to the charge and was fined $500 or three months in prison.

He told Magistrate Forbes that he had only left his house to check on his diabetic mother who was “very sickly.” He explained that his daughter was

staying with his mother and he was not able to get in contact with them at all the day before, so he went to make sure his mother didn’t have a diabetic shock.

During the hearing, Magistrate Forbes told Campbell while he was sympathetic given the circumstances, there was a process that had to be followed. He also referenced the recent amendment to the COVID-19 emergency powers that would see the maximum penalty for curfew and lockdown violations increase to $20,000 or five years in prison and emphasised that a society can only function if people followed the rules.

Billydee Robinson, 45, was charged after officers found him on Karl Road off of Claridge Road around 11.10pm on April 25. He pleaded guilty to the charge and was fined $500 or three months at the BDCS. Terrance Rose,41, was also charged after he was found on Baha Mar Avenue around 11.40pm on April 23. He also pleaded guilty and was fined $500 or three months behind bars.

When given an opportunity to speak, Rose told Magistrate Forbes that he had only left his house to go help his one-legged uncle who lived around the corner.

He explained that his uncle was in a wheelchair and could not do anything for himself so he went there to “help him out.”

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, April 28, 2020, PAGE 5

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net TRANSPORT Minister Renward Wells said yesterday any driver with a licence that expired during the COVID-19 state of emergency will not be penalised.

The provision will run until the 24-hour curfew is lifted and 60 days thereafter.

Speaking at Parliament yesterday, the minister announced several impending changes at the Road Traffic Department to facilitate the changing times brought about by the pandemic.

These include upgrades that allow drivers to upload information and register online for vehicle registration and renewal and allowing insurance companies to send

Wells: Drivers with expired licences will not be penalised information directly to RTD that advises of active or inactive insurance policies.

Provisions will also be made for various payments online like driver’s licence renewals. The minister said officials want this done by the end of this week.

“I must recall and confirm that all licences, whether personal or vehicular, that were valid on March 30th are extended until the 24-hour curfew is lifted and sixty days thereafter, “ Mr Wells said yesterday. “That is to say, drivers that meet this definition will not be

penalised during this time for what would ordinarily be an offence.”

The new provisions at the department go hand in hand with a recently implanted curbside system at the national stadium where RTD operates.

“We recognise the need to re-engineer and enhance our services in this new dispensation in order to ensure the continuity of quality services in future. Hence, only newly imported vehicles will have to present to the Road Traffic Department to be licensed and inspected and too, for the

relevant information to be inputted into the system.

“In regards to the renewal of vehicles registration, we are working with the Transformation Unit in the Office of The Prime Minister to devise a means by which the need for inspections could be devolved to government designated or authorised entities, mechanic shops etc. Once the customer has provided the Road Traffic Department with a letter from the reputable government designated agency who facilitated their vehicle inspection, then the

licencing process will continue as is.

“This facet of the process is not unusual or far-fetched in that currently the Road Traffic Department’s policy mandates that in order to have a vehicle registered that has not been roadworthy or ‘on the road’ for more than a year, then a letter from your mechanic or mechanic shop would be required advising that said vehicle has been inoperable or off the road for the period in question; and that the vehicle is now repaired and roadworthy.”

Mr Wells said it was

also his understanding the Insurance Association has agreed to a meeting that will discuss sharing information with RTD. This will make it so that digital insurance policies could be uploaded directly from the insurance agency to the department. The feature to facilitate this will be included by May 1.

Insurance companies will also be able to digitally advise about those persons whose insurance has lapsed automatically, prompting the Road Traffic Department and the police to the lapsed policies.

show me how I was being rude and disruptive. I was trying to make a case and he was not listening to me,” Mr Davis told The Tribune.

For his part, leader of government business in the House of Assembly Renward Wells backed Speaker Moultrie, telling members Mr Davis did not have the right to re-litigate a debate when a question was already put in Parliament.

“Given the significance of this day, I guess some people (are) trying to etch their names in the history books as well, but let it reflect that the member

was not comporting with the rules of this honorable place,” Mr Wells said.

The incident came on the anniversary of Black Tuesday. On April 27, 1965, then opposition leader Sir Lynden Pindling threw the mace — the symbol of the speaker’s authority — out of the window of the House of Assembly to people standing in the public square. This action set the stage for Majority Rule in 1967, which saw the Progressive Liberal Party assume governance and removed the minority oligarchy from power.

PHILIP Davis leaves the House yesterday, while holding a newspaper cutting. Photo: Yontalay Bowe/BIS

Davis ejected from House for ‘disrespect’

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net OFFICIAL opposition leader Philip “Brave” Davis was yesterday named and thrown out of Parliament after House Speaker Halson Moultrie accused him of “disrespecting” the chair.

The Progressive Liberal Party leader and Speaker Moultrie got into an argument shortly after members passed a resolution to extend the state of emergency to May 30.

The basis of the argument

came down to how long Mr Davis was allowed to speak under the provision for members statements. He also argued that 30 days is too long for the House to adjourn at this time in the absence of parliamentary scrutiny.

Mr Davis had also been trying to explain why opposition members decided to abstain from voting on the resolution. He highlighted the speaker’s failure to call for abstentions while calling for those in support or against the move.

Speaker Moultrie then accused the Cat Island,

Rum Cay and San Salvador MP of “disrespecting” the chair and ordered Mr Davis to withdraw. When Mr Davis did not and continued to argue, Speaker Moultrie ruled that he be named and summoned the sergeant-at-arms to escort him from the lower chamber.

As he cited a House rule pertaining to Mr Davis’ behaviour, Speaker Moultrie said: “You are to withdraw from the Parliament for disrespecting the chair and creating a disturbance. Officer, have this member removed.”

Mr Davis then put on his face mask and gathered his belongings. But before making his exit he produced a copy of a newspaper cartoon, which was critical of Speaker Moultrie, showing it to members as he continued to argue his case.

Following the incident, Mr Davis said he had been holding on to the newspaper clipping, waiting for the right time to use it in Parliament. “I continue to say that he is just an unfit person. He is simply unfit to hold the office. He is saying I am being rude and disruptive, but I wanted him to

PAGE 6, Tuesday, April 28, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

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The high price you risk for breaking quarantine IF people weren’t taking the risks involved with breaking quarantine seriously beforehand, then yesterday’s introduction of a hefty possible punishment ought to focus the mind.

In truth, people shouldn’t need the extra penalty – but we need only look across at the steady stream of people in front of the courts who have not been taking the curfew seriously. If readers have been following the cases that have appeared before the courts, it is remarkable how petty the reasons are for people breaking curfew.

There were the seven caught playing dominoes, there was the man who went to see his girlfriend but didn’t stay because she was “running on”, there was one fined $800 for going to get a cigarette. There are even those who protest that they were not aware of the curfew – as if it hasn’t been dominating our conversations and our lives. Ignorance has never been a defence under the law and it’s not time to start now.

Quarantine is a more serious affair – and a more serious punishment is now looming for anyone who has been placed in quarantine who chooses to treat it like those petty curfew cases.

Five years in jail. A $10,000 fine. Perhaps both.

“You break quarantine, we lock you up,” said Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis.

We’ve already seen the consequences of what a single case of coronavirus can bring. The BPL office closed down after it was suspected staff had been exposed to someone who had been in close contact with a patient. The 200 healthcare workers forced into isolation or quarantine when a patient at Princess Margaret Hospital unexpectedly turned out to have the virus.

A single case can have a huge impact – so if someone breaks quarantine when they know they shouldn’t be going

anywhere, that’s the kind of choice that these penalties are meant to discourage.

Discourage, they should – and we sincerely hope not one Bahamian ends up in court facing these charges. Do the sensible thing. Don’t take the risk of five years in jail – because you shouldn’t be exposing others to the risk of the virus you might be carrying.

The measures come as the prospect of many more Bahamians in quarantine draws close – with 200 wanting to return to the country from the United States.

Upon return, they would have to go into quarantine to ensure they didn’t bring new cases into our communities.

Some will call the measures draconian – but there is no reason to fall foul of the law, and the danger of breaking quarantine is such that it could cost lives, as well as risking dragging the shutdown of the economy out further.

In the ideal world, in six weeks or so, we might never need these laws again.

Two pieces of good news from yesterday. First, the daily dashboard showed no new cases. There will be more cases, that’s for sure, but every day without one is a victory.

Second, according to health experts, the measures we have implemented so far have reduced the number of cases by at least 23 – and saved four lives in the past week alone. These are predictions, of course, and subject to some leeway, not least of all because we still haven’t had considerable widespread testing.

There may well be cases that just haven’t been detected. That’s not to cast doubt on the figures of the experts, but rather to encourage a redoubling of our efforts to find the exact toll this virus is bringing to our communities.

These figures are successes, though, and every single person who has abided by the rules should be commended. As for those who don’t follow the rules, take a look at that five years in jail and think twice before opening that door.

More businesses need to open up WITH the COVID-19 lockdowns and curfew set to continue until May 30, readers posted their views on the situation on tribune242.com.

Paulhummerman had this to say: “Curfew and lockdown must continue until there’s a clear sustained decrease in the number of new infections, since otherwise we risk 14% of the population dying. There is no other path, unfortunately.”

Tell_it_like_it_is posted this: “More businesses need to open during the month of May. Just continue mandatory face masks and social distancing. There are definitely not enough days for businesses to be open. People are going to get more frustrated as time goes on.”

Dawes said: “We have a mortality rate of 14% because we don’t test. If we were all tested then the rate would go down dramatically. They keep mentioning this rate and then those super spreaders who they have not tested.

So they know there are plenty people out there

who have it. But it benefits them to say plenty people will die if they don’t have this locked down. Ask them to show what the effect will be in deaths for us with so many people unemployed. How many additional deaths there will be in the long term as the Government will not be able to fund the already underfunded health care?

They should open up and those who are high risk completely self isolate.

Why should all of the population watch pretty much everything disappear because we are unwilling to isolate these 14% (which will be a lot lower)?”

There was this comment from Birdiestrachan: “Islands that have had zero cases and Grand Bahama with seven should be allowed to open. Some businesses. Not bar rooms or sit down restaurants, fish

fries. It is commonsense.

There is no need for a task force for this.”

Proudloudandfnm said: “GB should not be opened until we have four to six weeks of no new cases.

We’re okay with this lockdown until we know we are safe . . .”

And Mandela posted this comment: “I just hope and pray we see some positive results after May 30th because, if not then, what, another 30 days lockdown?”

Investment banker Michael Anderson cautioned Bahamians against using pension monies and retirement savings as emergency funding to ride out the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting this from John: “Desperate times require desperate measures. The alternative is to take out a loan against these funds and pay the bank 8, 9, 10 percent interest.”

And DWW said: “This implies people have pension savings . . .”

Don’t miss your chance to join the conversation on tribune242.com.

We’re all in the same boat EDITOR The Tribune NO pandemic is ever a good one so to speak but they tend to bring out the best in most people. It has been no different in our wonderful nation even though we face unprecedented challenges with the COVID-19 and what I am sure will be debilitating after effects. I am not one, however, to engage, excessively, in doom and gloom theatrics.

Several ministers have risen to the occasion since the advent of the Corona Virus and are worthy of honourable mention. I am not and have never been a member or supporter of the Free National Movement (FNM). No there is nothing wrong per se with that illustrious political party but I do not subscribe to a large part of its known mission statement and I do not support too many of its ministers and parliamentary representatives. Other than this the FNM is now a solid part of our political landscape.

The Hon. Jeffrey ‘Jeff’ Lloyd (FNM-South Beach), Minister of Education, et al, is to be specially called out and recognized on a job well done. Immediately the virus started to emerge Minister Lloyd and his stellar team at Education, inclusive of the Director, brother Marcellus, ordered all governmental schools to be closed. This single act may have prevented widespread and unabated outbreaks within our school systems which could then have been transmitted by infected teachers and even possibly students.

The Minister and his team also closed down the University of The Bahamas and the Bahamas Technical & Vocational Institute (BTVI) both servicing thousands of students of all ages and demographics.

I shudder to even contemplate what could have happened if Minister Lloyd, et al, were not proactive.

Electronic and distance learning protocols are now in place and all students have access to their respective policy and educational material via their computers or Cable Bahamas.

The pandemic has also demonstrated vividly the necessity of a well thought out and sustainable National Youth Service. All political parties and administrations have been talking about this for decades now, in fact, from the days of the late great and deeply lamented Sir Lynden Oscar Pindling,

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net our first Prime Minister and the major Founding Father.

