07222020 NEWS AND SPORT

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VOLUME:117 No.164, JULY 22ND, 2020

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‘WE BROUGHT IT ON OURSELVES’

ALICIA WALLACE BLAME GAME? WE KNEW WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN

SEE PAGE EIGHT

Families rush to stock up for urgent GB lockdown many accept must happen

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net GRAND Bahamians rushed out to grocery stores yesterday morning just after Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced a two-week lockdown starting this week in response to the virulent spread of COVID-19 infections on the island.

There were long queues at Cost Right, Solomon’s Lucaya, Sawyers Fresh Market, and Express Food Mart, where people were panic buying, stocking up

on food, and other essential provisions for the next 14 days.

“It’s crazy, I came out here 10am and met a long line of people, was given a number and got inside around a little before noon,” said Patrick, a customer at Cost Right.

It took about an hour and a half to two hours for people to get inside to shop for essential items, he said.

Shoppers were purchasing water, breadbasket items, and toiletries. Jackie Russell believes that the

20 MORE CASES WITH TWO ON CAT ISLAND

By RASHAD ROLLE & TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT

TWENTY more COVID-19 cases were confirmed in The Bahamas yesterday as Cat Island registered its first two cases and Bimini saw an increase for the first time in more than a month. The country has now recorded 194 coronavirus cases.

The daily COVID-19 dashboard was released shortly before midnight yet the Ministry of Health’s

LOADING UP

SEE PAGE FOUR

accompanying statement contained few details about the people who have contracted the virus and their history of travel. The statement said investigations are ongoing and that a complete update with details will be published at a later date. This is the third consecutive date that officials have not given age, sex and travel history details.

The ministry is expected to host a press conference tomorrow.

SEE PAGE THREE

PEOPLE hit the shops after the announcement of a two-week lockdown in Grand Bahama yesterday

Photo: Vandyke Hepburn

THOUSANDS IGNORING BPL DRIVERS DROPPING DISCONNECTION WARNING INSURANCE

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

MORE than 99 percent of the 16,000 Bahamas Power & Light customers threatened with disconnection have failed to agree a repayment plan. Quincy Parker, the state-owned utility’s spokesperson, confirmed yesterday that only 78 clients had visited BPL and agreed payment plan terms. He also confirmed

disconnections had already begun for customers who were $500 or more in arrears, and 90 days past due, prior to April 1 and

the full onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic plus associated lockdown.

“Disconnections began on July 6,” he reported. “[There were] 362 total up to Friday, July 17. Across all three categories, 78 persons have come in and made payment plans.” The reference to “three categories” reflects that BPL has segmented its delinquent customers into three groups.

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

LEADING insurer Tom Duff yesterday warned that many motorists may be driving without insurance after a dramatic fall in the number of clients either deferring premium payments, as permitted by the government’s emergency powers, or not renewing cover.

CRISIS FORCES 103 JOHN BULL REDUNDANCIES TECHNOLOGY

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

JOHN Bull has made 103 employees - 15 percent of its staff - redundant as the COVID-19 crisis continues to ravage businesses around the country.

In April, the leading luxury goods retailer announced it would temporarily lay off all of its team members but pay each employee 50 percent of their salary as an ex gratia payment while maintaining their employment benefits.

Now the prolonged

pandemic crisis, heightened by the renewed closure of the country’s borders to commercial flights from most countries, is forcing the company to make another drastic move, according to Inga Bowleg,

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE FIVE

HOW ELECTRIC VEHICLES ARE IN FAST LANE SEE PAGE NINE

PAGE 2, Wednesday, July 22, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Shining stars Shante and Tre’von steer proud course

SHANTE Pearson spent 11 months aboard a bulk carrier, the youngest member of the crew of 23 and the only female.

Tre’von Ferguson spent nine months on a container ship and six months on a bulk carrier.

Together, they are the future of the maritime industry and as of this week, the two Bahamians were among three honours graduates of the prestigious Caribbean Maritime University. The third honours graduate was from Jamaica.

All three attended the university on scholarships from Royal Caribbean International donated through the American Caribbean Maritime Foundation.

“I am so proud of Shante and Tre’von who are graduating at the top of their class after rigorous training at the Caribbean Maritime University, an ISO 9001 certified institution,” said Geneive Brown Metzger, LLD Hon., American Caribbean Maritime Foundation President. “These two young mariners have acquired global currency and are on their way to achieving their maritime dreams. They are shining stars.”

Both Pearson and Ferguson dreamt of maritime careers from the time they were little.

“I’ve been around boats all my life,” said Ferguson, 26, whose childhood memories of

SCHOLARS: Tre’von Ferguson, left, and Shante Pearson, above. fishing with his uncle were fuelled further by going to work with his mother at the Freeport Container Port. “She was a ship planner (responsible for cargo container loading). I’d look out the window and see container ships and cruise ships and I’d be in awe and wonder who was driving them and where did they come from. And I’d think,

‘When I grow up, I want to do that. I want to be driving that ship’.”

By the time Ferguson was in high school, he was working to make that dream possible. He joined the Maritime Cadet Corps, participating in the training programs during his 10th, 11th and senior year at St. George’s High in Freeport. The summer after

graduation, he landed a job working on a pilot boat guiding ships in to or out of port.

“I got to see how the ships operate. I could see the bridge, the crew.” The more he saw, the stronger the conviction became to be part of that world. He spent a year in Cuba learning Spanish to boost his chances of a maritime job in

the region and just as he was about to face another stint away from home, the LJM Academy opened on the grounds and surrounding waters of the former Coral World and from there, he qualified for Caribbean Maritime University.

Like Ferguson, Shante Pearson’s dream was shaped early. She trailed her dad, now retired from the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, when his ship was in port, fascinated by all that made it work and how far it could travel. She loved the water, diving and spearing. At CV Bethel Senior High School in Nassau, she joined the Maritime Cadet Corps, graduating top of her class and being honoured with the Clyde Bethel Award and a scholarship for being the Most Outstanding Bridge Watch Cadet. That scholarship enabled her to attend the LJM Maritime Academy.

At age 17, Pearson took a risk that earned her a singular place in Bahamian history – as the youngest and only female to crew aboard a cargo vessel through Campbell Shipping that remained at sea for 11 months.

“I was the only female

crew member among 23 men and I was the youngest and from a different culture. Most of the crew was from India so the language and culture barrier in the beginning was really hard,” said Pearson, 23. “I still don’t know to this day how I did it.”

The toughest part of the journey was three days sailing the Bay of Biscay, among the roughest waters in the world, known to swallow cargo ships and threaten the largest cruise ships.

“The Bay of Biscay showed that Mother Nature has no remorse, no pity and plays no favourites,” Pearson said. For three days, the vessel pitched and rolled. Waves crashed across the topsides, swamping the above decks. No one could work beyond keeping the boat afloat. Pearson stayed awake for nearly 24 hours during the ordeal, afraid to sleep in case they had to jump ship and scramble to a lifeboat.

Her desire – to be the first female captain of a Royal Caribbean Oasis class ship, the world’s largest, like Symphony of the Seas capable of carrying 6,000 guests and 2,500 crew.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, July 22, 2020, PAGE 3

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

Grand Bahama hit by two-week lockdown

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, speaking yesterday outside the Churchill Building.

Photo: Kemuel Stubbs/BIS

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net DECLARING Grand Bahama a COVID-19 hotspot, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis yesterday announced a two-week lockdown of the island after a total of 61 cases were recorded there since the country re-opened its borders in early July.

Giving a brief statement ahead of a Cabinet meeting yesterday, the nation’s leader said the lockdown will begin on Thursday at 7pm and end on Friday, August 7 at 5am. The move comes as Grand Bahama continues to see a surge of COVID-19 cases after a more than two month lull in cases on the island.

Noting that strict measures are “absolutely necessary” to protect the health of Grand Bahamians, Dr Minnis yesterday ordered the 14-day lockdown, including a shutdown of all flights and sea vessels except for those carrying essential goods and services. As of 6pm yesterday, all domestic flights in and out of the island have ceased.

Under the lockdown, Dr Minnis said local food stores will be allowed to operate to the public from 7am to 5pm Monday to Friday. Pharmacies, water depots and gas stations will be also allowed to open, but only from 7am to 1pm on weekdays.

The Grand Bahama Humane Society and waste disposal/sanitation companies will be permitted to open Monday to Friday from 7am-1pm.

However, Dr Minnis added: “During Saturdays and Sundays, a complete lockdown will be in place.”

His announcement prompted scores of residents to flock to food stores to stock up on groceries and supplies, while others headed to the airport in an attempt to leave the island before flights stopped.

Exempted groups from the complete lockdown include essential workers at hospitals, the Royal Bahamas Police Force, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, NEMA, OBPAT, Customs and Immigration Departments, the Ministry of Environment, the National Food Distribution Task Force and its distribution food partners, the media, security services and certain industrial businesses etc.

Dr Minnis said essential workers will be able to visit pharmacies, grocery stores and gas stations on Saturdays from 7am to 1pm.

Regarding construction activities related to hurricane restoration and preparedness, Dr Minnis said those activities will be permitted but permission to buy supplies will be on an emergency basis only once the lockdown begins.

Saying “we must work now to stop the spread of the virus on Grand Bahama,” Dr Minnis warned Grand Bahamians not to leave their homes unless it is an emergency or if they are an essential worker.

“A lockdown like this is not something that would have been preferred,” he said outside the Churchill Building yesterday.

“But it is absolutely necessary because things will get much worse on Grand Bahama if we don’t take this strong measure now. I know that a measure like this even further disrupts daily life and economic activity.

But we are in an emergency situation.”

The new restrictions come days after Dr Minnis implemented a tighter daily curfew for Grand Bahama and banned international and domestic travel to and from the island.

All commercial flights and vessels are also banned from entering the entire country, beginning today,

except for those from Canada, the United Kingdom and the European Union.

On Sunday, Dr Minnis linked the spike of cases to the re-opening of the country’s borders, adding that “surveillance teams have traced many of the cases to Bahamians returning to The Bahamas.”

Due to the rising cases on Grand Bahama, the prime minister also foreshadowed a possible lockdown on the island on Friday if efforts by health officials proved unsuccessful to stem the rise of cases there.

However, after 20 cases were reported on the island on Monday alone, Dr Minnis said he consulted with health officials and “the decision was made to increase restrictive measures as soon as practicable.”