When he suggested it it was rejected out of hand and laughed to scorn. Today it is a different song.

Minister Lloyd, back in the day, was instrumental in establishing and operating YEAST in conjunction with the Roman Catholic Church. That organization did much good work with our young men principally, but due to politics and, perhaps, jealousy towards the accolades which Lloyd was justifiably receiving.

Starting at Grade 10 all Bahamian students, male and female (segregated in the main) should undergo at least a one year period of national youth service.

Areas of discipline would include, based on personal skills and aptitude: health care/support; agriculture; fisheries; infrastructure; governance; religion; engineering; mechanics and, of course, a military component. By the time they enter Grades 11 and 12 we would, across the board, have a disciplined and career trained youth population. National Youth Service members/ cadets would receive a reasonable stipend which would have to be invested in a dedicated savings account or governmental savings bonds. I would encourage the Prime Minister and the cabinet to seriously consider the timely introduction of this vital and nation building initiative.

Minister Lloyd already has extensive local and international training in this area. He would be ideal to flesh out and administer the National Youth Service in conjunction with relevant other ministries and agencies.

I am also constrained to single out the Hon. Minister of Tourism & Aviation, Dionisio D’Aguilar (FNMFree Town). Under his leadership, despite Dorian, the tourism engine was ticking like a clock and firing on all spark plugs.

Arrivals were up and stop over visitors were growing dramatically. He and his team had contracted with international and deep pocketed investors to redesign and rebuild the Prince George Wharf; the Free Port Harbour; the Grand Lucayan Resort; the Eleuthera based Disney Resort; expansion of the

Sir Lynden Oscar Pindling International Airport; the Freeport Airport and, of course, the refurbishment of downtown here in New Providence.

We often talk about the diversification of our economy, but that is easier said than done. Tourism and financial services will remain, in my view, the twin engines which will drive the economy for the foreseeable future. They are also the quickest routes to start bringing in foreign reserves.

Having said that, we should and must as a matter of priority go big into agriculture and fisheries. This is where the Hon. Michael Pintard should rise to the occasion.

As the member of parliament for Long Island (Hon. Adrian Gibson-FNM) suggested recently, each Family Island should be selected and determined as an ideal location for specialized cultivation of selected crops.

For instance, Exuma produces wholesome onions in large quantities. Cat Island is great for growing corn which could be ground into flour, maze and/or grits, both for local and international consumption; Eleuthera is good for raising poultry, potatoes and pineapples.

Grand Bahama has great fishing grounds; Aragonite; a deep water port for industrial and transshipment purposes not to mention the tens of thousands of residential lots available in Grand Bahama which could serve as a safety valve to release the population pressures on New Providence.

Andros is good for growing almost anything. Farming of all sorts, especially citrus; bananas; cassava; pigeon and other types of peas; Aloes; sugarcane, like Abaco, and more. We need to ramp up, in a meaningful way, real food security. This is Pintard’s baby and he should run with it big time.

As Bahamians we are in this boat together. None of us is able to jump out or off, save and except one wants to be eaten by the Corona sharks or risk drowning.

Collectively we have to and must change and adapt as individuals and a nation.

The PM and his kitchen cabinet are invited to consider and act on the above.

He did, after all, ask for recommendations and suggestions. This is my B$100’s worth. To God then, in all things, be the glory.

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

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, April 28, 2020, PAGE 7

from page one

Burger King ‘killer’ wins his Privy Council appeal

his sentence. The Court of Appeal consequently substituted a 55-year sentence to be served concurrently with the other sentences.

On March 6, 2017, the appellate court granted Bain conditional leave to appeal his convictions and sentence to the Privy Council, the country’s highest court. Bain challenged the conviction and sentence on multiple grounds, including the withdrawal of counsel during his murder trial.

Bain’s attorney withdrew from the trial following a request made by the accused for a copy of disclosed material, ultimately causing the court to inform Bain his counsel was to address the court on his behalf.

Noting that he “may not be competent to represent” the appellant, Bain’s attorney then informed the court that the defendant wanted the case handled “his way”.

The judge then warned Bain that “if he told him how to run the case”, the attorney may withdraw from the case, leaving him to fend for himself.

“There was then a discussion about the provision of

disclosed material and how the crown was only obliged to provide one set, which culminated in the appellant stating that, as he understood it, he was being told that the only way he could get a copy of the material was if (legal counsel) was not representing him anymore and ‘for that reason’ he would represent himself.”

The matter was heard on March 17 before the panel of Lords Brian Kerr, David Lloyd-Jones, Philip Sales, Nicholas Hamblen, and Lady Jill Black, who concluded yesterday that Bain, a man of “limited education and reading ability” who was facing a death penalty, should have had legal representation during the trial.

“While there is ‘no absolute right to legal representation throughout the course of a murder trial’, it is obviously highly

desirable that defendants in such trials should be continuously represented where possible,” the Privy Council said.

The Privy Council further noted that while the judge did not directly encourage the counsel to withdraw his services, he also did not make an attempt to dissuade him.

“Their lordships can sympathise with the anxiety of the judge to proceed with a trial whose start had already had to be postponed on many occasions but where a defendant faces a capital charge and is left unrepresented through no fault of his own, the interests of justice require that in all but the most exceptional cases there be a reasonable adjournment to enable him to try and secure alternative representation,” the council added.

Considering the impact of the defendant being unrepresented, the Privy Council judges said they found that Bain’s case was “prejudiced” in two respects, such as the lack of skilled cross examination of the key witness and the fact that “the prosecution improperly referred to identification evidence from a witness they did not call, but no objection or application for a retrial was made.”

Describing Bain’s case as one “of serious mismanagement”, the Privy Council noted that “if matters had been handled properly”, the defendant would either have been persuaded to retain his original attorney or would have obtained an alternative choice, giving him a fair trial.

According to the evidence, in September 2009, Bain was in a romantic

relationship with a former Burger King employee who was close friends with Morris.

During the course of normal conversation, Bain’s girlfriend told him that Morris was a homosexual who was about “to come out of the closet”.

Under the false name “Dwayne”, Bain arranged to collect Morris from Burger King’s Charlotte Street location for a date.

However, the crown’s case was that Bain instead took Morris to his home and locked him in a room.

Afterwards, Bain took Morris to South Beach where he was beaten in a bid to obtain the codes to Burger King’s safe.

However, Morris refused to give Bain the codes.

It was alleged that at 1am on September 19, 2009, Bain drove Morris

to Burger King’s Tonique Williams-Darling location, where he was the manager, and forced him to disarm the security alarms and attempted to open the safe in the manager’s office.

After failing to do so, he was stabbed in the restaurant’s parking lot before his throat was slashed. Bain denied charges of murder, robbery, attempted robbery, housebreaking and kidnapping.

However, on May 2, 2013, Bain was unanimously convicted of kidnapping, robbery, housebreaking and Morris’ murder.

Immediately after his conviction, the case’s lead prosecutor, then Director of Public Prosecutions Vinette Graham-Allen, announced the crown’s intention to seek the death penalty, however he was given a sentence of life in prison.

MAN GIVEN BAIL OVER SHOOTING INCIDENT

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

DARIUS Johnson outside court yesterday.

Photo: Vandyke Hepburn

HUSBAND CHARGED WITH PUNCHING WIFE IN MOUTH

By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 30-YEAR-OLD man appeared in Magistrate’s Court yesterday, charged with punching his wife in the mouth.

Hatchelah Robinson appeared before Magistrate Andrew Forbes charged with unlawfully assaulting Dornique Robinson on March 31.

He pleaded guilty to the charge and was ordered

to attend anger management classes. According to the facts read by prosecutor Lincoln McKenzie, Mrs Robinson filed an official complaint with police against her husband claiming he punched her in the mouth during an argument over her cellphone. Sgt McKenzie said Robinson was taken into custody where he admitted to hurting his wife’s lip, although he insisted that it wasn’t his intention to harm her.

During the hearing, Robinson told Magistrate Forbes he and his wife were “going through a divorce process”.

He explained he and his wife had an argument and he took her phone because he wanted to see what was on it. He added that when he tried to give the phone back, he “accidentally scraped” her on the lip.

In response, Magistrate Forbes noted the amount

of domestic violence cases in the country have “exploded” since people have been confined to their houses for extended periods of time. He told Robinson he would send him to anger management classes and that he has to return to court next year for an official report on his progress. He warned the defendant that failure to attend the classes would result in a harsher penalty if he reoffended.

POLICE CHIEF TWEAKS OPERATION IN GB

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net ASSISTANT Commissioner of Police Ashton Greenslade has “tweaked” the policing operation in Grand Bahama by utilizing additional resources to curtail criminal activity.

As a result of the moves 20 people were arrested over the weekend for various offences, including a man wanted in connection with the recent shooting and homicide on GB. One man was charged in court yesterday morning, and a second man wanted by police – Kevin Smith – turned himself in yesterday accompanied by his attorney.

“In recent times we had two shootings. As a result of the shootings, I decided to tweak our operations a bit and to add some extra resources.

I have added additional resources, including senior

ACP Ashton Greenslade ranks,” ACP Greenslade said during a press briefing in his office at Police Headquarters.

ACP Greenslade noted those taken into custody were held for possession of an offensive instrument, unlawfully carrying arms, breach of curfew, breach of the Liquor Licence and other offences.

Of the 20 arrested, six are in custody for breach of curfew which ACP Greenslade said most people were adhering to.

Photo: Vandyke Hepburn “As you can see, we only have seven confirmed cases coming from the GB Division and that is because citizens have been taking heed and doing exactly what you are supposed to do. And I want to warn those persons trying to breach the curfew law that we will take you into custody, and you too will be going to court,” he warned.

When asked whether criminals are taking advantage of lockdowns to commit a crime, ACP

Greenslade said police have been very proactive in its patrols.

“We are onto that and we have been proactive.

On Friday, we tweaked our operations and added resources. So, we are dealing with everything; walking through track roads, doing foot patrols, static points, mobile patrol, and executing search warrants where possible,” he said.

He stressed that police are leaving no stone unturned to ensure the safety of all residents of GB. “We will continue to tweak as we move forward, and there are some initiatives we have in place and doing some things we can’t share at this time,” ACP Greenslade said.

“We had a few shopbreaking and housebreaking, hence is our reason for tweaking our operation so we can be more effective in that regard also,” he said.

A MAN accused of assisting a suspect in connection with a shooting incident was arraigned in the Freeport Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Darius Johnson, 23, of Woods Roger Drive appeared before Magistrate Debbye Ferguson, where he was charged with accessory after the fact. The charge stems from a recent shooting incident in Grand Bahama last week.

Johnson pleaded not guilty to charge and was granted $1,500 cash bail, with conditions to sign in every Monday and Wednesday at Central Police Station. The matter was adjourned to July 27.

SEXUAL ASSAULT CHARGE

By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net A 34-YEAR-OLD man was arraigned in Magistrate’s Court yesterday over allegations he sexually assaulted a minor last month. Peterson Louis appeared before Magistrate Andrew Forbes charged with one count of unlawful sexual intercourse

after he was accused of having sex with a 14-yearold girl on March 24. Louis was not required to enter a plea and the matter was adjourned to September 1 for service of a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

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

A Private Funeral Service for

CARLOS ALBERT LEES “Old Man” Unkey, 52 of Dean Street, will be held on Wednesday, April 29th, 2020, at the Chapel of Bethel Brothers Morticians and Crematorium, Nassau Street.

Officiating will be Pastor Ricardo Lees Sr. In compliance with current Government regulations, attendance is limited to ten (10) family members.

Left to cherish his memories are his wife: Marva; two daughters: Carlesha and Cherika; three brothers: David, Ricardo, Franklyn; five sisters: Deborah, Arnett, Sharlene, Porsha, and Rita; four aunts: Janett Arthur, Annie McPhee, Firstina McPhee, and Theresida Miller; six uncles: Rosewell, Jahurda, Phillip, Errol, David, and Ivan McPhee; two brothers-in-law: Andy Sargent and Fletcher Ferguson; two sistersin-law: June and Margaret Lees; Numerous nieces, nephews, cousins; the Saxons Superstar Junkanoo group of which he was a drummer; Nassau Flight Services staff; a host of other relatives and friends.

Friends may pay their last respects at Bethel Brothers Morticians & Crematorium, #44 Nassau Street on Tuesday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

PAGE 8, Tuesday, April 28, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

W

HILE schools throughout the country have adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown by moving their classes online, one school has found that years of providing an online learning experience for its students is paying off. Akhepran International Academy has had to move its classes completely online, but the technological foundation it laid from the start made it a much easier transition. Principal Rhonda Wright (nee Lightbourne) told me Akhepran has been a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) school since the very beginning.

Now in its ninth year of operation, Rhonda credits the school’s founder Dr Jacinta M Higgs with having a vision that put the school ahead of the curve as organisations around the world reach for the internet to stay connected when person-to-person interactions are estranged.

“We have used several online educational platforms over the years, transitioning to Moodle about four years ago,” Rhonda explained.

“The advantage of already using this platform as a major teaching and communication tool is that we were able to transition immediately to remote learning. We have essentially successfully transferred our brick and mortar school to the Akhepran Online School.

We have an online timetable which our scholars are required to follow. School begins online at 7:30am with a live guided silent time and assembly. Live classes begin at 8.00am and continue until 4.30pm. The day ends with a homeroom period with each grade level. Akhepran Online School has continued uninterrupted since March 18 with daily live classes, projects, assignments and quizzes with our teachers and scholars.”

That in itself is pretty amazing. Instead of having to grapple with the shock of a worldwide pandemic and come up with a plan, the school has been able to make a seamless transition.

Rhonda proudly said: “Akhepran’s mascot is the SCARAB! It is a beetle that symbolically represents resilience and transformation. These are the character traits that we embody in our scholars.”

That resilience and transformation is something I have seen Rhonda embody in her own life. She is a leader in the Afrocentric conscious movement in the country, as well as in the world of the vegan and alkaline food lifestyle. Rhonda, and her husband of 12 years Koji Wright, were promoting these causes even when they weren’t as popular as they are today. She is a wellness advocate and founder of a community organisation called SEEDlings Place, which gave birth to the popular wellness Green Earth Festival.

“I am passionate about facilitating the impartation of knowledge about living a healthy and fulfilling life so that our SEEDS… my children and the generation

RHONDA with her children, mother Ruth, and grandmother, Mother Thelma; right: Rhonda Wright, principal of Akhepran International Academy

Rhonda’s standing tall on the shoulders of a woman who pointed the way they are a part of… and even their children, will be wiser,” Rhonda said.

“I want them to be armed with information to make better, more enlightened decisions. I want them to be influenced to ultimately choose to elevate their quality of life much earlier than I did, in terms of what I put into and on my body temple.”

That may sound simple on the surface, but living in a country with limited options in terms of quality, value and affordability of vegetables, makes Rhonda’s tenacity to feed her family this way commendable. Her children Ptah, Sia, Nefer and Ma’at are vibrant, healthy and smart and stand as evidence that the healthy lifestyle is paying off. The elder three attend Akhepran and since the lockdown, they adjusted to online learning with the rest of the school population. The only difference is, their mother is the principal, so I suspect there’s no ducking a class or two!

“Like every other family, this circumstance

has provided a beautiful opportunity for my family and I to spend much more quality time together than we would under ‘normal’ circumstances,” Rhonda shared.

“We have consciously connected more and deepened our bond as a family.

I have been able to schedule a family reading hour every evening. We have been cooking more and eating together as a family regularly. We laugh more frequently and engage in more family silliness and playfulness! I have also literally pulled down all of my old homeschool resources which were boxed up and finally made them accessible to my five-year-old (who I initially kept them for anyway). To my children’s chagrin, I have definitely taken advantage of this time to require my children (and me) to actively work on removing some undesirable, unhealthy habits that have developed over time and ingrain or return to habits that will serve us long into our future.”

The choice to homeschool her children prior to Akhepran was a natural one on her journey in the wellness lifestyle. Rhonda felt she came with a solid background to make this decision. She graduated from Queen’s College in 1989, having attended the school from the first grade.

She completed three years at College of the Bahamas, then transferred to Jacksonville University in Florida. She majored in marketing, and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing.

Rhonda spent most of her professional career at Texaco, which later became Rubis, where she worked for nine years. Her last position was as a brand marketing specialist, managing a marketing budget of half a million dollars. She was responsible for managing the company brand in English-speaking Caribbean countries (The Bahamas, Jamaica, Cayman and Turks & Caicos Islands). After leaving there in 2009, Rhonda homeschooled her two eldest children for two years before joining Akhepran International Academy’s administrative team in August 2011. She worked with and trained directly under founder and then-principal, Dr Higgs.

Rhonda was appointed to the position of principal by

LEFT: Mother Thelma Thompson, who passed away this month at the age of 102; above: Bruce and Thelma Thompson with 12 of their children; below: Koji and Rhonda on their wedding day, with Mother Thelma.

Akhepran’s board in July 2017, and is now leading the school through one of the biggest changes it has had to face since its inception.

Being a community builder is nothing new for Rhonda, as she stands on the shoulders of family members who have made it their life’s testament.

Her mother’s maiden name is Thompson, and thus, she is a proud member of the Bruce and Thelma Thompson clan. Her grandmother, Thelma Cordella Thompson (nee Scavella) passed away less than two weeks ago – on April 15 at the age of 102. She was affectionately known as “Mother” by all of her descendants – 17 children, 83 grand children, 145 great-grandchildren and 35 great-great grandchildren.

She left this world quietly in her sleep, at her home on Chapel Street, where she was a fixture in the community. Literally thousands of people were touched by her smile and her warm spirit that they witnessed any time they passed her house. She was known for sitting on her porch where she watched and waved to the world from her bench.

She never learned to drive and therefore she walked everywhere she went, including to and from the hospital where she volunteered with the Yellow Birds for 47 years.

“She didn’t have a lazy bone in her body - she was the epitome of a hard worker, always engaged in some activity even if it was cleaning her house or yard,” Rhonda recalls of her beloved grandmother.

“She was an independent woman who liked to do things for herself. She was a stern, no nonsense woman, and wouldn’t hesitate to put you in your place if you stepped out of line or worse… rumpled up her house! Mother was a very meticulous and particular woman! Every inch of her house was curated perfectly - nothing was out of place and everything was spotless. She is undoubtedly a shining example of virtuosity in her own right. She was disciplined and dedicated to her God, church and family.

She was also unselfish, often putting the needs of others before her own. So much of what she embodied can be seen in the generations who have come from her, and I see many of her traits in me and my children, especially my girls.”

Rhonda leaned on the

strength of her grandmother through one of the most important moments of her life: “I was blessed to have a homebirth for my fourth and last child, Ma’at. My grandmother gave birth to 10 boys and seven girls, all for her only husband, Bruce – and all of them birthed right in her home in Chapel Street!

If that isn’t the embodiment of superwoman strength, mentally and physically, I don’t know what is! Seconds before Ma’at came, I struggled to make the very short walk down the hallway from my bedroom where the midwife completed her final examination. It felt like a thousand miles to my living room where the sacred space had been prepared for me to bring Ma’at forward. In that moment, I subconsciously called upon the energy of Mother, upon whose shoulders I stand, to give me the strength to complete that walk. I needed Mother’s help; her indomitable strength and spirit so that I could put one foot in front of the other.

I needed her prevailing force to remind me not to give up. I was surrounded by my husband, children, father, close friends and spiritual mothers including Dr Higgs. It was a community birth, surrounded by love. Knowing that Mother had done this 17 times, gave me the unquestionable confidence that I could do it also – even though in that moment it felt impossible!”

As the Thompson family prepares to lay their dear Mother to rest, it will be a difficult funeral because of the social distancing measures in place. What should be a grand funeral is restricted to just 10 people. However, the God that Mother served has not forsaken her as her home going ceremony will be live streamed to the family Facebook group.

“The Thompson family legacy guides me and grounds me,” says Rhonda.

“It is like a lighthouse, keeping me on the right path and helping to make me accountable, not veering too far from the high standards expected of someone birthed from a woman like Thelma Thompson.

My family legacy gives me the courage, strength and wisdom to know that I have the wherewithal to persevere and overcome all things!”

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, April 28, 2020, PAGE 9

GREATER TRANSPARENCY WOULD HELP WIN OVER THE PUBLIC RETURNING to the need for greater official transparency, more and more people are complaining about the lack of clarity in relation to the official handling of the crisis in The Bahamas.

Most importantly, they are asking on what basis decisions are being made about extending the lockdown, and they are demanding the Government should be more forthcoming in explaining its reaction to the virus crisis and in keeping the public informed. They want to know the rationale behind relaxing certain restrictions but not others – and, on a point of detail, in assessing the potential spread of the virus whether use is

being made of the ‘reproduction number’ process that is employed in other countries to determine how many new cases an infected person may generate?

Many will welcome the launching by the Office of the Prime Minister of a ‘suggestions platform’ related to the national response. But, with a lack of clarity about the Government’s own actions, there is a growing demand for publication of an exit strategy. This is important because the hard truth is no one can wait until a vaccine becomes available- which could be many months away - before resuming some sort of economic activity.

The

Peter Young column AS the nightmare of the extended lockdown now continues for another month it is amazing to watch - not least in the US and UK - how know-alls purporting to be experts attack their own governments when, more often than not, they have no relevant professional qualifications and little understanding of the pressures facing ministers.

Contrastingly, it appears most people here - in abiding by the new restrictions on movement - accept their political leaders are listening to expert scientific and medical advice and are trying to do their best in the extraordinary conditions of an unprecedented emergency, now being called a once-ina-century global health crisis.

All that said, however, in a democracy governments should be held to account by a vigorous press. It is incumbent on any government both to listen to the people and to tell them the truth about what is going on. The task of journalism is to probe, uncover, challenge and, where necessary, to disagree – and this is all the more important during the current crisis.

In the digital age of social media, with its rumours and exchange of unverified information, there is a public craving for reliable, edited, evidence-based news so it is unsurprising the reading of national newspapers, particularly online, is on the increase.

One recent example of the danger of fake news was a claim on WhatsApp that the Bahamas government plans to stop bank withdrawals and that there was an imminent prospect of a currency devaluation. This led to a strong statement last week by the Ministry of Finance on its Facebook page declaring such claims to be “categorically false”. So that was the end of it, but the incident underlined the importance of sticking to reliable sources of information.

In this column I aim to offer views on a variety of issues, but it also provides an opportunity to articulate the opinions of others gleaned from various conversations. This can continue even during the lockdown because, despite being deprived of

the pleasure of chats with friends in social settings, one can keep in touch through emails and telephone calls.

So, I hasten to report what most people must surely be aware of by now; namely, that there is a widespread feeling, growing by the day, that the government must start reopening the economy - selectively and progressively - without further delay as long as social distancing measures can be applied.

People are questioning the current inflexibility in sticking to stringent curfew and lockdown conditions because they perceive that ministers are giving too much weight to the need to protect public health while not fully appreciating the likely disastrous impact on the nation’s economy that could result in the loss of even more lives. They point, for example, to published remarks by health officials that it will only be safe to ease up on the restrictions when the rate of confirmed COVID-19 cases goes down. But that is misleading since other considerations must surely be taken into account.

The government is obliged to act cautiously in trying to prevent any spread of the virus, but at the same time it cannot allow the economy to collapse. So this requires some innovative thinking.

Political leadership is a tough task. Under unrelenting public scrutiny, it is about exercising power with care and imagination while making informed choices for the benefit of the country as a whole. When considering matters sufficiently important to merit discussion by the Cabinet, ministers are invariably faced with competing choices, demands and priorities, and members of the public look to them to exercise sound and rational judgment in reaching decisions.

Without rehearsing the economic arguments again, the recent announcement involving auto parts, hardware and home stores, plant nurseries and property maintenance, including swimming pools, was welcome. But what about others like stationery and book stores which should

Although the crisis is hitting countries in different ways because of varying circumstances, might we not benefit from the experience of others?

For example, in Britain, which has now suffered more than 20,000 deaths, they are working on the basis that even after the lockdown has been lifted there will have to be new rules about social distancing, at least for the foreseeable future.

The UK government has established five tests to be met before the restrictions can be lifted – namely, making sure the National Health Service can cope; a sustained and consistent fall in the

come into circulation all the time and are considered for inclusion in dictionaries against specific criteria as part of a careful and deliberate process. But relatively few of them make it into the modern dictionary even though they might be used in day-to-day conversation, either because they fall out of favour or they lack staying power for some other reason and disappear.

But in an interconnected world new terms appear at breakneck speed.

The reader will no doubt guess where this is leading – coronavirus, of course.