Other additional restrictions for Grand Bahama include the suspension of funeral gatherings and faceto-face church services, which can now only be held virtually. Dr Minnis said funerals on the island can only be held at the graveside and with a maximum of ten people, including the officiant.

He said while measures like these even further disrupt daily life, it is essential in order to contain the spread of the virus on the island.

He added that the government is committed to doing all it can to help those in need during this lockdown.

“The National Food Distribution Task Force and the Department of Social Services are making arrangements to ensure that food needs will be met during the lockdown,” he said.

“It is anticipated that food vouchers will be distributed to 14,000 residents. Additional support, security and enforcement of the lockdown will be provided by the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

Various measures are

being taken to ensure the safety of essential workers on the island, including the use of PPEs.” He also said the RBDF would form a perimeter around Grand Bahama.

Yesterday, opposition leader Philip Davis said he is concerned about the spike in cases while hitting out at Dr Minnis for not taking questions from the media during this crisis.

He also admonished Dr Minnis for opening the country’s borders too early.

“It has become clear that when this government opened the borders, they were not prepared to do so safely,” Mr Davis said in a statement.

20 MORE CASES WITH TWO ON CAT ISLAND from page one

Six of the new cases are New Providence residents, ten are Grand Bahama residents and two are from Bimini. The Bimini cases are the first on that island since a lockdown was implemented in mid-May. News that two residents of Cat Island had tested positive was confirmed by Neil Campbell, the island’s administrator, yesterday.

After presenting with COVID-19 symptoms, the two residents were sent to New Providence and tested positive on Tuesday

morning, he said. They will receive treatment while in New Providence.

“Earlier we (the Cat Island Council) met with the police, Supt Munroe, we were updated and advised and after we met with health professional Nurse Elaine Stuart, we would have also sent out a public notice under my hand and seal that two COVID-19 cases were confirmed from Cat Island,” the island administrator said.

These are the first confirmed cases on Cat Island and the residents in question have no recent travel history, according to Mr

Campbell. Asked if these were two fresh cases or cases included in the COVID-19 national dashboard released on Monday, Mr Campbell said these cases were only confirmed yesterday morning.

“We don’t know the exact time they were tested, but we do know it had to be some time yesterday and early this morning,” Mr Campbell continued. “The confirmation came this morning.

These are the first cases for Cat Island and we can also confirm that both residents have no recent travel history.”

He added: “They were tested in New Providence between yesterday and early this morning. . .they are living and residing in Cat Island but once they experience the symptoms and they informed the medical professionals, they dispatched someone to them and then the health protocols kick in and they spoke to New Providence.

We dispatched an aircraft and they went to New Providence. To my knowledge they both have no recent travel history.”

Editorial View - Page 6

PAGE 4, Wednesday, July 22, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

MINNIS CLARIFIES VACATION RULES FOR CIVIL SERVANTS

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis yesterday stressed civil servants will only lose vacation time or face unpaid leave if they are required to quarantine upon their return home from abroad without a negative COVID19 test result.

He was clarifying earlier comments he made about

civil servants who may face COVID-19 quarantine.

During his national address on Sunday, Dr Minnis announced a ban on commercial flights and vessels from entering the country, which takes effect today, excluding flights coming from Canada, the United Kingdom and the European Union.

He said returning residents unable to produce a negative accredited COVID-19 test upon

arrival will be required to self-isolate for 14 days and will also be monitored via the Hubbcat monitoring.

For public servants, Dr Minnis said the quarantine period will be counted as vacation days. However, if vacation time is not an option, Dr Minnis said the public servant’s salary will be deducted.

While giving a brief address ahead of a Cabinet meeting yesterday, Dr Minnis said he wanted to

clarify his previous remarks geared towards public servants. He said: “I noted that the 14-day quarantine period required for Bahamians and residents returning to The Bahamas without a negative RT-PCR COVID-19 test would be counted as vacation for public servants. I also noted that if vacation time was not an option, the public servant’s salary would be deducted. To be clear, this applies only to those

required to quarantine upon return from traveling abroad who do not have the required COVID-19 negative test result.”

He continued: “This applies to those who have travelled into a hotspot area taking on their own responsibility, subsequently becoming infected and coming back to The Bahamas, requiring quarantine.

That responsibility had been placed on themselves.

“This does not apply to

other circumstances where quarantine may be required by health officials.”

In recent weeks, some in the private sector have adopted similar policies, reminding employees of the consequences that will be taken if workers opt for leisure travel overseas.

This came after the Minnis administration resumed international commercial travel on July 1 in a move officials said would help jumpstart the country’s tourism industry.

Two-week lockdown sparks panic buying spree Pictures: Vandyke Hepburn

from page one government is assisting those who need food. “I support the PM 100 percent and people must follow the protocols put in place, such as social distancing, wearing masks, and hand washing,” she said.

Ms Russell was very disappointed that so many Grand Bahamian travelled abroad once the borders reopened earlier this month. “The PM said that travel only if you have to for emergency… and they went over there to Florida and brought it back, and now they giving it to their families. Some are walking around and don’t know they have it.”

Those persons, she said, should have quarantined upon return.

Grand Bahama has been classified as the new hotspot for COVID-19 infections after recording some 20 new confirmed cases on Monday alone.

The lockdown will commence on Thursday.

Additionally, there is a 7pm to 5am daily curfew, and all domestic and international travel from Grand Bahama has been discontinued.

Resident Billy Ferguson says while it is a setback for the island, she supports the two-week lockdown to stop community spread.

“This is actually the last thing we need here in Grand Bahama. Yes, I know the storm was 10 months ago and for people like myself who lost everything, this is indeed a major setback. Keep in mind, I do see it as necessary to close the borders

again, but I honestly wish we didn’t have to do it,” she said.

Ms Ferguson is not at all surprised that Grand Bahama is now a virus hotspot. “The minute the border opened a lot of Grand Bahamians decided to go to the US, in particular to Florida, where they know…there are so many cases. It is just so disappointing that whatever was so urgent for them to have to go for and bring it (the virus) back here.”

She noted that things will be tough economically for the island but she is hopeful that it will get better.

“Some of us are going to feel the pinch of the island lockdown because we were just now starting to get ourselves back to some normalcy. But I think it is for the best for us and will cause the cases not to rise if we are not moving about so much.”

Pastor Eddie Victor says the lockdown is “absolutely necessary,” as the disease is very contagious and deadly.

“Based on the recent severe increase in coronavirus cases in Grand Bahama in less than two weeks, it is clear that we have a major spread taking place in Grand Bahama,” he said.

He said that a friend of

his in South Florida who is in the medical supply business, had 13 members of his family infected, including his wife, mother, and father.

Despite all the medical treatments administered, intubation, blood plasma with the antibodies, and all the latest equipment, the mother passed away last Thursday.

“What I see is that we will be dealing with this virus for the next several months.

We need to adhere to all the recommended protocols.

We must become very conscious of others, look out for the elderly, and those who may have underlying

health conditions and, of course, protect ourselves,” said Pastor Victor.

Former Bahamian ambassador, Forrester Carroll says to get a handle on infections, a lockdown is needed.

“GB will have to suffer the shutdown, and as much as I hate it, I think it is necessary; we have to bear the shutdown to get it under control,” he said.

Mr Carroll believes that before reopening the borders, the government should have got recommendations outside of Cabinet on the way forward through a bipartisan

panel. “We know we could not remain shut down forever, and that there would not be a vaccine to mitigate COVID-19 for about 18 months to two years, and that our economy is tourist-based, 80 percent of our employment comes from tourism.

There should have been strict protocols before we reopen the borders, but obviously, that was not done,” he said. “The government dropped the ball on this one, and now GB is suffering because the competent authority made some bad decisions.”

BUSINESS LEADER FEARS IMPACT OF CLOSURE

By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT ts-cartwright @tribunemedia.net

THE head of Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce is worried about the impact of the upcoming two week lockdown on nonessential businesses, saying the storm-battered island “really needs a break”.

Gregory Laroda spoke with The Tribune just after Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced the island will be on a 14-day lockdown beginning tomorrow, with only essential businesses and exempt operations open.

“The two-week lock down will seriously and negatively impact our economy and our storm recovery,” Mr Laroda said.

“We just recently came off weekend lock down and

24-hour curfew. Then back to curfew from 10pm to 5am and so a lot of companies were just trying to recover, from a business standpoint, from those restrictions that were in place and then now to be hit with this.

“The extent, I’m going to say, will be far reaching.

I know there were a lot of companies that were struggling just prior to this and so now that this has come back for us to be faced with, in terms of a complete shut down for two weeks, maybe some of those small businesses would not be able to survive this, but we will have to see.”

Grand Bahama is still in recovery mode from the devastation of Hurricane Dorian which battered that island in early September 2019, packing winds of up to 220 mph in gusts. Dorian was the strongest and

deadliest storm to ever hit The Bahamas.

“In terms of the storm recovery process, again, next month starts the active part of the hurricane season for us and there are still a lot of buildings that have not been repaired since Dorian,” the Chamber of Commerce president noted.

“So that work still needs to get done. I noticed that the Prime Minister, in his national address, said that folks should try to get construction material and the like, upfront, I guess if they can. So, I believe some work will still go on.”

Mr Laroda said the lockdown will seriously set back the building repairs as well, but he is hopeful at least some of the work will be done.

“Maybe we can still get some of the essential stuff done and just wait and see

where it goes,” Mr Laroda continued. “Right now, he is saying two weeks. Two weeks is going to be tough, but we understand the safety aspect of it and hopefully folks can stay isolated as much as possible and when they do go out, practice social distancing, properly wear their PPEs, sanitise and all of that. But, at the end of this period I hope we won’t have to look at some extension to it. We really need a break and to get this somewhat behind us.”

During the island’s lockdown, essential businesses like pharmacies, food stores and water depots are allowed to operate. All non-essential businesses will be closed. Mr Laroda expressed empathy for the survival of these businesses.

“Some essential businesses will be open from 7am to 1pm and then there

are the food stores and some others that will open from 7am until 5pm,” Mr LaRoda said. “So, there will still be some commerce going on. He (Dr Minnis) has allowed the industrial sector to continue business as well. So that will be a help because they employ a good chunk of the work force here on Grand Bahama.

“The businesses that fall into the non-essential category are the ones that will continue to suffer as they are going to be closed. I’m sure they are going to struggle to maintain any level of employment of staff through this, but again we will have to see how it all pans out.”

Oil companies will continue to operate on Grand Bahama during the lockdown, supplying gas stations.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, July 22, 2020, PAGE 5

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

Crisis forces 103 John Bull redundancies from page one director of business development at the John Bull Group of Companies.

“Despite every effort to secure employment for each of our team members throughout this pandemic, the economic fallout has been greater than we could have ever imagined,” she said in a statement yesterday. “‘Unprecedented times’ is a term that is being used globally to describe the past few months and for John Bull it succinctly sums up what we are currently experiencing in the business.

Going into this pandemic, we stood firm by our commitment to always put our team first and promised that we would assist in mitigating the financial impact as much as and as long as corporately possible.

Delivering on our word, John Bull’s team members were extended full salary throughout the first few weeks of the Emergency

Powers (COVID 19) Orders 2020 during a time when all of the company’s locations were closed.

“This scenario was not sustainable and in the ensuing weeks the company eventually extended ex gratia payments to each employee representing up to 50 percent of their salary.

As the economic downturn continues with the announcement of delayed cruise ship arrivals to the port of Nassau along with uncertain reopening dates for local resorts, some very tough decisions are necessary to secure the company if we intend to have a future in retail beyond our 91 year legacy. We had hoped to be in a position to retain all of our staff but given the current and foreseeable future state of affairs it is impossible.

“With over 60 percent of our locations still closed for business and a devastating blow to the company’s revenue it is with a heavy heart and great regret that we must now move to

reducing our staff complement by 15 percent. This action is extremely difficult however very necessary in order for John Bull to continue to be able to function now, as well as on the other side of this pandemic, by way of a healthy employer and place of empowerment.

We remain hopeful and prayerful that things will turnaround sooner rather than later to avoid continued

economic fallout for our company and nation.”

Labour Director John Pinder said he is not surprised by the retailer’s move. “Ain’ no tourists coming in, people ain’ making no money, so that’s what’s happening all around The Bahamas and the world,” he said.

By law, employers have 12 weeks to mull the furlough of workers, but the

government has extended that period so businesses can keep employees on rather than terminate their employment and provide severance packages. Mr Pinder said the grace period, which expires at the end of this month, will be extended for a further 60 days.

“We are hoping employers could take advantage of the layoff position where necessary,” he said.

RBDF MEMBER TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19

By EARYEL BOWLEG ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

A ROYAL Bahamas Defence Force member has tested positive for COVID-19.

“The individual has been admitted for medical care and the force’s medical team is currently conducting intensive contact tracing to confirm other members who may have been exposed and recommended for selfquarantine,” the RBDF announced.

The RBDF member is among several new cases reported by officials yesterday, including two Cat Island residents. There was also speculation of possible new cases on Cat Cay, but West Grand Bahama and Bimini MP Pakesia Parker Edgecombe told The Tribune up to press time that she had received nothing official from the Ministry of Health confirming new cases there.

“I can confirm that there is investigations into these cases,” Mrs

TURNQUEST GIVES THANKS

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net AFTER his scare with COVID-19, Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest — who has since tested negative for the virus – is thanking everyone for the expressed concern for his well-being.

He explained: “I was exposed through a contact that was tested positive. I tested immediately after I learned of the positive contact and was negative.

I am in self quarantine in Nassau for 14 days and will re test at the completion of that time. It is clear that we have had a number of imported cases of Covid 19 which have resulted in community spread. This is particularly unfortunate given the hard work Grand Bahamians put in to achieve over 10 weeks where there were no new cases identified on island.

“On a personal…note, I wish to publicly thank all in Grand Bahama and the wider Bahamas for the expressed concern regarding my scare with COVID-19. Thank you for all of the prayers as we continue to pray for those infected and their family members.”

He added: “I stand with the residents of east and the wider Grand Bahama as we endure today’s announced lockdown for our island to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

“The government has assured that there is no shortage of supplies at the grocery stores, service stations, and pharmacies.

The local banks have also adjusted business hours to accommodate the lockdown period.

“With confidence and hope of better days ahead, I thank the residents of Grand Bahama in advance for their full cooperation.”

UB TO CARRY ON REMOTELY UNIVERSITY of The Bahamas will continue remote operations with the exception of a small number of courses for the upcoming academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

All lecture, seminar, tutorial, some laboratories and practicum courses will take place virtually for the upcoming fall and spring semesters.

“For these courses, distance education technologies will be used to deliver the course 100 percent via virtual means. There will be no on-campus visits, visits to other designated sites, or in-person events,” said UB

president Dr Rodney Smith in a statement.

“These courses have both synchronous and asynchronous elements. These are not self-paced and have substantive faculty-initiated interaction as an integral part of the course.”

Dr Smith also noted that a limited number of courses will be held face-to-face with strict social distancing protocols, mask wearing and facial shields.

“These exceptions include, but are not limited to clinical rounds; studios; kitchens; specified fieldwork and some laboratories,” Dr Smith said.

SANDILANDS VISITS CANCELLED ALL visitation has been suspended at Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre and Geriatric Hospital until further notice. Out-patient services including rehab, dental services, beauty salon and the adult psychiatric day patient programme have also been suspended, the Public Hospitals Authority said. These restrictions have been put in place to ensure the safety of patients and staff amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Parker-Edgecombe said when contacted. “Whether or not these cases are confirmed, I have not gotten anything official from the Ministry of Health and. . .I continue to try and reach health officials before I go on record as stating that there are confirmed cases.”

Attempts to reach Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Delon Brennen were unsuccessful up to press time.

The ministry reported Cat Cay’s first confirmed case back in April, which

was a 36-year-old woman with no history of travel.

Yesterday, The Tribune reported that it understands that several police officers are among the recent new Grand Bahama cases and some are in quarantine.

Inspector Sonny Miller, chairman of the Police Staff Association, said some officers are fearful.

“Speaking with some of the officers in Grand Bahama, there is heightened alert and the officers are very, very cautious and some might be in fear,” he

said on Monday. “We must remain focused and committed and this is just one of those times when the officers are placed in a position again to put country above their self. I have gotten reports that members have been affected by it and there is some testing going on now involving officers. A number of officers are in fear because Grand Bahama is a tight-knit area where the officers are closer, unlike us in New Providence that are spread out wider.”

NATIONAL EXAMS ALL SUSPENDED FOR NOW THE Ministry of Education has “temporarily suspended” all national examinations effective immediately, until further notice. In a statement released last night, ministry officials said the decision was made to protect the integrity of the BJC and BGCSE exams and ensure the safety of all concerned.

“The Ministry of Education advises students to continue their preparations for these crucial examinations as they will be held at a later date in accordance with the advice of the competent authority guided

by Ministry of Health officials,” a statement noted.

On Thursday, June 4, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced that the BJC and BGCSE exams would be held beginning July 13, after they were postponed earlier this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. This decision to go ahead came despite pushback from parents and the Bahamas Union of Teachers. An online petition to cancel the exams and use forecasted grades garnered more than 8,000 signatures in early June.

After the tests began, BUT president Belinda Wilson raised concerns over how the exams were held, saying she had been informed that ministry officials were late to some schools and that some exams started late at least at one centre. She also said there was “little to no social distancing and that workers were seen not wearing masks.”

These claims were refuted by Education Minister Jeff Lloyd last week, who insisted “the examinations went on very well” despite allegations otherwise.

PAGE 6, Wednesday, July 22, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

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Talk to BPL - before they turn off your lights THE go-ahead has been given for BPL to start disconnecting customers who can’t – or won’t – pay, and 16,000 could be cut off as a result.

That sounds harsh, but bear this in mind – BPL asked people to get in touch with them if they are in arrears so that a discussion could be had about how much could be paid and when. In short, to give BPL an idea of when payment might happen if it couldn’t happen now.

How many of those 16,000 got in touch knowing they had bills to pay?

Just 78. That’s how many came in and set up payment plans with BPL to deal with arrears.

We all know how tough the economic situation is right now. We all know people who are on furlough, or have lost their jobs entirely, or are scraping to make ends meet as the country deals with COVID-19 and its fallout.

There will absolutely be people who can’t put anything on their bill right now, who are using the little money they have to keep a roof over their head or to put

food on the table. That’s understandable – but that isn’t going to help when the utility starts shutting off the power.

Already, it has cut off 362 customers.

Many people were struggling prior to April 1 when deferral of payments was brought in to help people during the pandemic. Those bills have been outstanding for a long time now and that’s the customers that are the biggest part of that 16,000 total.

Mass disconnections during a pandemic is almost unthinkable, and further intervention may well be necessary – particularly with travel from the US being shut off again and the impact that will have on jobs.

But for goodness’ sake, let BPL know your situation. If the company doesn’t know your position, you can’t be surprised when they don’t take your situation into account. Let them know, so that they can act accordingly.

There’s no shame in reaching out for help when you need it, and pride won’t get you very far when you’re sitting in the dark.

Left in the dark on COVID but then a glimmer of hope WHEN the news of yesterday’s new COVID-19 cases came, it came late.

It was nearly midnight when the numbers finally arrived, with the Bahamian media eagerly waiting to see the update after the previous day’s record singleday total of 21.

Leaving the media and the public waiting so long with the nation amid a surge of the virus was unprofessional. It also meant a bad start for the Ministry of Health under its new leader, Renward Wells. That needs to be fixed.

But when the numbers finally came, many will have breathed a slight sigh of relief that the numbers had held steady rather than skyrocketed further.

Twenty cases is no cause for celebration, but the numbers in Grand Bahama halved compared to the previous day. That was the hotspot we were all watching.

It doesn’t mean we should ease up on the restrictions about to be imposed there – but we can be thankful it wasn’t far worse.

Where we cannot be thankful is in the other cases. Half a dozen cases in New Providence is a spike we need to clamp down on. Worse news perhaps is the news of cases in other Family

Islands. Two cases in Cat Island show the virus edging to the south for the first time, and two cases in Bimini show the virus has not been extinguished there.

Beyond that, we know very little. The announcement was sparse in its detail, which only increases the feeling that the handover at the top is not going smoothly. The statement did not even mention the Bimini cases – that had to be worked out from the numbers on the dashboard. Information is crucial to letting people know where the danger is – confusion here can be deadly.

The more islands that are affected, the more dangerous this virus is. When one island has a problem, it’s easier to focus attention there to squash the virus before it spreads. When it is running across a number of islands, it makes the battle harder.

We must hope the new lockdown in Grand Bahama will tackle the outbreak there – and we must keep doing everything we can to stop its spread elsewhere. Keep wearing masks. Keep your distance. Wash your hands regularly. And stay home if you don’t need to be out. Those simple measures can save lives.