The glossary of COVID-19 terms is expanding. In itself it is a simple shorthand as a shortened form of Coronavirus Disease 2019.

But our vocabulary is now also littered with words like asymptomatic, super-spreader, droplets and elbow bumps together with flattening the curve, social distancing, self-quarantine and isolation, testing

the continuing strategy; (d) there should be a partial reopening of schools to allow pupils to attend on alternate weeks together with some redesigning (in work places as well) to enable people to remain two metres apart; (e) reopening of parks and public gatherings will be at the back of the queue; (f) there should be tighter border controls affecting travellers; and, finally, (g) restrictions should be lifted more readily in rural and remote areas.

I wonder whether officials will be able to glean something from all this that might help in tackling the deadly COVID-19 virus here at home.

Word on the street (when we’re allowed out) is things need to ease up

SHOP assistants wearing protective gear at food stores is a regular sight today.

Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff be able to apply social distancing rules - and it is hard to understand the reason for keeping liquor stores closed when they could operate on the same basis as food stores with a limit on the number of people allowed in at any one time.

Can fears about excessive alcohol consumption and consequent anti-social behaviour during the crisis really be justified when reopening these stores would be an easy way to circulate some more money in a moribund economy?

Meanwhile, at such a critical time, it is both alarming

ALL PART OF THE LANGUAGE NOW TO people in Britain, it is beyond argument that the Oxford English Dictionary is the best in the world.

They recognise the merits of Webster’s American English dictionary but support the OED’s own claim – with its more than 600,000 words – to be the principal historical dictionary and definitive record of the English language. So, using the OED since schooldays, people regard it as the ultimate authority and the real deal; and of course for writers it is the faithful sanctuary of accuracy when they are searching for the right word or their spelling lets them down and they cannot trust the doubtful benefits of computer spell checks.

Meanwhile, the OED itself recognises that the English language is forever changing, growing and evolving to reflect society because social change often brings with it linguistic change. New words, terms, phrases and expressions

daily death rate; a decrease of the rate of infection to manageable levels; a good level of testing and supply of personal protective equipment for medical staff; and being confident there is no risk of a second peak of the virus.

In Scotland, the ruling Scottish National Party has gone a step further and published a type of exit strategy. Its main elements are that (a) restrictions will be eased partially and gradually; (b) social distancing measures will have to be maintained until an effective vaccine or treatment of the disease can be developed; (c) testing, contact-tracing and isolation will be at the heart of

and contact-tracing, not to mention the word ‘covidiot’ used in the UK to describe a person who refuses to comply with the new restrictions and indulges in stupid action that thereby puts others at risk.

In the circumstances, it was almost inevitable some of these terms would be fast tracked for inclusion in the OED. According to its website, OED editors are continually monitoring linguistic developments and it issues a quarterly update, but in exceptional circumstances will publish special updates as well; and, reportedly, it has done this in relation to the pandemic.

Whether we like it or not - in the midst of so much loss of life from the disease and widespread heartrending grief - the deadly, terrible coronavirus, which has wreaked so much havoc around the world and has still not been contained, now has a permanent place in the English language

and hard to understand why there should be fresh conflict between the government and a business community that creates the nation’s wealth. Economists always point out that governments have no money so need the revenue from taxes levied on their citizenry and businesses in order to supply essential services. It is, therefore, in the interests of a government to have a strong, well-disposed and flourishing business sector which pays its taxes.

It was interesting to read the demands of the business community set out in a letter in The Tribune on April 24 in response to criticism from the Prime Minister. In a country where the ease of doing business is all too often a serious impediment, one can only hope that proper consideration will be given to these demands.

Funeral Service for

Agatha Marilyn Adderley, 55 of Glinton’s Long Island who died at the Princess Margaret Hospital on Sunday April 5, 2020 was held in the Chapel of Butlers’ Funeral Homes & Crematorium, Ernest and York Streets on Monday, April 27, 2020.

Rev’d Fr. Chester Burton officiated.

A Grave Side Service will also be held on Wednesday, April 29, 2020 at St. Mary Magdalene Anglican Church Cemetery in Glinton’s, Long Island at 3:00 p.m. Rev’d Fr. Lynden Douglas is officiating. Interment will follow.

Agatha was predeceased by her Father: Matthias “JD” Pratt.

Cherished memories of smiles, laughter and kindness will forever linger in the hearts of Her loving Husband: George Vernal Adderley; Mother: Minerva Alvilda Pratt; Children: Zakia Winder, Woman Corporal 2988 RBPF, Indira Adderley, Jermaine Adderley, Lamont Adderley and Vernielle Adderley; Stepdaughter: Laniqua Miller; Stepson: Garvin Miller; Grandchildren: Xavier Adderley, Ethan and Emma Winder and Brixton Adderley; Step Grandchildren: Brandon, Zaria, Aliyah and Liam Miller; Son- in-Law: Brian Winder; Daughterin-Law: Otisheka Gibson-Adderley; Brother: Craig Pratt Sr.; Sisters: Cassandra Pratt-Watson, Harriet Cartwright, and Cherry Martin; Brothers-in-Law: Alfred Adderley, Douglas Bridgewater Sr., Senior Lieutenant Grere Martin,Delbert Smith and Wayne Watson; Sisters-in-Law: Lula Mae and Ellen Adderley, Ruth Smith, Lillian and Sherene Adderley; Nieces: LaToya Pinder, Shameka Major, Leandra Pratt-Roker, Charmaine Pratt, Kendra and Carla Adderley and Alexis Ferguson; Nephews: Kelsey, Dwight and Douglas Jr. Bridgewater, Craig Jr., Justus and Caleb Pratt, Michael Martin, Darren and Terrell Adderley, Alex and Alexio Ferguson; Nephew-in-law: Michael Roker; Grand Nieces: Deandra Kemp, Vashti and Lysyria Bridgewater, Nickell and Shantinique Pratt, Shamia Major, Kentura, Jaidyen, Angel, Dyrian and Sapphire Adderley; Grand Nephews: Mauricio and Tafari Bridgewater, Glendell Pinder Jr., Brandon Kemp, Michael Roker Jr., and Carter Adderley, Dyran and Dylan Adderley; Aunts: Lilimae Rahming, Dorothy and Roselle Miller, Charity Brennen, Evelyn Pratt, Nathalie Wallace and Sharon Farquharson; Uncles: Former Commissioner of Police, Paul Farquaharson Sr.; and a Host of other relatives and friends including: The entire Pratt, Adderley and Gibson families of Long Island, the Glinton’s, Long Island Community and Many, Many Others too numerous to mention.

In compliance with The National Emergency Order her services and burial are private. The Family deeply appreciates your understanding and prayers.

PAGE 10, Tuesday, April 28, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

White House looks to increase testing WASHINGTON Associated Press almost Trump says virus testing ‘not a problem,’ but doubts persist The White House yesterday released new guidelines aimed at answering criticism that America’s coronavirus testing has been too slow, and President Donald Trump tried to pivot toward a focus on “reopening” the nation.

Still, there were doubts from public health experts that the White House’s new testing targets were sufficient.

Monday’s developments were meant to fill critical gaps in White House plans to begin easing restrictions,

ramping up testing for the virus while shifting the president’s focus toward recovery from the economic collapse caused by the outbreak. The administration unveiled a “blueprint” for states to scale up their testing in the coming week — a tacit admission, despite public statements to the contrary, that testing capacity and availability over the past two months have been lacking.

The new testing targets would ensure states had enough COVID-19 tests available to sample at least 2.6% of their populations each month — a figure already met by a majority of states. Areas that have been harder hit by the virus

PRESIDENT Trump speaks about the coronavirus yesterday would be able to test at double that rate, or higher, the White House said.

The testing issue has bedeviled the administration for months. Trump

Funeral Service for

DEACON GEORGE DAVID ADDERLEY, 77 a resident of Ferguson Drive, Bamboo Town and formerly of Millers, Long Island, will be held on Wednesday 29th of April 2020, 10:00 am at First Baptist Church Market Street. Officiating Rev Dianna Francis and interment will follow in Lakeview Memorial Gardens J. F. K. Drive.

Left to cherish his memories are his faithful and loving Wife: Helen; Children: Sharon Adderley, David Adderley, Renea Adderley and Georgette Jacobs; Son-In-Law: Van Jacobs; Grandchildren: Amya Adderley, Kaiden Adderley, Dylan Jacobs and Ayden Jacobs; Brothers: Neville, Alfonso and Charles; Brothers-In-Law: Richard Deal, Richard Gardiner, Lloyd Gardiner, Nelson Gardiner, Daniel Gardiner, Courtney Lake and Eric Gardiner; SistersIn Law: Patricia Adderley, Yvonne Adderley, Vernetha Adderley, Rozena Deal, Carmen Gardiner, Rose Gardiner, Kathy Gardiner, Ginger Lake, Genette Gardiner and Delarece Fraser; Aunt: Inell Adderley; Close Loved Ones: Jason ‘Crock’ Rolle, Krizia Williams, Wellington Smith, Alfreda Thurston, Elrod Taylor and Family, Pastor Trajean Jadorette and Family and Henry ‘Harper’ Thurston and Family; Nieces and Nephews: Sophia, Nicole, Dag Spencer, Shawn, Joycelyn, Alphonso Jr., Marco, Kevin, Delicia Natasha, Ethelyn Sandy, Zanilia ‘Precious’, Dellareese, Camille, Raymond, Kendal Jr., Jeremy, Kendranique, Nerissa, Neysa, Michael, Keith, Hubert, Monique, Antoinette, Dwayne, Rochelle, Warren, Suzanne, Richard, Shameka, Michael, Kyle, Kenyatta, Kanell, Patrice, Spence, Mark, Tamicka, Tericka, Eldon, Tory, Tramaine, Ahmad, Danielle, Genesis, Faith, Kevin, Japhier, Erickiesha, Diego, Quinton, Jahiem, Edric, Clytisha, Chelsea, and Clydero; Cousins: Bernadette, Roosevelt, Vivian, Una, Dwight, Michael, Paul, Berkeley, Wesley, David and Johnell; Other Relatives & Close Friends: The First Baptist Church Family, Letitia Curry and family, Brother Tom Roberts and family, Audley Major and family, Elcott Taylor and family, The Bodie’s, The Thurston’s, Nazel Johnson and family, Rev. Jethro Smith and Family, Andy Ferguson and family, The Cambridge’s, The Dorsette’s, The Moss family, The Bain’s, The King’s, Job Lafrance, The Thompson’s, The Pinder’s, The Mathew’s, Mr. Jimmy, Mr. Philip, Pastor Vincent Johnson and Family, The Jacobs’ family from Louisiana, The Mitchell family from Florida, the Bamboo Town community, Norman Cay Crew, Mosko Airport Catering Crew and a host of other relatives and friends.

Friends may pay their last respects on Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Vaughn O. Jones Memorial Center.