Good to see Turnquest is leading by example EDITOR, The Tribune READ with interest your brief article on East Grand Bahama and Finance Minister Peter Turnquest’s health status. Was relieved that the deputy prime minister tested negative for the COVID-19 virus.

His personal decision to self-quarantine bespeaks his willingness to lead by example. Turnquest represents a constituency on an island that has been designated a COVID-19 hotspot, for all intents and purposes. Just eleven months removed from Hurricane Dorian, Grand Bahama can’t seem to catch

a break. The criticisms levelled at Turnquest for being exposed to a positive COVID-19 case is not only unfair, but borders on the irrational. There’s no way he would’ve known the health status of the individual in question.

The COVID-19 pandemic transcends political, racial, ethnic, social and religious barriers.

It impacts all of us. Rather than just sit around all day and complain in the newspapers and on social media, we should all do our part in helping to curb COVID-19 by following the instructions of the World Health Organisation and the

Centres for Disease Control. The Free National Movement administration cannot do it alone. The same could be said for the Progressive Liberal Party, had that party been in high office today.

I am not surprised that the Minnis administration has made mistakes.

The past 10 months have presented unprecedented challenges to the Bahamian people. No other administration has ever faced such daunting challenges.

KEVIN EVANS Freeport, Grand Bahama July 21 2020.

Our cash was stolen while we were asleep EDITOR, The Tribune I AM a seasoned international traveller and have been travelling to the Bahamas since 1968, so fair to say I have some experience. My most recent trip (July 2020) to Nassau was an Airbnb rental in the Fox Hill District. In the past this was the nice side of the island. Oh how things have changed!! So many for sale signs of beautiful estates dot Eastern Road it makes me ask the question, what is going on? Digging deeper, those beautiful estates are now listing for perhaps 30% of their former value. The people that have taken notice are not only tourists, but local thieves.

These abandoned properties are an invitation to seek and steal what you can. My airbnb property was on Eastern Road and while we were sleeping, someone entered and stole our cash. Nothing else. Nothing broken. The property was gated and the front gate locked. Interesting fact though was that while we pursued this with vigor with the Fox Hill Police, we came to find out that a neighbour’s security camera caught an image of a vehicle right outside the property at 3:50 am. A violation of the national curfew. That alone should have sparked at least some police action. It didn’t! CSI came and dusted for fingerprints and found three sets. After a week plus dealing with the police, no news of the fingerprints and no one has done any work on the photo of the vehicle. I was asked by the police about the photo

of 2019 that the Bahamas is a high crime area for US tourists. Look it up, it’s still posted! letters@tribunemedia.net 3. To follow police procedure, as we have done, and whether there was any is an exercise in futility as video to go along with it. the police seem content Since when does a tourist to paper push rather than do police work on vaca- investigate. On more than tion? Truly astounding! one occasion I had to quesThe day before our car tion the police as to why was robbed at Ft Montagu they did not have any eviin broad daylight. So two dence in their possession, robberies in two days. Very but I did. nice picture for tourists It is clear that this counconsidering the Bahamas try thrives on tourism and for a vacation. mostly US tourism.

Do not think for one The Bahamas is a beaumoment that these types of tiful country, and the occurrences go unpublished Bahamian people are truly on US websites? Think lovely, but US people will again!. not be coming as they once So I ask you, business did. The State Departowners, how long will ment for the US has listed you continue to bemoan the Bahamas as a high diminishing revenue from crime area for US tourlack of tourism when you ists. Now I am sure that know that the problem this is old news to many begins right in your own and many have stated back yard? Even when the that it is a never ending COVID pandemic recedes story. But reality 2020 has you will not see a tidal wave come, people! Downtown of tourists descending on Nassau looks like Beirut New Providence. Sure, the from the 1980’s. How much cruise ships will return, longer do you want that but not until the Fall. How picture circulated through many businesses have the world’s press, and the financial strength to most importantly, the US weather that storm? press? Tourist stories will There are issues to continue on social media address: platforms about crimes and 1. Why do you continue other sordid episodes that to mark rental cars with occur with regularity in yellow licence plates? To Nassau. Tourists do not like make an easy mark for wearing shirts with bulls thieves? Or is there some eyes on their backs! Isn’t other bureaucratic reason? it time you decided to do 2. Why does the depart- something about this? I ment of tourism not list don’t know, maybe you like the Fox Hill district as a things the way they are. high crime area? Everyone on the island knows MIKE COHEN it is true, why not let the Legal Orthopedics, LLC, tourists know? In fact the Adjunct Professor, State Department of the College of Charleston.

US posted in November July 19, 2020.

LETTERS

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, July 22, 2020, PAGE 7

FIVE REMANDED AFTER TWO SEPARATE ARMED ROBBERIES

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net TWO men and one woman were remanded to prison yesterday over allegations they robbed a man at gunpoint of over $500 last week.

Letero Pyfrom, 25, Ashley Minnis, 29, and Matina Minnis, 37, were accused of using a .380 pistol to rob Derick Hepburn of $544.90 on July 16.

According to the prosecution, the money belonged to Coca Cola.

Yesterday, the accused were also charged with dishonestly receiving the stolen funds as well as a $100 brown bag and a $190 Samsung cell phone

ASHLEY MINNIS, left, and Letero Pyfrom from a woman that same day. Minnis was further charged with two counts of unlicenced firearm possession and one count of illegal ammunition possession, after he was found with the weapon

in question, as well as six rounds of .380 ammunition.

During the hearing before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt yesterday, none of the defendants were required to enter a plea and the

matter was adjourned to October 21 for service of a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

Bail was denied and they were remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Service until trial. However the judge made arrangements for Matina Minnis, who is a new mother, to be allowed a breast pump so she can collect milk for her newborn baby while in custody.

Yesterday, another man and a teenager also appeared before Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt after they were accused of using a handgun to rob Jean Alexandre of a $450 iPhone and $550 gold chain.

The prosecution alleged Joshua Williams, 21, and

Antario Rolle, 18, committed the act on July 16. They further alleged Rolle dishonestly received the stolen phone that same day.

According to initial police reports, shortly after 8am, a man was walking along Baillou Hill Road near Lewis Street, when he was accosted by a gunman who robbed him of his cell phone and gold chain.

During the arraignment, neither defendant was required to enter a plea and the matter was adjourned to October 21 for service of a voluntary bill of indictment.

Rolle and Williams were denied bail and remanded into custody in the interim.

The accused have the right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.

JOSHUA WILLIAMS

ANTARIO ROLLE

RBDF officer among three accused of raping two teenagers

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

YORICK Brice, left, and his brother Maximus Brice outside court yesterday

Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

A ROYAL Bahamas Defence Force officer and two other men were yesterday remanded in custody over allegations they raped two teenagers last week.

Yorick Brice Jr, 26, his brother Maximus Brice, 19, and another teenager aged 17, appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt after they were accused of having sex with two 19-yearold women without

their consent on July 12.

During the hearing, the men were not required to enter a plea and the matter was adjourned to October 21 for service of a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

Bail was denied and the Brice brothers were remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services in the interim. The juvenile was taken into custody at the Simpson Penn Centre for Boys until trial.

All defendants have a right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.

CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 30-YEAR-OLD man was arraigned on a charge of attempted murder yesterday.

Steven Oliver was accused of trying to cause the death of Phillipa Farrington on July 17.

During his arraignment before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt yesterday, Oliver was not required to enter a plea and the matter was adjourned to November 4 for service of a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

Bail was denied and the defendant was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services until trial.

Memorial Service for Retired Police Insp.

MR. NOIL ADDERLEY JOHNSON, 82 affectionately called “The Singing Policeman”

STEVEN Oliver outside court yesterday

FINED $300 FOR HAVING MARIJUANA

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

AN Eleuthera man who was found with over two ounces of marijuana was fined $300 yesterday.

James Kemp was charged with one count of dangerous drug possession after officers seized 2.5 ounces of Indian hemp from him on July 17.

He pleaded guilty during his hearing before Magistrate Kara TurnquestDeveaux yesterday and was fined $300 or three months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

The court heard on the day in question, officers in Eleuthera went to Kemp’s premises armed with a search warrant.

While searching outside the yard in the presence of the defendant, officers discovered a foil wrap on the ground near a dog cage.

They also found a clear plastic bottle containing a quantity of suspected marijuana. Kemp was subsequently arrested and transported to the Rock Sound Police Station, where he admitted to the offence in an interview with police.

When given an opportunity to speak, Kemp told the magistrate he wanted to apologise for his actions.

He also said the drugs that were found in the back of the yard had been there from “God knows when.”

Still, he said he took full responsibility for them.

Yesterday, Orlando Strachan, 25, was also charged with marijuana possession after he was found with five grams of Indian hemp on July 16.

The court was told officers were on mobile patrol in the Soldier Road area around 3.30pm on the day in question, when they saw Strachan. The prosecution said when the

defendant noticed the police officers, he began to act in a suspicious manner.

As a result, the officers approached Strachan and informed him he would be searched in reference to dangerous drugs and firearms.

During their investigation, officers discovered four foil wraps containing a quantity of suspected marijuana in his pants pocket. He was subsequently arrested. During an interview with police a short time later, he admitted to the offence. Still, he claimed he had found the drugs on the ground while he was walking to the bar.

During his hearing, Strachan also pleaded guilty and was placed on probation for three months.

Magistrate TurnquestDeveaux told told him if he was charged with a similar offence within that timeframe, he would spend three months in custody.

PATIENT TRIES TO LEAVE PMH VIA WINDOW POLICE were called to Princess Margaret Hospital yesterday after a 44-year-old male patient tried to leave the facility through a window, the Public Hospitals Authority said.

The incident occurred around 2.50pm.

Video footage of the incident showed the patient on a hospital’s ledge, wearing only his underwear and one sock while a crowd

gathered below, watching him. “Officers of the police and fire units were successful in deescalating the situation and the patient was immediately assessed at the Emergency Department and returned to the ward where he was previously receiving care. The patient remains in hospital on a 24-hour hold for further observation and medical treatment,” PHA said.

of #83 Gilbert Street and formerly of Hatchet Bay, Eleuthera, will be held on Wednesday (TODAY), July 22nd, 2020 at 7:00 pm at Wesley Methodist Church(MCCA), Malcolm Road East. Officiating will be Bishop Theophilus Rolle, assisted by Other minsters of the gospel.

He is survived by his loving and devoted wife of 50 years: Leah Johnson; one son: Noil A. Johnson Jr.; two daughters: Olebia Wood and Ursula Coakley; three grandchildren: Denykca Valencia Bowles, Kent Joseph Wood Jr. and Kevaughn Amario Wood; son-in-law: Kent Wood Sr.; one brother: Stephen Johnson; adopted children: Holly Dean, Kingsley and Gernie Fowler and Andre Davis; God-child: Kimberley Adderley; nieces and nephews: Shannon Gay, Brian, Calsey, Ed, Giovanni, Jody, Julian, Marietta, Shakara and Sheldon Johnson, Antoinette Pinder, Deidre Sands and Rosemarie ‘Candy’, Ricardo, Latoya, Jermaine, Birtchell, Chacea, Burchell, Aniya Gardiner, Cornell, Cornelius, Jamal, McClain, Keva, Kervin, Kenardo, Kendrick, Sherika, Kean, Ray, Tasha and Lester; Sisters-in-law: Lena Johnson, Brenda Stubbs, Peggy Daniels, Christine Barr, Latesha Tucker, Angela Stewart, Katherine Gierszawski, Sheila Johnson, Shirley Farrington and Dulcena Johnson; Brothers-in-law: Billy Stubbs and Lester Farrington; Other relatives include: John Kemp, Martin Farrington and family, Patricia and Kenney Mackey, Beatrice McQueen, Audrea Farrington, Patsy Johnson, Benerva Johnson, Coral Pinder, Florence Johnson, Lavaughn Young, Linda Hanna and family, Freda Johnson, Rudy Pratt, Bessie Dean and family, Carmetta Dean and family, Katrina Durham and family, Velma, Emily and Eleanor Steele, Christine, Valerie, Pete, MaeDawn Rahming, Darnell Butterfield, Millie Cambridge, Butch Scavella, Wendy Wallace, Curly Aranha and family, Fredrica Johnson, Josephine Johnson and family, Cassie Neely, Eulean Johnson, Caldwell Farrington, Percis Bullard and family, Francina Rolle and family, Claudette Hutchinson and family, Beatrice Rolle and famiy, Monique Joffer, Delores Pandy, Denise King, Sherry Robinson, Shermell McDonald, Roger Gibson, Brendan Gibson and Desiree Gibson. Special Friends: Mr. Keith McSweeney, Norma Styles (Miami, Florida), Harriett Jessie, Anthony and Veronica Curry (Miami, Florida), Jackie Missick, Pat Rolle, Dan Newbold and family(Canada), Mr. & Mrs. Granville Adderley and Family, Barbara Ferguson and Family, Esmeralda Rutherford, Virginia Johnson, Beryl MacDonald, Maxine McCartney. Other friends: The Farrington Family, Charles Bullard and family, Jackie Wilson and family, Betty Williams and family, and The Ladies that walk the Pinewood Park with Mrs. Johnson.

A special ‘thank-you’ to The Royal Bahamas Police Force, the Kennedy Subdivision family, The Wesley Methodist Church MCCA and The Entire Hatchet Bay Community.

If we have omitted anyone, please forgive us. May his soul rest in peace.

PAGE 8, Wednesday, July 22, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

LEFT: Prime Minister Hubert Minnis speaking outside the Churchill Building yesterday. Photo: Kemuel Stubbs/BIS. Above and below: The closure of beaches and parks needs to be reconsidered and we need an explanation for the closure of Arawak Cay and Potter’s Cay.

Playing the blame game when everyone knew what was likely to happen THE number of reported COVID-19 cases has been going up since the borders opened on July 1, so it is not a surprise that new restrictions were announced by the Prime Minister in the national address on Sunday.

Everyone braced themselves for the worst. Some expected a full lockdown while others thought the borders would completely close without notice.

The

Alicia Wallace column We have come to expect drastic changes with no time to prepare. This time,

we were advised commercial flights and sea vessels would only be allowed from

Canada, the UK and EU countries starting today.

Beaches and parks in New Providence closed as of Monday at 5am. For Grand Bahama, where most of the new COVID-19 cases are, sweeping changes were announced which include a 7pm curfew and discontinuation of indoor dining.

The change that has drawn the most attention — including support and criticism — is the closure of the border to commercial flights from the US. Some were quick to point out it was “a bad PR move”.

People have raised concerns about the US response to the decision which other countries have already made. There is no denying the US federal government has failed to effectively respond to the pandemic, leaving states to implement their own policies and regulations. Given its open and porous interstate borders, this means no state can fully manage the spread of COVID-19. The virus will continue to spread until a vaccine is introduced and widely administered unless there is comprehensive federal response. For these reasons, the number of infections in the US is likely to continue to rise quickly.

It was foolish to open our borders indiscriminately.

We should never have accepted people from the US without more stringent precautions. As is often the case, the economy was prioritised. Public health was compromised in order to get more US dollars into the country. Anyone could have predicted the increase in COVID-19 cases here.

Some argue that Bahamians are the cause of the increase as people have travelled since July 1. There is no way to know whether residents or visitors are the cause of new cases. We do know the opening of the border made it possible for people to travel to places with known spikes happening now. We also know that we have not been testing widely. Having fewer active cases on the dashboard did not mean there were no cases at all. It meant they had not been detected.

We find it easy to blame fellow Bahamians for anything that goes wrong.

Bahamians should not have travelled. What did they have to go to Florida for? Y’all too like shop. I thought y’all was broke.

Y’all always making it worse for everyone else.

Now the innocent gotta suffer for the guilty.

The “competent authority” decided to open the borders. He determined

it was a worthwhile risk to allow people from all over the world to enter the country with the results of 10-day old tests. He also determined that it would be fine for Bahamians to leave the country for up to 72 hours and be able to return without a COVID-19 test.

How is it that people are now confidently putting the blame on the Bahamian people who did what the authorities said would be fine?

At this point, regardless of the rightful place for blame, we should be able to agree that there needed to be more restrictions on our borders. Many countries, including more than 20 EU countries, are closed to US travellers. This has, of course, made US news.

In some cases, it is being framed as a “ban” on US travellers rather than a restriction that affects other countries as well.

While some Americans have made disgusting comments about The Bahamas and the possibility of the US withholding aid as punishment, many seemed to understand our position.

One Twitter user asked: “Do you blame them? They don’t have the resources to handle a huge COVID outbreak.”

Another said: “There is no logic in other countries allowing Americans across their borders as long as we refuse to address this pandemic on a national level.”

For weeks, Americans have been saying no country should let them in.

Many of them do not even want to go outside to be among each other. Why should they be allowed to come here without a better system in place to protect public health?

In The Bahamas, we wear masks. Places of business provide hand sanitiser at the door. Cleaning methods and schedules have intensified. We are supposed to maintain social distance. We are, in many ways, doing what we can to protect ourselves and each other. Do we not deserve to have our efforts respected and to ensure they do not go to waste?

On the other hand, some of the measures put in place by the competent authority do not make sense. Why are the beaches in New Providence closed while people from different households can sit together in a restaurant, laughing, talking and eating? Are droplets not spreading in those close quarters? It does not make sense that large groups can congregate over a meal or drinks, but people cannot access beaches or parks

where there is more space and people are more likely to spread out.

Mental health has not been an area of focus, but we know that it is being impacted by the sudden changes, financial stress and isolation. For many, beaches and parks have provided an affordable way to take care of ourselves, requiring a bit of gas, bus fare or a short walk. We find moments of peace, quiet and solitude in these spaces. Children can play, adults can relax and everyone can get some exercise.

Making these public spaces inaccessible can significantly impact residents and make it even more difficult to manage during this challenging time.

The closure of beaches and parks needs to be reconsidered. The appropriate authorities need to come together to develop a plan to ensure they are safe and accessible to the public. We deserve leisure and beauty as much as we deserve good health, decent work and appropriate compensation.

In addition to the closure of beaches and parks, we need an explanation for the closure of Arawak Cay and Potter’s Cay. Other restaurants and takeaways are allowed to operate, but these small businesses have, yet again, been singled out. It is as though they are being punished, but we do not know their offence.

How are the restaurants on Arawak Cay or Potter’s Cay different from other restaurants? There are indoor and outdoor dining options.

Takeout has always been an option. They employ people with homes to maintain and families to feed, educate and entertain.

There is a police station at Arawak Cay and officers can be seen driving along the strip in a buggy. Are they not capable of enforcing regulations for dining?

Even if, for some reason, dining is not permitted and the restaurants are limited to takeout, why can’t those officers enforce that? Those vendors and their employees should be able to earn their income and should not have to depend on the relief programme through NIB. Bahamian people should be able to walk up, get their conch salad and daiquiris, then sit by the beach to enjoy a few minutes of down time.

By now we understand that “normal” is not an option (and, in many ways, was not working anyway), but the least the authorities can do is make it make sense.

PAGE 10, Wednesday, July 22, 2020

Drawing on their faith in fight for equality

CT Vivian pictured in January, 2007

by LAWRENCE BURNLEY Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion, University of Dayton WITH the deaths of Rep John Lewis and the Rev Cordy Tindell “CT” Vivian, the US has lost two civil rights greats who drew upon their faith as they pushed for equality for Black Americans.

Vivian, an early adviser to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., died July 17 at the age of 95. News of his passing was followed just hours later by that of Lewis, 80, an ordained Baptist minister and towering figure in the civil rights struggle.

That both men were people of the cloth is no coincidence.

From the earliest times in US history, religious leaders have led the struggle for liberation and racial justice for Black Americans. As an ordained minister and a historian, I see a common thread running from Black resistance in the earliest periods of slavery in the antebellum

South, through the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s – in which Lewis and Vivian played important roles – and up to today’s Black Lives Matter movement.

As Patrisse Cullors, a founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, says: “The fight to save your life is a spiritual fight.”

Spiritual calling Vivian studied theology alongside Lewis at the American Baptist College in Nashville, For both men, activism was an extension of their faith.

Speaking to PBS in 2004, Lewis explained: “In my estimation, the civil rights movement was a religious phenomenon. When we’d go out to sit in or go out to march, I felt, and I really believe, there was a force in front of us and a force behind us, ‘cause sometimes you didn’t know what to do. You didn’t know what to say, you didn’t know how you were going to make it through the day or through the night. But somehow and some way,

DEMOLITION of the former Bahamas Customs Warehouse has begun the transformation of that area for the creation of Nassau Cruise Port.