CLAUDIUS BROOKS, 85 a resident of Abrahams Bay, Mayaguana, will be held at the graveside at St. James Native Baptist Church, St. James Road on Thursday 30th of April 2020 at 11am. Officiating will be Bishop Carrington S. Pinder and other ministers of the gospel He was predeceased by his Wife: Shelia Brooks (deceased); Son Ronald Brooks; Janemae Saunders (deceased) He is survived by his Three sons: Ned, Hess, Forreston; Seven daughters: Zell Pinder, Rozenda Charlton, Sonia, Annis, Berril Brooks, Janemae Saunders (deceased), Louise Lightbourne, and Willimae Braynen; Stepmother: Neilor Johnson; Three daughters-in-law: Winnifred, Alice and Betty Brooks; Two sons-in-law: Pince Pinder and Wellington Saunders; Two sisters: Rena Wilson, Thelma Collie; Twelve brothers-in-law: Albert Robinson, George, Leroy, Dwight, Rodney Johnson, and Henry Johnson (deceased), Trevor Collie John Wilson, Clemont Williams, Brad Strachan, Arlington Butler, and Dexter Fox; Fourteen sisters-in-law: Nellie, Angela and Velva Brooks, Annamae and Lisa Johnson, Edith Minnis, Daisymae Butler, Artis Williams, Mary Fox, Linda Wallace, Rosemae Strachan, Sarah Minnis, Esther and Reecie Johnson; Twenty-seven grandchildren: Renae Sands-Williams, Preston Burrows, Akeisha Simms, Shanrese Pinder, Sean and Chineme Sands, Shantera Dean, Shandera and Pierre Dean, Katera and Joenique Cunningham, Kerlisha and Dion Knowles, Latherio, Teneka, Tecoyo, Hezario, Edison and Corey Brooks, Doniel Edwards, Elrica and Elrico Moss, Darneka McPhee, Shavarlo Jr., Lathorn and Brendon Mitchell, Kermit Agaro Jr. and Eureka Lightbourne; Thirtytwo great-grandchildren: Katelyn, Teanna, Delanna, Keithon, Tajh, Lathario Jr., Latrell, Lebron, Shyanne, Latarinique, Latrae, Tacardo Jr., Jamouria, Tavon, Shan’nya, Deonte, Davion, Kiley, Jaronique, Chrisitan, Ashanti, Nevaeyah, Danari, Samiyah, Avion, Donte, Chamya, Terrico, Kenville, Lashan, Lamont and Montell; Nieces and Nephews: Jason, Frenchie and Rev. Eulease Brooks, Oscar, George and Paulette Brooks, Velma and Theophilus Cox, Ingretha, Monica and David Butler, Deborah and Wilfred Moss, Tina and Leroy, Jane, Curliemae, Patrick, Glenda and Michael Bethel, Arlene, Maxine, Sharon, Laura, Ruthmae, Alma, Vanglyn, Lavern, Raymond and Charm McDonald, Gelena and Garnet Gray, Kevin and Lisa Cartwright, Anthony, Dwight and Alexander Brooks, Kishe Brooks (Roach), Hollyann Colebrooke, Elvin Hall, Christopher and Magnolia Hall, Jermaine and Allison Brooks, Brent, Perry, Vanda, Peggy, Carolyn, Sebrin, Sebrina, Vochell, Anthone, and Valin. Other relatives/friends including: the Pastor and members of St. James Native Baptist Church, Mayaguana, the Pastor and members of Zion Baptist Church, Mayaguana, Bishop Carrington and Rev. Sebrina Pinder, Minister Audery Charlton, Deaconess Easlie Dean, Nurse Bridgette Charlton, Mr. V. Alfred Gray, Bishop Karvin Bain and family, Minister Clinton Minnis, Leon Edwards, Reginald Charlton, Irene Charlton, Olga Farrington, Arthur Williamson, Laura McPhee, Leon Charlton, Edison Brooks and family, Turks Island, The Charlton and Moss families, Earnal Brown, Terry Rolle, Daisy Black and family, Cynthia Brown and family, Velva Edwards and family, the Collie and Murphy families, and the entire island community of Mayaguana.

Friends may pay their last respects at Vaughn O. Jones Memorial Center on Wednesday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

told reporters on March 6 during a visit to the CDC in Atlanta that “anybody that wants a test can get a test,” but the reality has proved to be vastly different.

The initial COVID-19 test developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was contaminated, and early kits operated only on platforms able to perform a small number of tests per day.

While the rate of testing increased as tests developed for higher-capacity platforms, they were still limited by shortages of supplies, from nasal swabs to the reagents used to process the samples.

Administration officials maintained that the limiting

factor now is actually the availability of samples from people who have been tested — either because guidelines on who could be tested are too stringent or because there are not enough health workers able to take nasal swab samples from them.

The CDC moved to address one of those concerns, expanding the list of people to be prioritised for virus testing to include those who show no symptoms but are in highrisk settings like nursing homes. And Trump met with leaders of businesses including CVS, Walmart and Kroger, who said they were working to expand access to tests across the country.

“Testing is not going to be a problem at all,” Trump said later in the Rose Garden.

However, many of the administration’s past pledges and goals on testing have not been met.

Researchers at Harvard have estimated the country needs to be testing a minimum of 500,000 people per day, and possibly many more. Trump said the current total, up sharply in recent days, is over 200,000 per day.

IS BRAZIL SET TO BE NEXT HOT SPOT? RIO DE JANEIRO Associated Press

BRAZIL is emerging as potentially the next big hot spot for the coronavirus amid President Jair Bolsonaro’s insistence that it is just a “little flu” and that there is no need for the sharp restrictions that have slowed the infection’s spread in Europe and the US. The intensifying outbreak in Brazil — Latin America’s biggest country, with 211 million people — has pushed some hospitals to the breaking point, with signs that a growing number of victims are now dying at home.

“We have all the conditions here for the pandemic to become much more serious,” said Paulo Brandão, a virologist at the University of Sao Paulo.

Brazil officially reported about 4,500 deaths and almost 67,000 confirmed infections. But the true numbers there are believed to be vastly higher given the lack of testing and the many people without severe symptoms who haven’t sought hospital care. Some scientists said over 1 million in Brazil are probably infected. And the crisis could escalate as the country heads into winter, which can worsen respiratory illnesses. The country’s health ministry said that the system for accounting for deaths is “robust” and has captured all but a few cases.

MEXICO’S TUG OF WAR WITH FIRMS OVER VIRUS OUTBREAK MEXICO CITY Associated Press MEXICO’S government continued its tug of war with businesses yesterday, pledging to reopen factories vital to the US economy while shaming others that refuse to close under lockdown measures decreed to fight the spread of the coronavirus.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador also said he didn’t like businessmen going out to seek loans from international lending agencies, further angering the business sector.

Under US pressure, Mexico pledged on Friday to reopen automotive plants in a “gradual and cautious” process. Yesterday Labor Secretary Luisa Maria Alcalde praised some automakers for reducing or stopping nonessential parts of their operations.

But Alcalde publicly shamed some textile and footwear firms, as well as a department store chain, for not obeying closure orders

JOGGERS in Mexico City for nonessential businesses.

In all, 18% of firms in Mexico are considered essential and are allowed to stay open.

Alcalde said that of the remaining nonessential firms, 87% had closed and 13% had refused to do so.

The US government launched a campaign to get Mexico to reopen plants, suggesting the supply chain of the North American free trade zone could be permanently affected if they didn’t resume production.

Mexico’s border assembly plants are key to the US supply chain, including those of autos and defense contractors, and employees

at some of the facilities have staged walkouts and protests because of fears over the coronavirus.

Ellen Lord, US undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, had voiced similar concerns in Washington.

“We are seeing impacts on the industrial base by several pockets of closure internationally. Particularly of note is Mexico, where we have a group of companies that are impacting many of our major primes,” she said.

López Obrador appeared to oppose a $3bn credit arrangement that a leading business association announced with an investment arm of the Inter-American Development Bank to supply loan-type products for small and medium firms in Mexico hit by the effects of the pandemic.

The austerity-minded López Obrador had vowed not to acquire new debt, and said the loan arrangement would not be backed by public funds.

LOCKDOWN RAISES TENSIONS IN FRANCE’S POOREST AREAS CLICHY-SOUS-BOIS, France Associated Press JOINING more than 1,000 others, Djemba Diatite stood for hours in line to feed her growing family, grateful for handouts of fruits, vegetables and soap.

It was her first time accepting charity, but she had no choice. The coronavirus pandemic has turned her world upside down.

With open air markets closed around Paris, supermarket prices skyrocketing, an out-of-work husband, two children to feed and another on the way, Diatite said even tomatoes were now too expensive.

“This is my only solution,” she said, relieved that a local group in her Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois stepped in with help.

Clichy-sous-Bois — where fiery nationwide riots started in 2005 — is just 23 kms northeast of the French capital. The town mayor, seeing a looming crisis triggered by food shortages,

COLLECTING food distributed by volunteers in Clichy-sous-Bois sounded the alarm, and with crisis, there has been scatscattered unrest simmering tered violence, with youths in impoverished suburbs, targeting French police confrontations that the French government in announced nearly $42.1m end in clouds of tear gas, including in Clichy-sousfor communities in need.

Some residents say they Bois. A call for calm came felt confined years before from an unlikely person, France imposed strict coro- a 30-year-old man with a navirus lockdown measures long criminal record who on March 17. “I feel the social crashed his motorcycle crisis is growing with confine- into the open door of a ment,” said Clichy-Sous-Bois police car in VilleneuveMayor Olivier Klein. “We la-Garenne, northwest of see numerous people in Paris. As claims that police need, urgently, in a way we’ve were at fault spread across never seen,” he said. “In the internet, the man from these tense neighborhoods, his hospital bed implored the smallest spark can trigger gangs to “go home,” in a video released by his still more tension.”

Alongside the food lawyer.

SPORTS SECTION E

PAGE 14

TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2020

‘Extra special’ father-son combo

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

V

ery seldom do you hear about a fatherson combination excelling in sports, whether it’s at the local or professional level. The sport of football is one of those rare ones and to have a duo accomplish that feat from the Bahamas is extra special.

In 1976, Ed Smith broke the ceiling as the first Bahamian to play in the National Football League when he was selected in the 13th round by the Denver Broncos as a defensive end specialist. Almost three decades later, his son, Alex Smith, was selected in the third round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to play as a tight end.

The duo emerged as the first Bahamian father-son tandem to play professionally and one of the very few to do so in any other sport. Another combo of is Mychal ‘Sweet Bells’ Thompson and his son Klay Thompson, who embraced the National Basketball Association, both as champions for the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors respectively.

The Smiths had a chance to reflect on the NFL’s 2020 draft held over the weekend when for the first time, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and without all of the fanfare in the audience, it was viewed virtually with cameras installed in the homes of all coaches and general managers.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the picks from the basement of his home in Westchester, New York, and the reactions of the top selections were also shown with their family at their homes.

Unfortunately, no Bahamians were selected in the field of 250 players in the seven rounds by the 32 teams in the league, although Chris Ferguson, a former student of CR Walker who went on to play at the Lake Nona High School in Orlando, Florida, was hoping to be the next Bahamian drafted out of the University of Cincinnati Bearcats programme.

But the 6-foot, 5-inch, 310-pound offensive tackle, who secured a bachelor’s degree in pre-law and marketing, didn’t make the cut.

As the 69-year-old Smith puts it, it’s not as easy as people think for a player to hear his name called on Draft Day. “Once you get a chance to play at the high school and the collegiate level, the professional level is the apex of what young men look to do,” he said. “At that point, you are getting compensated for it and you get a chance to compete against the best players in the world. That is what a lot of young men look forward to.”

On the way the draft was conducted this year, Ed Smith said it was an excellent idea.

“Due to the pandemic, Roger Goodell and the league did a great job in presenting the draft over those three days,” he said. “The viewership, especially on day one, was way off the chart, especially because right now, there’s nothing else on the television sports wise because a lot of people got tired watching the reruns in the various sports like football, basketball, baseball and soccer. It was definitely a special thing that they welcomed.

BACK TO THE POOL: USA SWIMMING UNVEILS TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

By PAUL NEWBERRY AP Sports Writer USA Swimming is planning a return to the pool.

Though, no one is quite sure how it will all play out during the coronavirus pandemic.

The national governing body unveiled a tentative schedule yesterday that begins with a series of regional events in August before a national lineup of meets kicks off in early November — all leading up to next summer’s Olympic trials in Omaha, Nebraska and the Tokyo Games.

“It gives us a little bit of hope,” Hali Flickinger, a 2016 Olympian who trains in Arizona, told The Associated Press. “Everything is kind of stale right now. I have no idea what’s going to happen — nobody does — but at least we have something to look forward to in the future.”

Tentative is the key word, for sure.

“I think everything is taken with a grain of salt and maybe even more than one grain of salt,” said Mike Unger, USA Swimming’s chief operating officer.

“We’re trying to bring normalcy back when it’s not normal, and we know that.

But we have to have a Plan A, a Plan B and even a Plan C.” Olympic champion Ryan Murphy, who won three gold medals at the Rio Games, welcomed news of a revamped schedule but said he’s not ready to celebrate just yet.

“I’ll be ready to adjust,” Murphy told the AP in a telephone interview from his training base at CalBerkeley. “Until we get out of this thing, I’m going to stay in a flexible mindset.”

USA Swimming cancelled all national events in July and early August, most notably the Speedo Summer Championships.

The regional events would be held in mid to late August, with an eye toward limiting the need for travel and promoting a safer environment for athletes, coaches, officials and families.

Unger said the organisation is talking with pools all over the country to assess potential availability, but also recognises that any plans would be subject to health guidelines and the approval of local officials.

USA Swimming is considering anywhere from 12 to 16 meets, divided equally between four geographic regions that are already set up for lower-level meets.

ALEX SMITH (top left and bottom) and his father, Ed (above and right).

“Millions of fans around the world got to see their teams in a different light, watching these young men go after a lifetime dream of becoming an NFL player.”