In August 2019, the government signed a Heads of Agreement with Nassau Cruise Port Ltd. for a $250 million-dollar major redevelopment of the Nassau Cruise Port . Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis described the signing as an “extraordinary” day for the Bahamian people and for the residents of New Providence. He said, “We are embarking on a quarter of a billion-dollar project to redevelop what will become the iconic, worldrenowned and new Nassau Cruise Port.”

Global Ports Holding, the world’s largest cruse port operator, is spearheading the transformation of the port under a 25-year management agreement.

The two-year project is expected to transform the cruise port experience for passengers and residents and to revitalise the waterfront for businesses and tourists. It includes improved retail facilities, the construction of a new terminal building, the creation of an event and entertainment area and new food and beverage facilities.

The redevelopment also includes a waterfront park, a harbour village, a new inner harbour, amphitheatre and a Junkanoo museum.

“Rather than Nassau going to sleep early every evening, Bahamians and visitors should enjoy a bustling and vibrant city, with exciting nightlife, and entertainment, featuring Bahamian, and international culture, music and food,” the prime minister said.

THE TRIBUNE

you believed – you had faith – that it all was going to be all right.”

Fellow civil rights activists knew Vivian as the “resident theologian” in King’s inner circle due to “how profound he is in both his political and biblical exegesis,” fellow campaigner Rev. Jesse Jackson recalled.

Rejecting ‘other world’ theology Faith traditions inform the civil rights and social justice work of many Black religious leaders. They interpret religious teachings through the prism of the injustice in the here and now.

Speaking of King’s influence, Lewis explained: “He was not concerned about the streets of heaven and the pearly gates and the streets paved with milk and honey. He was more concerned about the streets of Montgomery and the way that Black people and poor people were being treated in Montgomery.”

This focus on real-world

struggles as part of the role of spiritual leaders was present in the earliest Black civil rights and anti-slavery leaders. Nat Turner, a leader in the revolt against slavery, for example, saw rebellion as the work of God, and drew upon biblical texts to inspire his actions. Likewise fellow anti-slavery campaigners Sojourner Truth and Jarena Lee rejected the “otherworld” theology taught to enslaved Africans by their white captors, which sought to deflect attention away from their condition in “this world” with promises of a better afterlife.

Incorporating religion into the Black anti-slavery movement sowed the seeds for faith being central to the struggle for racial justice. As the church historian James Washington observed in 1986, the “very disorientation of their slavery and the persistent impact of systemic racism and other forms of oppression provided the opportunity – indeed the necessity – of a new religious synthesis.”

JOHN Lewis pictured in October, 2007 Ubuntuism The synthesis continued into the 20th century. Religious civil rights leaders like Lewis and Vivian clearly felt compelled to make the struggle for justice a central part of a spiritual leader’s role. In 1965, Vivian was punched in the mouth

by Dallas County Sheriff Jim Clark in an incident caught on camera and carried on national news.

Vivian later said: “Everything I am as a minister, as an African American, as a civil rights activist and a struggler for justice for everyone came together in that moment.”

Though their activism was grounded in Christianity, Lewis and Vivian both forged strategic and powerful coalitions with those outside of their faith. In some ways, they transcended theologically informed ideologies with a world view more akin to Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s interpretation of “Ubuntu” – that one’s own humanity is inextricably bound up with that of others.

Lewis and Vivian personified this value in their leadership styles.

George Floyd Racial justice remains integral to Black Christian leadership in the 21st century.

After the killing of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis, it was the Rev. Al Sharpton whose words were carried across the globe, calling on white America to “get your knee off our necks” at Floyd’s memorial service.

In recent years, the Rev. William J. Barber II has been such a vocal and powerful presence in protests that some Americans consider him to be a the successor to past civil rights greats.

In an interview in early 2020, Barber said: “There is not some separation between Jesus and justice; to be Christian is to be concerned with what’s going on in the world.”

John Lewis and Rev. C.T. Vivian lived those words.

theconversation.com

Demolition of customs warehouse begins Nassau transformation

THE DEMOLITION of the customs warehouse begins.

Photo: Patrick Hanna/BIS

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, July 22, 2020, PAGE 11

GOING IN THE WATER AGAIN: ‘JAWS’ BOAT CLONE SUPPORTS SHARKS Associated Press THE Orca is headed back to the waters of New England, but this time, its mission isn’t to hunt sharks. It’s to help save them.

A group of ocean advocates and movie buffs is turning an old lobster fishing vessel into a replica of the Orca, the boat captained by the grizzled shark hunter Quint in Jaws. The work is taking place on Martha’s Vineyard, where Steven Spielberg shot the blockbuster movie in the 1970s.

The occasion doesn’t call for a bigger boat so much as one with a different purpose, said Vineyard native David Bigelow, who

acquired the craft and is heading up the project. When finished, he said, Orca III will be used as an educational tool to help the public understand sharks and as a research vessel for scientists.

The project is dear to the heart of Bigelow, who appeared as an extra in Jaws. His drama teacher Lee Fierro, who died in April, also played the mother of a shark attack victim in the film. Reports of shark sightings on some New England beaches in recent years moved Bigelow to take on the project.

“The need to educate people about the new ecosystem we’re living in, because of climate change and the seal population,

is probably our only defence,” Bigelow said, sighting two possible drivers of increased shark sightings. “We have basically taken on this role where the boat is going to be used for education.”

Bigelow said that he believes the retrofitting work can be completed by this fall and that the boat can start helping people study sharks by next spring. The boat will be called Orca III because there were actually two vessels in Jaws — Orca and Orca II. Orca is seen in much of the film, and Orca II was a prop vessel.

Others working on the mission to bring back the Orca have a connection to Jaws too. Joe

A REPLICA of the Orca

Alves, production designer on the movie, is on board, as is Chris Crawford, who retrofitted a boat called Warlock into the original Orca in 1974.

The conservation group Beneath The Waves has signed on to use the new Orca on expeditions. The group’s board of directors includes Wendy Benchley, widow of Peter Benchley, who wrote the 1974 novel on which the movie is based. “The return of the Orca is a celebration for the fans of Jaws, as well as an exciting new resource in the pursuit of a greater understanding about our oceans and the life teeming in it,” she said.

‘Virus will get worse before it gets better’ WASHINGTON Associated Press PRESIDENT Donald Trump yesterday warned that the “nasty horrible’” coronavirus will get worse in the US before it gets better, but he also tried to paint a rosy picture of efforts with governors to conquer the disease that has claimed more than 140,000 American lives in just five months.

He also professed a newfound respect for the protective face masks he has seldom worn. He pulled one from his pocket in the White House briefing room but didn’t put it on.

After a three-month hiatus from his freewheeling daily virus briefings, Trump returned to the podium, keeping the stage to himself without the public health experts who were staples of his previous events but keeping close to scripted remarks prepared by aides.

Besides declaring support for masks as a way to fight the pandemic, he admonished young people against crowding bars and spreading the disease.

It all marked a delayed recognition by Trump that the economic reopening he’s been championing since April — and more importantly, his reelection — were imperiled by spiking cases nationwide.

There were no guarantees how long Trump’s more measured tone, delivered with an eye to halting a campaign-season erosion of support, would last. Along the way on Tuesday, the president still worked in jabs at the news media and Democrats for focusing on disease-fighting shortcomings in the US as the rest of world also struggles with the virus. He also belatedly addressed bipartisan criticism of virus-testing delays that have hampered reopening plans.

“It will probably

unfortunately get worse before it gets better,” Trump said from the White House. But he also touted a reduction in deaths and progress on vaccines and treatments for COVID-19, which he referred to repeatedly as a the “China virus.”

He continued his recent encouragement of Americans to wear masks when social distancing is not possible.

“Whether you like the mask or not, they have an impact,” he said. “I’m getting used to the mask,” he added, pulling one out after months of suggesting that mask-wearing was a political statement against him.

Swaths of the country are now battling rising infections and growing deaths, and some states are once again having to close businesses and rethink school in the fall. Many retailers themselves are insisting their customers don masks.

For months, the nation’s top health experts have pleaded with Americans to wear masks in public and steer clear of crowds -- calling those simple steps life-saving -- even as the president’s stance fueled a partisan social divide.

The early evening show at the White House came as the next stage of the federal government’s response to the pandemic was being crafted on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers and White House officials were opening negotiations on a trillion-dollar-or-more “phase four” rescue package.

For weeks, White House aides have pressed Trump to grow more disciplined in his public statements about the pandemic. On Tuesday, he steered clear of what has been a favored talking point: that widespread testing for the virus in the U.S. “created” more cases, as aides noted that was false and projected a lack of responsibility.

‘DEPP TRIED TO THROW MY SISTER DOWN STAIRS’ LONDON Associated Press AMBER Heard yesterday dismissed accusations Tshe fabricated allegations of domestic violence against ex-husband Johnny Depp, and told a British court that the first time she struck him after years of abuse was to defend her sister from being thrown down the stairs.

Taking to the witness box for a second day during Depp’s libel case against a British tabloid at the High Court in London, the actress faced a barrage of questions over alleged incidents that are central to The Sun’s labeling of Depp in an April 2018 article as a “wife beater.”

She also admitted striking Depp for the first time in March 2015, after years of alleged abuse, to defend her sister, Whitney. When asked whether she had punched Depp “with a closed fist,” Heard conceded she had struck him after he had hit both of them.

“He was about to push

her down the stairs and the moment before that happened, I remembered information I had heard that he pushed a former girlfriend — I believe it was Kate Moss — down the stairs.” she said. Depp dated the top model in the 1990s.

“I will never forget this incident,” she said. “It was the first time after all these years.”

Depp’s counsel, Eleanor Laws, wondered why Heard had not mentioned the Moss allegation previously.

“I’ve not had the liberty of time or space or energy even to list every thought that crossed my mind,” Heard said.

Depp, 57, is suing The Sun’s publisher, News Group Newspapers, and the paper’s executive editor, Dan Wootton, over the article. The Hollywood star strongly denies abusing Heard, and claimed in court that she had been violent to him. He was present to hear Heard’s testimony.

PRESIDENT Donald Trump speaking during a news conference at the White House yesterday Little more than three months from Election Day, Trump and his political team hoped that the podium spotlight would give him an edge against Democratic rival Joe Biden.

“The vaccines are coming, and they’re coming a lot sooner than anybody

thought possible,” Trump promised anew. As early as next week, the first possible US vaccine is set to begin final-stage testing in a study of 30,000 people to see if it really is safe and effective. .