Compared to when he cracked the NFL, Ed Smith had already returned home in the Bahamas after he finished high school at Colorado College in Denver to start working. He got a call from a former collegiate team-mate who had informed him that the Broncos were interested in drafting him and he wanted to be his agent.

“After the draft, he told me that the Broncos had taken him with the 319th pick in the 13th round.

Back then, there was about 15 rounds because each team had the opportunity to draft about three players,” he recalled.

“It wasn’t the big fanfare that we see with the draft before they changed it this weekend. It was pretty much done in the NFL headquarters. The general managers sat in their offices and called in their picks, similar to what they did this year because of the coronavirus. But back then, there was no television. Everything was done on the telephone or you read about it in the newspapers.”

Although his career didn’t last that long, Ed Smith said he was delighted when his son got involved in the sport and eventually ascended to the highest plateau.

“His mother really didn’t want him to play football because of what she saw I went through playing the game,” he said. “But I didn’t pressure him to do it. He just decided to try it and he got to like it.”

As for the formation of the rare father-son combo that played in the league, Ed Smith said it’s something that he will always cherish.

“It’s not every day that you hear about a father and a son who played professional sports,” he said. “We did it, but we didn’t have that as one of our main priorities to do. We just embraced the opportunity when it presented itself and it

SEE PAGE 12

AFTER ‘DAMAGING’ DELAY TO STOP SPORTS, UNITED KINGDOM TRIES TO RESTART

By ROB HARRIS AP Global Soccer Writer IT will be hard to quantify just how many lives Mikel Arteta saved by contracting the coronavirus.

The Arsenal manager testing positive on March 12 helped to ensure hundreds of thousands of people — from fans to players and support staff — were no longer at risk of being infected around the following weekend’s English Premier League games.

“All the news we had was from China, then Italy and then Spain,” Arteta recalled. “Then you realise, ‘Wow, everybody can be exposed here.’”

And yet, the British government had been dismissing the

danger of sports venues significantly spreading the new coronavirus, telling sports to carry on as usual even as the pandemic escalated. It took Arteta being stricken with COVID-19 and Chelsea player Callum HudsonOdoi testing positive on the same night, forcing both squads into self-isolation, to jolt the world’s richest football competition into self-imposed exile.

As Arsenal reopened part of its training ground for players to run alone yesterday and the Premier League accelerated planning for “Project Restart” with the government, there is increased scrutiny of Downing Street downplaying the potential for sports to exacerbate the outbreak seven weeks ago.

By March 11, when the WHO declared a pandemic, Prime Minister Boris Johnson sensed how the decision not to ban sports events appeared increasingly out of step with other countries, particularly Italy. In a video posted on his Twitter account, Johnson reprised his old job as a journalist to interview Dr Jenny Harries, Britain’s deputy chief medical officer.

“Tell us why so far the medical advice in this country is not to do that?” Johnson asked.

“In general,” Harries responded about the British model, “those sorts of events, big gatherings are not seen to be something which is going to have a big effect.”

At the time, only eight deaths from fewer than 500 confirmed

coronavirus cases had been recorded in British hospitals.

Now the death toll exceeds 20,000.

On the day Johnson was briefed by his medical adviser to allow sports to carry on as usual, 60,000 people packed into the Cheltenham horse racing festival and 52,000 supporters went to Liverpool’s Anfield stadium for the visit of Atletico Madrid.

“We don’t want to disrupt people’s lives unduly,” Harries told Johnson, citing British scientific modelling hours before kickoff in Liverpool.

Spain had already started to prohibit mass gatherings, yet 3,000 fans from its capital were able to fly to northwest England for the Champions League match.

It would be another five days before Johnson announced emergency workers would no longer be available for sports events and a further week for Britain to go into lockdown.

“There was a mistake made in terms of the governmental advice permitting these events,” said Professor Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh. “Mass gatherings should have been shut down much earlier as well as non-essential travel. I think those delays in those early weeks were quite damaging.”

Former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt was unsettled at the time that Britain was not heeding

SEE PAGE 12

PAGE 12, Tuesday, April 28, 2020

UNITED KINGDOM from PAGE 11

the warnings from Italy, where Serie A had been suspended, about the measures required to slow the spread of the virus.

Steve Rotheram, the mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said it would be “scandalous” if cases of COVID-19 were traced back to the Champions League match featuring thousands of Spanish fans.

Two universities in the city are working with the local authority to analyse the data, with the government experts not being drawn on a link yet.

“It would be very interesting,” Angela McLean, the government’s deputy chief scientific adviser, said last week, “to see in the future when all the science is done what relationship there is between the viruses that have circulated in Liverpool and the viruses that have circulated in Spain.”

In the southwest English region of Gloucestershire, which includes Cheltenham, there have been around double the COVID-19 deaths than in nearby areas, according to Health Service Journal data.

The horse racing festival reported crowds of around 60,000 for each of the four days from March 9 to 13.

Professor Gabriel Scally, a former director of public health in the southwest of England, said the festival should never have been allowed to go ahead.

Event organisers insist it will be impossible to establish a link, but there has been unease in Ireland, from where tens of thousands of people travelled to the most prestigious jumps meeting in British horse racing.

‘EXTRA SPECIAL’ FATHER-SON COMBO from PAGE 11

worked out very well for us. I’m happy that he played because he saw the benefits of it by playing much longer than I did.”

Alex Smith, who will turn 38 on May 22, said following in his father’s footsteps was more than a dream come true.

“When I did it, it had two different significances,” he pointed out. “One was just knowing where my father came from and being the first one from the Bahamas to make it. So I understood the importance of that and what it meant to our country and the significant impact that it had on us as a people. So being able to follow in his footsteps was another great significance in itself.

“There are not a lot of father-son combinations in the league, or in professional sports for that matter, so that was another rare significance to be a part of. It was just a special group of people or category to be a part of.”

However, he said he never envisioned he would follow his father because his first love was basketball and then track and field.

“My mom tried to keep me away from football. I really didn’t start playing football until I went to high school,” he said.

“Once I started getting some success in high school and getting college offers, that’s when I realised that there might be a future in the sport for me. Once I went to college, it became a real possibility for me to reach for.”

Having passed through the ranks at the JK Mullen High School in Denver where he was a Super Prep first-team All-American, Prep Star All-Midlands, All-State and All-Centennial League selection, Alex Smith went on to excel at Stanford University where he was a three-year starter and runner-up to the John Mackey award.

Drafted by the Buccaneers in the third round of the 2005 draft, Alex Smith went on to post an 11-year career with 163 receptions, 1,473 receiving yards and 13 receiving touchdowns that included six other teams, including the New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles, Cleveland Browns Cincinnati Bengals, New Orleans Saints and the Redskins.

“I saw all aspects of it,” said Smith, who went from a starter to a member of the special teams. “I was able to be a part of everything that the sport had to offer.”

Now in his fourth year as a pro scout for Tampa Bay where he resides with his wife and twin boys, Alex Smith said it’s a little more nerve-wrecking looking at things

THE TRIBUNE “If Cheltenham was being held in Ireland,” Ireland Deputy Prime Minister Simon Coveney said, “I don’t think it would be on.”

The decision to allow sports events to restart will be informed by the experts who said there was “no rationale” to closing them down in the first place.

“The faster you respond, the faster you shut down, the faster you get a handle on how this virus is spreading and prevent large numbers of people getting infected, the faster you’re out the other side,” Sridhar said.

Culture Secretary Olivier Dowden said yesterday that he was working with the Premier League “with a view to getting football up and running as soon as possible,” with teams yet to play up to 10 games of the 38-fixture season. The league is planning on mass testing of the hundreds who will still be required at matches, which will be held without spectators.

There was an element of normality returning to British sport yesterday, with a news conference staged by Premier League club Watford even as the government maintains extreme social distancing by having reporters video calling into Downing Street briefings.

“I feel uncomfortable at this stage, even talking about football as a narrative, because there are people dying every day, there are stresses on the NHS (National Health Service) and that has to be our priority,” Watford chief executive Scott Duxberry said. “Do I want to resume football? Absolutely. So when it is safe and the government says it is absolutely fine for players and all the support staff that follow football to return, then I am 100 per cent behind that.” from the opposite side of the field from playing to sitting in the administration office. But he’s delighted to be a part of the team and trying to build a winning culture.

On the draft, Alex Smith said it certainly had more of a “personal feel” to it and it gave the fans a closer in-depth look at the coaches and managers and their families.

“It was a good change-up,” he said. “We got so used to the same old thing every year.

It’s good to break it up and give people a different look.”

While there were no Bahamians drafted this year, Alex Smith encouraged potential Bahamian football players to first of all concentrate on their grades if they stand any chance of at least getting an opportunity to make the first step to pursuing their dreams in the US. “You can have all of the athletic abilities in the world, but if your grades are not good for you to get into the universities, you won’t be able to get a look,” he said.

“When people can’t see you, it doesn’t matter. Whether it’s division two or division one, as long as you are on the field and people can find you, you will get a chance.

But it starts with the grades. If you don’t have it, you can’t go anywhere.”

Ed Smith said it’s a process where potential players get more exposure to the game by playing at the high school level and then going through the collegiate ranks.

“The earlier you can get that exposure to sharpen your game to get to the point where you can excel at the collegiate level, the better for you,” he stated. “More and more Bahamians are getting the opportunity to come to the United States so that they can get that exposure.

“Bahamians can excel at any sport that they put their attention to. When I look at what my son did at Tampa, what Devard (Darling) did at Washington State and what Dr Myron Rolle did at Harvard, there are a lot more that play at the pro level like Philip Dorsett and Antonio Brown did after me. They just need the exposure.”

Now in Denver, Colorado, where he resides, Ed Smith said he’s coping with the coronovirus pandemic as best as he can.

And while he’s enjoying the stay home order in the warm weather in Tampa, Alex Smith said people have been adhering to the warning from the authorities.

“So listen to your authorities. We are all in this together,” he said.

“When we start to do things on our own and go against the guidelines, that’s when we will have some issues. So let’s do what we are told.”

He also told the Bahamian public that he misses them and he can’t wait to get back home to be with them as soon as the pandemic ceases.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, April 28, 2020, PAGE 13

Despite wave of newcomers, Dolphins may still be a year away

By STEVEN WINE AP Sports Writer MIAMI (AP) — The Miami Dolphins emerged from the NFL wilderness this week by adding 11 draft picks to their roster, including a potential franchise quarterback, and a veteran running back with a career average of 5.0 yards per carry.

Even so, they may still be at least a year away from playoff contention.

That’s partly because last season’s team was so bereft of talent, and partly because of the type of players Miami drafted, especially with the top two picks. Neither is likely to start when the 2020 season begins.

No. 5 overall choice Tua Tagovailoa is still recovering from a hip injury that ended his Alabama career in mid-November, and he might spend most or all of his rookie year as an understudy to returning starter Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Southern Cal tackle Austin Jackson, drafted

with the 18th overall pick, is only 20 years old and needs development.

“Games aren’t won in March and April,” coach Brian Flores said. “A lot of hard work has to be done for us to become a good team.”

Jackson was one of three offensive linemen drafted in the first four rounds — a franchise record. They’ll join free agent acquisitions Ted Karras and Ereck Flowers in competing for playing time as the Dolphins strive to improve a perennially troublesome area, with the long-term goal of keeping the injuryplagued Tagovailoa healthy.

“I’m just blessed for the opportunity to play with him,” said Georgia guard Solomon Kindley, a fourthround pick. “I’m going to do whatever I can to protect him.”

New long snapper Blake Ferguson of Louisiana State is also looking forward to teaming with Tagovailoa — and trash-talking him. After Miami selected Ferguson,

IN this still image from video provided by the NFL, Tua Tagovailoa, front centre, holds up a phone during the NFL football draft on Thursday, April 23. The Miami Dolphins selected Tagovailoa with the fifth pick. (AP) he tweeted a photo of LSU’s 46-41 win over Alabama last season. “See you in Miami @Tuaamann,” Ferguson tweeted.

With their last pick, the Dolphins made Navy’s Malcolm Perry the only player from a service academy to be selected.

Perry played quarterback the past two seasons, but he’ll likely get a tryout as a

receiver and kick returner in Miami.

The Dolphins addressed by a priority by acquiring running back Matt Breida from the San Francisco 49ers for a fifth-round draft pick Saturday.

Breida totalled 1,902 yards rushing in three years with the 49ers, and with free agent acquisition Jordan Howard, he should upgrade

a ground game that ranked last in the NFL in 2019. The Dolphins are positioned to reap another draft bonanza in 2021, when they have two picks in the first round and two in the second. But they’re already relevant again, thanks to their most consequential draft in many years, and the resulting buzz created by all the new faces, especially Tagovailoa.

“I’m going to go out there and compete as if I’m preparing to be the starter,” Tagovailoa said, “even if I’m not going to be the starter right away or the entire season.”

On the final day of the draft, they added five players — Kindley, North Carolina defensive lineman Jason Strowbridge and Boise State linebacker Curtis Weaver in the fifth round, Ferguson in the sixth round, and Perry in the seventh round.

The 337-pound Lindley is the biggest addition yet this offseason, and now perhaps the team’s best swimmer.

He grew up in Jacksonville,

Florida, and was so large as a youngster he wasn’t allowed to play Pee Wee football. He looked for another sport, became a lifeguard, earned the nickname “Big Fish” and once rescued another youngster from the bottom of the pool.

Ferguson also took an unusual route to the NFL, succeeding his brother Reid as a long-snapping specialist at LSU. Reid has been with the Buffalo Bills since 2017.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, it’s unknown when the Dolphins will get the first up-close look at their many newcomers.

Flores, like all coaches, is antsy.

“We’ve got to get out there,” he said. “We’ve got to practice. We’ve got to get into meetings, get into walkthroughs. We’re a long way off from that, given what’s going on. Hopefully we get that going at some point, but obviously there are a lot more pressing issues out there.”

FIRST DALLAS COWBOYS DRAFT DONE, MCCARTHY SET FOR UNUSUAL OFFSEASON

By SCHUYLER DIXON AP Pro Football Writer NOW that his first draft with the Dallas Cowboys is finished, coach Mike McCarthy moves into an unusual offseason not knowing when Dak Prescott will be under contract.

Meantime, the Cowboys gave their quarterback a receiver they didn’t think would be there in the middle of the first round in Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb, and turned to arguably their biggest need at cornerback in the second round with Trevon Diggs of Alabama.

“It really starts tomorrow morning,” McCarthy said Saturday of his first full offseason. “We’ve kind of put on the side some of the planning and anticipation of what’s in front.

Really already have two separate training camp schedules and plans that are completed.”

The coronavirus pandemic is keeping players away from facilities, forcing all meetings with coaches to be virtual, and might mean the Cowboys can’t go to California for training camp as usual. “There’s a set of rules and procedures that we’re operating in and we will use that process to get our team ready to win games,” McCarthy said.

The Cowboys used the final day of the draft to

add another cornerback in Tulsa’s Reggie Robinson II and a pass rusher with Utah career sacks leader Bradlee Anae.

Offensively, Dallas traded up for Wisconsin centre Tyler Biadasz and added a Prescott understudy with James Madison quarterback Ben DiNucci.

The Cowboys put the franchise tag on Prescott while they try to agree on a longterm deal.

McCarthy said he expected the draft to differ from his days in Green Bay, where he spent 12-plus seasons and won a Super Bowl.

And it was.

“I think it’s like anything in life, it’s the communication between the individuals and just being on the same page,” McCarthy said.

“We’ve had some good fortune with the players that were available when it was our opportunity to pick.

We’re ecstatic about the class we put together.”

TRIED AND TRUE It worked out well the last time the Cowboys drafted a centre out of Wisconsin. So, after five-time Pro Bowler Travis Frederick surprisingly retired at age 29, Dallas traded with Philadelphia and took Biadasz with the final pick of the fourth round.

The Cowboys traded down to near the bottom of

A SIGN sits on a artificial field frequented by fans at the Ford Center by The Star, the Dallas Cowboys headquarters and training facility, as a large video screen on the exterior wall of the building broadcast the team’s latest selection in the NFL football draft in Frisco, Texas, on Saturday.

(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

WISCONSIN centre Tyler Biadasz gets set at the line of scrimmage during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Central Michigan in Madison, Wis. The Cowboys selected Biadasz in the fourth round of the NFL football draft.

(AP Photo/Morry Gash) the first round for Freder- Frederick when Dallas ick in 2013, and he was the made the playoffs two years starter from the beginning. ago. Left guard Connor He missed the 2018 season Williams and second-year because of Guillain-Barre man Connor McGovern syndrome, a nerve disorder could also get a look at that was part of the reason center. he retired even though he returned last year.

CORNERING THE “He’s an animal, and I try MARKET to mold my game just like With Robinson and that,” said Biadasz, who Diggs, it’s the second time skipped his final season at in four years the CowWisconsin after winning the boys drafted multiple Rimington Award as the cornerbacks. nation’s top centre. “I think Chidobe Awuzie, a secour body types are very ond-round pick in 2017, similar, and I look forward was the starter last season to just keeping up what alongside Byron Jones, who he’s placed in the Dallas took a big contract from organisation.”

Miami in free agency. The The Cowboys re-signed other 2017 choice, Jourdan Joe Looney, who replaced Lewis, still has a shot to be

a contributor along with Anthony Brown, a 2016 sixth-rounder.

The Cowboys have 10 cornerbacks on the roster before adding undrafted free agents, which should make that position among the most competitive through training camp.

NO RUSH ON THE RUSH Defensive end was arguably as big a need as cornerback going into the draft after 2019 sacks leader Robert Quinn went to Chicago in free agency. The Cowboys finally addressed it in the fifth round with Anae, who led the Utes in sacks for three straight seasons and finished with 30.

The pass rush is still led

by DeMarcus Lawrence a year after he signed a $105 million contract, while Tyrone Crawford is coming off hip surgery. The next most proven players, Aldon

Smith and Randy Gregory, are seeking reinstatement from substance-abuse suspensions. Smith hasn’t played since 2015, and Gregory missed last season following his fourth suspension.

FAMILY TIES DiNucci said McCarthy’s brother was his eighthgrade basketball coach in the Pittsburgh area. He introduced himself to the man who ended up being his new coach in January when they were in an elevator together at the hotel that’s part of Cowboys headquarters.

James Madison lost to North Dakota State in the FCS championship game in Frisco.

“He was very familiar with our team,” DiNucci said. “I was kind of surprised that he knew who I was. Now I’m going to be able to play under him, and it’s just crazy.”

PATRIOTS DON’T DRAFT QB, BUT ADDRESS SEVERAL OTHER NEEDS

By KYLE HIGHTOWER AP Sports Writer BOSTON (AP) — The Patriots didn’t find a replacement for Tom Brady in the draft, if that was even possible.

But they did address almost every other one of their needs.

New England entered the draft with 12 picks and after making several trades over three days wound up selecting 10 players.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick acknowledged the team made an attempt to add a third quarterback, but it simply didn’t work out.

“The bottom line is we’re evaluating the position along with all the other ones,” he said.

“If we feel like we find the right situation, we certainly draft them.

We’ve drafted them in multiple years in multiple points in the draft. It didn’t work out the last three days. It wasn’t by design. It could have, but it didn’t.”

Belichick said the Patriots would address the position via the undrafted free agent market.

J’Mar Smith of Louisiana Tech is a possibility. “We’ve talked to J’Mar, no question,” Belichick said.

For now, second-year player Jarrett Stidham and former Brady backup Brian Hoyer remain the only quarterbacks on the roster.

“I like both those players,” Belichick said. “I have confidence in both of them.”

New England made four picks on defence, which was hit hard in free agency by the departures of linebackers Kyle Van Noy, Jamie Collins and Elandon Roberts, safety Duron Harmon and defensive tackle Danny Shelton.

The Patriots began by selecting safety Kyle Dugger from Division II Lenoir-Rhyne and added three linebackers with various skill sets in Michigan’s John Uche, Alabama’s Anfernee Jennings and Wyoming’s Cassh Maluia.

NEW England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick takes notes on the sideline in the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Tennessee Titans in Foxborough, Mass. on January 4, 2020.

(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

OFFENSIVE LINE HELP The remaining picks were used to target offensive needs, with three used to bolster the line.

The tight end position fell off significantly last season following the retirement of Rob Gronkowski, who came out of retirement before the draft to rejoin Brady in Tampa Bay. New England hopes Devin Asiasi (UCLA) and Dalton Keene

(Virginia Tech) can provide a longer-term solution after Matt LaCosse, Ben Watson and Ryan Izzo combined for 36 catches and two touchdowns last season.

The line will get some size with the selection of 340-pound guard Michael Onwenu (Michigan) and guard Justin Herron (Wake Forest) in the sixth round.

New England also took Memphis centre Dustin Woodard in the seventh round with its final pick.

Woodward has a great shot to make the team. He played in every game during his time at Memphis, including 52 consecutive starts.

Ted Karras, New England’s starter at centre last season, left in free agency.

David Andrews, who has started 57 games since being drafted in 2015, says he is ready to return after missing last season with blood clots in his lungs. But it’s unclear how durable he will be.

A NEW KICKER While questions remain at quarterback, the Patriots did identify the man they hope will be Stephen Gostkowski’s successor at kicker.

New England selected Marshall’s Justin Rohrwasser in the fifth round (159th overall), just the third kicker drafted during Belichick’s tenure.

The last kicker the Patriots drafted was Gostkowski in the fourth round in 2006.

He made the 2010s All-Decade team, is a two-time All-Pro and won three Super Bowls with the Patriots. He was released last month.

Rohrwasser played his first two college seasons at Rhode Island, then transferred to Marshall, where he made 32 of 42 field goals, including a Conference USA-best 18 of 21 (85.7 per cent) as a senior. He was 35 of 36 (97.2 per cent) on extra points.

Rohrwasser also performed well under pressure, connecting on a 53-yard, game-winning field goal against Western Kentucky last season.

The Patriots used three different kickers after Gostkowski — the franchise’s all-time leading scorer — went on injured reserve last October with a hip injury.

Rohrwasser is beefy for a kicker at 6-3 and 230 pounds. He also has several tattoos, which include the phrases “Liberty or death” and “Don’t tread on me” as well as an American flag.

But he said another tattoo, a symbol used by the right-wing militia group the Three Percenters, is not meant to represent them.

He said he got it as a teenager because he thought it represented military support. “It’s evolved into something that I do not want to represent,” he said. “It will be covered.”

PAGE 14, Tuesday, April 28, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Tokyo Olympics: Questions, few answers in face of pandemic

By STEPHEN WADE AP Sports Writer

TOKYO (AP) — The Tokyo Olympics were postponed a month ago. But there are still more questions than answers about the new opening on July 23, 2021, and what form those games will take.

In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, will the Olympics really start in 15 months? If so, in what form? With fans? Without fans? Can they open without a vaccine? TV broadcasters and sponsors provide 91 per cent of the income for the International Olympic Committee.

How much pressure will they exert on the form these Olympics take? What about the Beijing Winter Olympics, opening in February 2022. China is where the coronavirus was first discovered, and the authoritarian government has been draconian in terms of lockdowns and travel restrictions.

IOC President Thomas Bach has already said there is “no blueprint” in assembling what he called this “huge jigsaw puzzle.”

“I cannot promise ideal solutions,” he said. “But I can promise that we’ll do everything to have the best possible games for everybody.”

Q: Some scientists are sceptical the delayed Tokyo Olympics can open in 15 months. What are the prospects?

A: Many scientists believe an Olympics with spectators can’t happen until a vaccine is developed. That is probably 12-18 months away, experts say, and then there will be questions about efficacy, distribution, and who gets it first.

Kentaro Iwata, a Japanese

TOKYO 2020 Organising Committee President Yoshiro Mori, left, speaks in teleconference with John Coates, chairman of the IOC’s Coordination Commission for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, in Tokyo, on April 16, 2020. The Tokyo Olympics were postponed a month ago. But there are still more questions than answers about the new opening on July 23, 2021 and what form those games will take.

(Kazuhiro Nogi/Pool Photo via AP) professor of infectious disease, said last week: “I am very pessimistic about holding the Olympic Games next summer unless you hold the Olympic Games in a totally different structure such as no audience or a very limited participation.”

Yoshitake Yokokura, president of the Japan Medical Association, came to the same conclusion in a recent interview. An Olympics in empty venues is looking more likely, which is the scenario for many sports. Fans hungry for some action may have grown accustomed to this configuration by the time the Olympics arrive.

Q; Postponing the Olympics will be costly. Who will pick up the expenses?

A: In two words: Japanese taxpayers. Japanese organisers and the IOC have said they are “assessing” the added costs.