Biden, for his part Tuesday, launched into scathing criticism of Trump as he

outlined the latest plank of his economic recovery plan, charging that Trump “failed his most important test as an American President: the duty to care for you, for all of us.”

“He’s quit on you, he’s quit on this country,” Biden said.

TRUMP SENDS MESSAGE OF SUPPORT TO GHISLAINE DONALD Trump has sent a message of support to Ghislaine Maxwell as she awaits her trial for sex trafficking minors.

The president admitted meeting Jeffrey Epstein’s accused madam “numerous times” over the years and wished her well in yesterday’s press conference.

Trump’s connections to convicted pedophile Epstein and his former girlfriend Maxwell have long come under scrutiny as they all mixed in the same wealthy circles for decades.

His show of support for Maxwell comes after Epstein’s former girlfriend was denied bail last week on charges of luring underage girls so the convicted pedophile could sexually abuse them. When asked by a reporter whether he thought Maxwell would turn in the names of powerful people in exchange for a plea deal, Trump responded saying he “hadn’t been following it too much” but that he “wishes her well”.

“I just wish her well frankly,” he said. “I’ve met her numerous times over the years especially since I lived in Palm Beach and I guess they lived in Palm Beach.”

SPORTS SECTION E

NBA, PAGE 16

WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 2020

For ‘Shaq’, COVID-19 a blessing in disguise

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

H

e couldn’t have easily been concentrating on getting back to playing basketball in Europe, but for North Andros native Shaquille ‘Shaq’ Cleare, the coronavirus pandemic has turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Since returning to the Bahamas in March when the pandemic shut down sports on the global stage, Cleare reunited with his cousins Charles and Christen Miller as they worked on the creation of a company called Mo Charge Inc, which produces charges for phones.

“I’ve been focusing more on Mo Charge Inc.,” said Cleare about his future aspirations. “We had a few launch periods, but because of the coronavirus, we are still working on our launch

date. We’ve been working on it since I got back.”

Cleare returned home after his league in Spain got shut down due to the spread of the coronavirus, just like all other sporting activities.

But the 27-year-old national basketball team member said his mind has not been on the game over the past few months.

“I was kind of disappointed when we got the news that they were going to shut down the league,” Cleare said.

“We were fighting for a place in the playoffs, but the concern was more about the safety of the players and not the league.”

The 6’8”, 275-pound forward was playing for Actel Forca Lleida that competes in Spain’s Liga Española de Baloncesto – Gold, the second division in the country’s basketball system.

“I’ve gotten a few offers already, but I’m still waiting on some better ones,”

NORTH Andros pro basketball player Shaq Cleare and his cousins Charles and Christen Miller display their phone chargers.

Cleare said. “I’ve been training daily. So I’m still waiting to see what happens with the deals on the table.

“I haven’t been at the AF Adderley or Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium to do any training. I was just doing a lot of stuff on my own, just to stay in shape, if I decide to take

that route and head back to Europe. But that’s up in the air for me right now. I’m still training daily.”

With no time limit on when sports will resume overseas, Cleare said he decided to utilise his time to focus on developing the Mo Charge Inc. brand.

“We’re getting ready to launch. We’re launching soon,” he said.

“That’s been my focus because we don’t know what will happen with this pandemic. So that has been my focus since I’ve been back.”

Charles Miller said he’s delighted to be partnering with his cousin.

“It’s much easier for us to do this business together because we all live together,” he said. “We are depending on social media and platforms like the newspapers and radio and television to get our message across.

“Once we launch this product, the Bahamian people will have a window to buy it at a very reasonable price. We won’t do any international advertising during that window.

Bahamians will have the cheapest price in the world.

After that window has already passed, we’re going

to the United States and the rest of the world.”

The cost to the Bahamian public is just $49.00, but once they market to the United States and around the world, they will be increased to $89.99, which includes battery cases or power packs.

“We know that this is going to take over the market. This is going to bring in a lot of money, so this is where my focus is right now,” Cleare said.

“We haven’t launched yet, but we are looking at making millions of dollars on these devices.

“When we launch, we know that it will take off.

Everything is set in place for us to launch.”

Cleare said although he goes overseas to play basketball to make money, he’s focusing on Mo Charge Inc. because he feels there’s a lot more money that their company can accumulate in the long run.

Coach Antoan Richardson kneels during national anthem OAKLAND, California (AP) — San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler plans to use his position to speak out against racial injustice and provide a voice for those who aren’t heard.

Kapler and several of his players, including Bahamian first base coach Antoan Richardson, knelt during the national anthem before their 6-2 exhibition victory against the Oakland Athletics.

Right fielder Jaylin Davis, who is African American, and Richardson also took a knee as shortstop Brandon Crawford stood between them with a hand on each of their shoulders.

Davis held his right hand over his heart, while Richardson, who is Black and from the Bahamas, clasped his hands in front of him.

Kapler shared his plans when he addressed the team earlier Monday, and he said everyone would be supported by the Giants no matter what they decided to do. “I wanted them to know that I wasn't pleased with the way our country has handled police brutality and I told them I wanted to amplify their voices and I wanted to amplify the voice of the Black community and marginalised communities as well," Kapler said.

"So I told them that I wanted to use my platform to demonstrate my dissatisfaction with the way we've handled racism in our country. I wanted to demonstrate my dissatisfaction with our clear systemic racism in our country and I wanted them to know that they got to make their own decisions and we would respect and support those decisions. I wanted them to feel safe in speaking up."

• SEE THE FULL STORY ON PAGE 15

SAN Francisco Giants’ Antoan Richardson (00) and Jaylin Davis kneel during the national anthem prior to an exhibition baseball game against the Oakland Athletics on Monday in Oakland, California.

(AP Photo/Ben Margot)

REID: PEACE ON DA STREET TOURNAMENT ‘NOT GOING TO HAPPEN’ THIS JULY

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net WITH the re-closure of the parks and beaches due to the spike in the coronavirus, Apostle Dr Carlos Reid is still contemplating whether or not he will hold his annual Peace On Da Street Basketball Tournament.

Now into its 25th year of existence, Reid said this being their anniversary month, they may have to look at the possibility of rescheduling the event for a later date.

“We are just trying to see how things will clear up. We definitely want to do it this year. We normally do it in July, but that’s not going to happen,” Reid said.

“We want to make sure that regardless of what took place or what is taking place with COVID19, we still want to put it on this year.”

Reid said he honestly believes that the Bahamian people should take the pandemic serious, not because of the fact that people will die, but he said it will just be

too much for our health system to endure if the number of persons infected by the decease continues to increase.

“Imagine now, if our health care system is over populated with persons that have this virus, we don’t have enough respirators and when we look at what is going on in Grand Bahama, their hospital was destroyed by Hurricane Dorian,” he said.

“Now they are in a makeshift facility, so we really have to pray for our health care system in Freeport. So I want to encourage the Bahamian people to let’s be mindful and careful as you can.

We could not afford to let this pandemic get too far out of hand.

They will push us back further as a nation as it relates to our economic stability.”

Just as much as he would like to see the parks and the beaches reopened, Reid said the economy of the Bahamas, including the international borders, need to be reopened so that the Bahamas can get through this difficult period.

“We can’t afford America to force our hands. We have to do

what is best for our people, the citizens of this country. We can’t follow US President) Donald Trump. He has his own issues,” he stated.

“We have to make the best decisions that will help us to be able to get out of this in the shortest space of time.”

As a caring and concerned citizen, Reid has done his part to assist with his church, The Hope Centre, offering meals and packages of groceries on a weekly basis to facilities and persons who were in need, especially during times when the country was on a lockdown.

As a former basketball player, Reid also sees the need for sports to assist in the growth and development of persons in the community. But he insists that the Bahamas is not the only country affected by the closure of parks and beaches.

“The NBA, baseball and football are all affected. So is sports in the Bahamas,” he stressed. “The power of sports has been one where it has kept a lot of people with a stable mind.

“We know that fellows can go out on the softball field and blow off steam, so there’s not a lot of domestic violence. But when these opportunities are shut down, it creates more opportunities for families to be unstable.

“There’s no way to release stress or here in the Bahamas, we call it let off steam. So I believe that we need to find ways to keep our people active.

“Yes, we need to deal with social distancing. If we don’t, we will have a problem.”

Reid urged the Bahamian public, whenever the beaches are reopened, not to take everybody from their neighbourhood with them.

“If you want to go for a cool off, take your immediate family,” he stated. “This is no time for partying. Later on, you can do all the partying you want. Let’s make sure we get this COVID-19 out of the Bahamas and then we can go back to our normal lives.”

Pointing out that he remembers the days when he used to be out socialising like they do now in various communities, Reid said

the Bible teaches that “there’s a time and a season for everything.

“This is not the time for big parties, big splashes. Let’s relax ourselves, stop liking man and let’s see how we can fix this thing and get this out of the Bahamas so we can get back to some type of normalcy.”

With the parks being closed again, Reid said he understand the decision, even though he don’t like it.

“We are just hard heads in the Bahamas,” he said. “When you could just go out and shoot some basketball on the court, some people like to have everyone around them.

“We really have to do better and take this thing serious, or this will mash up our economy, our social environment. We need to start thinking about how quickly we can get through this.”

Designed to be played in front of a captive audience, Reid said he has no other choice but to follow the Bahamas government guidelines and delay the 25th version of his Peace On Da Street Tournament until a later date.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, July 22, 2020, PAGE 13

Safe at home? Social distancing difficult around MLB plates

By JAKE SEINER AND STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Sports Writers JUST like his strong arm and limber legs, Joe Girardi made good use of his mouth over 15 seasons as a big league catcher. So much so that slugger Chili Davis once told him to shut it.

“He was like, ‘You’re bothering me, I’m trying to hit,’” recalled Girardi, now manager of the Philadelphia Phillies. “I said, ‘Well, I’m trying to bother you, Chili.’”

Girardi doesn’t think that kind of chatter will happen as much this season amid the coronavirus pandemic.

There’s some concern that home plate could become a hot spot for transmission as baseball attempts to play a shortened 60-game season starting Thursday.

Social distancing elsewhere around the diamond is fairly easy. But with the batter, catcher and umpire gathered within a few feet of each other around home plate, it might not be possible for all parties to follow government guidance to avoid 10 to 15 minutes of close exposure to others.

“It’s been a little weird.