They have not ventured an estimate — at least not publicly. Estimates in Japan range from $2 billion to $6

billion. Host country Japan is bound by the terms of the Host City Contract signed in 2013 to pay most of the bills. The IOC has already said the delay will cost it “several hundred million dollars.” IOC member John Coates, who oversees preparations for Tokyo, said this money will go to struggling international federations and national Olympic committees, and not to Japan organizers. The bills keep piling up. Japan originally said the Olympics would cost $7.3 billion. Officially the budget is now $12.6 billion, although a national audit board says it’s twice that much. All but $5.6 billion is public money. And now come the costs of the delay. Tokyo organisers were upset last week with the IOC. On its website it had Prime Minister Shinzo Abe saying Japan would pick up the added costs. The IOC deleted the statement, even though in principle it is correct.

Q: Where do we stand with venues and the Olympic Village?

A: Not much word so far. CEO Toshiro Muto has said it will take time to see if all these venues can be used. Of course, some may require renegotiated contacts. Proprietors of all venues will be under tremendous pressure to cooperate so the original competition schedule can be maintained. Tokyo’s Big Sight convention centre is likely to remain the media centre. Muto said it has been configured for the Olympics and hinted it would likely stay that way.

The Olympics draw 11,000 athletes from 206 nations.

The Paralympics add 4,400 more.

Q: What about tickets?

A: Organisers have said they will try to honour tickets already purchased.

Officials say a total of 7.8 million are available.

Organisers budgeted $800 million in revenue from

ticket sales, and unprecedented demand has pushed that to $1 billion. That’s roughly 15 per cent of the $5.6 billion of the privately funded operating budget.

This income can’t be sacrificed with the bills piling up. Same is true for $3.3 billion sold in local sponsorships. The problems will arise if ticket holders are not allowed to attend and want refunds. Tickets carry a “force majeure” clause, which might free organisers from the obligation to provide refunds.

However, it’s not clear that COVID-19 will stand up as a justification.

Q: How reliant is the IOC on income from broadcasters and sponsors?

A: A massive 91 per cent of IOC income is from those two sources — broadcasters and sponsors — and 73 per cent is from broadcasters. Bach has said the IOC does not have “cash flow” problems, and the committee reportedly has

a reserve fund of about $1 billion. But it stages only two events every four years, almost the entire source of its $5.7 billion income in a four-year cycle. It’s not like a soccer or baseball league with thousands of matches.

It needs the Summer Olympics.

American broadcaster NBC pays more than $1 billion to air each Olympics.

The IOC will push the Olympics to go forward, in whatever form.

Q: Where is the Olympic flame, which arrived from Greece on March 26?

A: It was taken off public display earlier this month in Fukushima prefecture, located 250 kilometres (150 miles) northeast of Tokyo.

Muto said after the Olympic torch relay was cancelled that “the Olympic flame was put under the management of Tokyo 2020. Obviously in the future there is a possibility it might be put on display somewhere. However, for now it is under the management of Tokyo 2020 and I’m not going to make any further comment on the issue.”

There are suggestions the IOC is thinking of taking the flame on a world tour, hoping to use it as a publicrelations tool and a symbol of the battle against the virus. However, any tour would be impossible until travel restrictions are lifted.

Taking the flame away from Japan could also upset the hosts.

China took the flame on a world tour in 2008, which was met with protests over China’s human rights policies. At the time IOC President Jacques Rogge said the “crisis” threatened the Olympics. World tours with the flame have not been held since.

Tech companies, like college athletes, eager to cash in

By ERIC OLSON AP Sports Writer IMAGINE a majorcollege quarterback with a sizable social media following who posts entertaining and informative updates about his life on and off the field.

Now imagine a restaurant hiring him as its pitchman and paying him $500 or $1,000 each time he posts content with its messaging.

That scenario could become reality as soon as 2021 as the NCAA figures out the details of how college athletes can be compensated for the use of their name, image or likeness.

Blake Lawrence crunched the numbers on earning potential for that imaginary quarterback based on the QB having 40,000 followers on Twitter and 50,000 on Instagram.

The co-founder and CEO of athlete marketing platform Opendorse based his projection on a popular college athlete having a market value approximate to that of a retired, wellknown pro athlete; active pros command higher fees.

Lawrence said it would be reasonable to assume the quarterback would sign separate deals with 10 local businesses and post a total of 60 to 120 sponsored content messages a year on one of his social media accounts.

“So quickly it’s $60,000 to $120,000 a year,” Lawrence said.

“You can see how the math adds up pretty quick in terms of opportunities for high level student-athletes to earn a significant sum of money from activating their social and digital media presence on behalf of sponsors in the local community.”

While autograph signing and public appearances have been traditional ways for professional athletes to make extra money, most opportunities now are tied to social media. The bridge between athlete and sponsor will likely be content delivery platforms — a cottage industry of sorts eager to link the two and cash in.

And having those platform relationships in place will almost surely be a recruiting tool for schools.

“There’s going to be a whole industry springing up around NIL,” or name, image and likeness, Lawrence said. “There is an ecosystem forming, and the incumbents are jostling and developing different types of tools and technology, and it’s going to be wild.”

Opendorse and INFLCR (pronounced “Influencer”) will be major players to start, and another company, Greenfly, plans to establish more of a presence in the college market.

All three have contracts with pro teams and leagues as well as college athletic departments. They store and manage content — game photos and videos, for example — that athletes can share on their personal social media accounts.

The photos and videos are provided by the teams themselves and through agreements with media organisations.

Athletes can access the content and share it with their followers. The pros use it to promote brands and supplement their income; college athletes will be able to do the same once they get the green light.

“Will some athletes make less than $1,000 (per year)?

Yes. Can some athletes make more than $100,000?

IOWA State tight end Chase Allen takes a photo with his cell phone during Iowa State’s annual NCAA college football media day in Ames, Iowa, on August 7, 2018. While autograph-signing and public appearances have been traditional ways athletes could make extra money, opportunities now are tied to social media posts where athletes could in the future be paid for posting sponsored content.

(AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) Yes,” INFLCR founder and CEO Jim Cavale said. “Are any millionaires going to be made off this? Very few, if any.”

Opendorse, based in Lincoln, Nebraska, has contracts with 75 colleges in addition to deals with the PGA Tour and players’ unions for the NFL and Major League Baseball, among other entities.

INFLCR, based in Birmingham, Alabama, has 100-plus colleges as clients as well as NBA and NFL players, NASCAR drivers and other pro athletes.

Greenfly, based in Santa Monica, California, has worked mostly with professional sports, notably baseball.

Once NIL rules go into effect, athletic departments will be under pressure to go all in with opportunities for their athletes or risk watching recruits go elsewhere.

The delivery platforms will need to provide transaction management technology that meets NCAA standards for oversight amid concerns about abuses, sham deals and play-for-pay schemes.

An athlete wouldn’t necessarily have to use the platform provided by their school, but going elsewhere would mean paying for it and there could be technical obstacles in reporting transactions to their school.

Opendorse, launched in 2012, counts schools such

as Clemson and Michigan among its clients, along with Nebraska. INFLCR has signed deals with teams such as Duke, Kansas and Kentucky, among others, since its start in 2017.

INFLCR was acquired last fall by Teamworks, which develops software teams used for in-house scheduling and messaging for teams at 264 Division I schools.

Greenfly went live in 2014, and the only college partnership it publicises is one with Kansas State.

Athletes would conduct most or all of their NIL business through an app developed by the content delivery company. They could post sponsored content in different ways,

perhaps mixing a personal message with an agreedupon shoutout to the sponsor, or with the tap of a button relay a post composed by the sponsor.

Under Nebraska’s contract with Opendorse for the year ending February 28, 2021, obtained through a public records request, the athletic department will pay $235,000 for the company to maintain the content management system that’s been in place since 2015.

The company will also educate athletes on branding and polishing their online profiles to make them more attractive to potential sponsors, a programme called “Ready Now.” Nebraska, where Lawrence played football from 2007-09, received $150,000 in discounts for bulk pricing (more than 500 athletes) and for being the first school to sign on with “Ready Now.” The tech companies will generate revenue through contracts to provide their services to schools and possibly from commissions.

Sponsors — not the athletes — pay commissions ranging from 10 per cent to 30 per cent in pro sports. “It’s yet to be seen if those types of margins or commissions make sense at the college level,” Lawrence said.

INFLCR’s Cavale said the day of college athletes getting paid for use of their NIL has been coming since former UCLA basketball player Ed O’Bannon brought the issue to the forefront with his 2009 class-action antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA. `“Everybody understood it wasn’t a matter of if but when NIL comes,” Cavale said.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, April 28, 2020, PAGE 15

FIFA WANTS TO LET TEAMS USE FIVE SUBS DURING BACKLOG

FRONT row from left: Flavien Prat on Country House, Tyler Gaffalione on War of Will, Luis Saez on Maximum Security and John Velazquez on Code of Honor compete in the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. on May 4, 2019.

There will be no Run for the Roses on this first Saturday in May. The Kentucky Derby is one of the events that won’t be held this week because of the coronavirus pandemic.

(AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer

What Would Have Been: Kentucky Derby, wild-card rematches

By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Sports Writer WITH the national sports calendar still pretty much on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic, following a short reprieve last week thanks to an unusual NFL draft, The Associated Press looks at some of the sporting events that would have taken place the week of April 27 to May 3: RUN FOR THE ROSES: The first Saturday in May usually marks the first leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown. But the Kentucky Derby won’t be run in May for the first time since 1945, instead pushed back four months to Labour Day weekend. Churchill Downs will conduct a virtual running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday that will feature computer simulations of the sport’s 13 Triple Crown winners.

MLB: A pair of wild rematches.

The Washington Nationals started their run to a World Series title last

October by rallying with three runs in the eighth inning of a 4-3 win at home in the National League wildcard game against Milwaukee. The Nationals were supposed to play a three-game series in Milwaukee this week.

The two teams that met in the American League wild-card game last season, the Rays and Athletics, were scheduled to play four games in Oakland, where Tampa Bay won 5-1 last October to advance to the AL Division Series against Houston.

TRIVIA BREAK: The last two Triple Crown-winning horses were Justify in 2018 and American Pharoah in 2015, both trained by Bob Baffert. Only once were there Triple Crown winners in back-toback years. Name the horses and the years. (Answer at end of story) BOXING: Six months after moving up to light heavyweight to become a four-weight world champion, Canelo Alvarez was supposed to be back in a ring in

WASHINGTON Nationals’ Juan Soto gets a kiss from his father, Juan Jose Soto, right, after defeating the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 in a National League wild-card baseball game at Nationals Park in Washington on October 1, 2019. The Nationals were supposed to play at Milwaukee this week in a rematch of last year’s National League wild-card game.

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Las Vegas. He was going to put his WBA super middleweight title on

the line against WBO champ Billy Joe Saunders.

NBA: Some teams could have already been set for the second round of the playoffs, while others might have been trying to wrap up first-round series.

NHL: The Stanley Cup playoffs would be in the conference semifinals, with eight teams still on the ice.

PGA TOUR: Max Homa, who twice before lost his PGA Tour card, would have been defending his only PGA Tour victory. He won by three strokes in last year’s Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte.

NASCAR: Martin Truex Jr got his first Cup victory at Dover on a Monday in 2007, and won at the Monster Mile in Delaware during another rain-delayed Monday race last spring.

TRIVIA ANSWER: Seattle Slew won the Triple Crown in 1977, and Affirmed won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes the following year.

GENEVA (AP) — With soccer facing a congested programme of games caused by the coronavirus pandemic, FIFA wants to let teams use five substitutes.

FIFA detailed a temporary plan yesterday to help prevent more injuries due to “potential player overload” as soccer competitions catch up with a backlog.

The proposal gives competition organisers the option of letting teams use five substitutes instead of three in 90 minutes, and a sixth in knockout games that go to extra time.

“One concern in this regard is that the higherthan-normal frequency of matches may increase the risk of potential injuries due to a resulting player overload,” FIFA said in a statement.

Clubs such as Manchester City face an intense programme in three competitions if games can safely restart in the coming weeks.

City could have 19 more games — 10 in the Premier League, up to six in the Champions League and up to three in the FA Cup — being scheduled in as few as 10 weeks through August.

Juventus could need 20 more: 12 in Serie A, up to six in the Champions League, and two Coppa Italia games.

The proposal must be signed off by soccer’s rulemaking panel, known as IFAB. Teams would still be limited to three stoppages of play to make the changes.

IFAB approval should be a formality on a panel which includes officials from FIFA and the four British national federations.

PAGE 16, Tuesday, April 28, 2020

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