Just from being back there for so long, you get used to having people around,” Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Carson Kelly said.

“But now you get some second thoughts. ‘Oh wait, should I be this close to this guy?’ … We’ve got a job to do but at the same time we need to be safe.”

Like with so much in everyday life during the pandemic, the interactions at home — whether cordial exchanges or distracting chatter — will feel far from normal for the trio around that 17-inch wide plate.

MILWAUKEE Brewers’ Lorenzo Cain, right, hits a single during an intrasquad game at Miller Park in Milwaukee on July 14. As baseball attempts to play a shortened 60-game regular season amid a coronavirus pandemic, there is some concern that home plate could become a hot spot for transmission.

(AP Photo/Morry Gash) “This is something everybody’s talking about, everybody’s trying to figure out,” Texas Rangers catcher Robinson Chirinos said.

“But in the end hopefully we can do our part and be safe at the plate, because of having those three guys right there so close.”

Chirinos plans to wear a face covering under his catcher’s mask, but knows that it will have “to be on and off just because I still need to be vocal out there being a catcher,” and make sure pitchers and fielders can hear and understand what he is saying.

Just by the nature of their

responsibility to calls balls and strikes, umpires are directly behind catchers and peering over catchers’ shoulders. Within that close contact it’s not uncommon — at least not in the past — for umpires to put their hands on crouching catchers. There is also the back-and-forth talk between them at times about those calls, though that is rarely face-to-face.

Some plate umpires are expected to wear their own face coverings. In addition, umpires have been given plastic shields to go over the bottom of their masks. That could reduce contact and

4-0 ROUT BY MANCHESTER CITY DEEPENS WATFORD’S RELEGATION CONCERNS

By ROB HARRIS AP Global Soccer Writer WATFORD, England (AP) — As the ball rolled past him and Manchester City’s score racked up, goalkeeper Ben Foster increasingly feared for Watford’s Premier League survival.

“You get into a state of trying to minimise as much damage as you can,” he said, “and it’s a dangerous way to do things.”

Taking points off City was always going to be a tough task but collapsing to a 4-0 loss to the Premier League runners-up also wiped out Watford’s goal-difference advantage over relegation rivals yesterday.

A 1-0 win for Aston Villa over Arsenal hours later dropped Watford into the bottom three, because of its inferior goal difference to Villa.

“The confidence is so crazy, crazy low,” Foster said.

It wasn’t even lifted by Watford’s last desperate roll of the dice — firing its third manager of the season.

Hayden Mullins was promoted for a second temporary stint in charge after the ousting of Nigel Pearson for the final matches against City and Arsenal on Sunday.

“You can’t ever blame it on anything but your own performances,” Foster said.

“You just get used to it.

In football nowadays, nothing seems to shock and you roll with the punches.”

The only record Watford is setting is for the number of managers fired in a season.

City winger Raheem Sterling left Vicarage Road with a welcome record of his own.

A first-half double — a half-volley and a follow-up after having a penalty saved

— took his season’s goal tally to a personal high of 19.

Sterling set up the third when his close-range shot was saved by Foster — Watford’s star performer — and Phil Foden tapped into an empty net in the 63rd minute.

When it comes to assists, Kevin De Bruyne leads the way in England. The Belgium playmaker is now one away from a league record-equalling 20 assists after providing a cross for Aymeric Laporte’s downward header in the 66th minute.

Trying to secure a fifth straight season in the top tier, the only thing in Watford’s favour was Gabriel Jesus having a fifth goal ruled out for offside in stoppage time.

Even if fans were allowed into the stadium — they remain locked out due to the pandemic — there would have been nothing for the Watford players to celebrate with them after this final home match of the season.

Watford has now been outscored 18-0 in its last three meetings with City in all competitions with three different managers in charge.

Javi Gracia was still at the helm when City crushed Watford 6-0 in the final game of last season in the FA Cup final.

The Spaniard was fired in September before he got the chance to take Watford to City later that month where Quique Sánchez Flores oversaw an 8-0 humiliation.

Flores didn’t even reach the midpoint of the season before he was dismissed in December and replaced by Pearson, who was denied the chance of replicating the shock over Liverpool in February that ended

the eventual champion’s unbeaten start.

“You can’t ever blame it on anything but your own performances,” Foster said.

“We have to look at ourselves.”

For a City side that has already surrendered the Premier League trophy to Liverpool, one comfort will be trimming the deficit to 15 points from 25 when the league was paused in March for 100 days to contain the spread of COVID-19.

The Champions League doesn’t resume until August when City will be protecting a 2-1 lead over Real Madrid in the last-16.

“It’s really good if all the attacking players are attacking and assisting running up to the game,” Foden said, looking ahead to City protecting a 2-1 lead over Real Madrid in the last-16.

“It seems like everyone in front of the goal is going to score in our team.”

droplets, but there might be some concern about those shields fogging up.

About 10 Major League Baseball umpires have opted out of working games this season because of concerns about the coronavirus.

Umpires are being tested regularly for the coronavirus, like players, managers, coaches and other essential staff members have to be so they can be on the field.

Kurt Suzuki, catcher for the World Series champion Washington Nationals, said it would be “really tough” for him to wear a medical mask when behind the

plate, though he would like to do that.

“But we have good protocols, good testing.

Everybody who’s here shows up negative, so that’s kind of where we’re at right now,” Suzuki said. “We’re all in this together. We have to follow the rules if we want to make this work.”

Even with all the testing, precautions and protocols, there will still be an uneasy feeling for some around home plate. “In the big picture, I’m worried because if one gets it, everyone gets it. That’s how the virus is.

That’s what gets me scared about it,” Milwaukee

Brewers catcher Omar Narvaez said. “Everyone knows the healthiest team is going to win. We’re all going to try and help each other stay healthy. Everybody knows it’s a dangerous position we’re in right now, but I’m trying not to think about it.”

The New York Yankees have two players who say they’ll wear masks at least some of the time around home plate — outfielder Clint Frazier and backup catcher Kyle Higashioka.

Frazier was among the first MLB players to declare he’d wear a face covering full-time, and he’s been experimenting with different models to see what feels best in the batter’s box.

“I’m just trying to show that it’s easy to do and it’s the right thing to do,” Frazier said. “If it helps a little bit, it’s not hard to do, so I’m going to try to do it as much as I can. Hopefully someone sees it and maybe they do it, too.”

Yankees manager Aaron Boone supports players wearing masks if they’re comfortable doing it, but isn’t mandating it. Neither is MLB — players must use face coverings elsewhere in the ballpark, but not during on-field activities.

Higashioka has settled on a lightweight gaiter covering that fits comfortably under his catcher’s mask.

He won’t wear it while hitting because it restricts his ability to turn his head, but said “for catching, there’s nothing that really bugs me about it.”

“I’m kind of in close vicinity with a couple other people,” he said. “Might as well just throw the face covering on just in case. Not sure if it’ll help much, but anything works.”

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THE TRIBUNE

NFL facing unending series of questions, uncertain answers

By BARRY WILNER AP Pro Football Writer IN seven weeks, the NFL expects to kick off its 101st season with the Super Bowl champion Chiefs hosting Houston.

Emphasis on expects.

Still set on conducting a somewhat normal training camp, though without any preseason games, and then opening the regular season on time, the NFL pushes onward.

Rookies are reporting to team facilities this week, nearly all of them for the first time. Veterans are set to come in next week, and after testing for COVID-19 and a lengthy acclimation period, practices should begin sometime next month.

Of course, there are more questions than ever for America’s most profitable sports league, most notably how to keep people safe in a contact sport during a pandemic.

“Everything that we’re doing is centred around the concept of risk mitigation,” says Dr Allen Sills, the league’s chief medical officer. “We know that we can’t eliminate risk, but we’re trying to mitigate it as much as possible for everyone. We know that this is going to be a shared responsibility.”

Already this year the NFL has had to switch to remote, well, everything:

free agency, the draft, offseason workouts, owners meetings. Now come the biggest and most critical tests as 90-man rosters attempt to stay healthy while preparing to play a game that requires close contact nearly all the time.

“We could have a ton of social distance, more than we have with our football team,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid says.

“It’s all set up with monitors and everything else.

Then the testing, these guys are going to be tested often. It’ll be good that way. There’s a responsibility for coaches and players to make sure we handle ourselves right when we’re away from it. We are still keeping as much social distance as we can. It’s a contact sport, but when there’s no contact we’re going to keep our distance.”

The NFL has been studying the approaches of other sports, seeing the success NASCAR and the PGA Tour have experienced with their travelling shows, and the many issues Major League Baseball has dealt with. But auto racing, golf and baseball don’t involve close-quarters action from beginning to end.

Thus, the elimination of exhibition games, which went from four to an owners’ proposal of two and then to none — though the players’ association, which proposed no preseason

THIS photo shows a Buffalo Bills helmet displaying a WWFD (West Webster Fire Department) decal in memory of two fallen West Webster, N.Y., firefighters who lost their lives in a shooting and a S.H.E.S. decal in honour of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, before an NFL football game against the New York Jets in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Gary Wiepert) contests, still must approve the league’s offer. That’s one of many steps that will cost those owners millions, but a necessary one.

The business of pro football will take a major hit, with ramifications extending into next year and beyond, affecting salary caps and contract negotiations and, of course, bottom lines in a league that has $15 billion in revenues. Or did.

Still, plenty of NFL business has taken place since mid-March, when the coronavirus led to nationwide shutdowns.

TAMPA BAY TOM In a normal year, Tom Brady’s switch from the Patriots to the Buccaneers would have overridden every NFL story, from early winter through the spring and summer and into his debut against fellow 40-something QB Drew Brees and the Saints in September.

Perhaps the biggest headlines Brady drew recently came when he defied players’ union recommendations to cease informal practices with teammates as a coronavirus precaution.

MAHOMES MONEY The Chiefs vowed they would pay star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, locking him up long term. Does 10 years for potentially $500 million work? Yes, half a billion dollars.

Not that he is in Mahomes’ class, but Dallas QB Dak Prescott wound up with the one-year franchise tag salary of $31.4 million, hardly a pittance.

The Cowboys could wind up the losers here, though, with quarterback pay now stretching beyond the stratosphere thanks to Mahomes setting the bar so high.

NEW FACES The pandemic could lead to teams that remained relative intact (Chiefs, Saints, Bills, Titans, Ravens, 49ers) having a major advantage over those experiencing upheaval.

That’s particularly true where coaching changes were made: Mike McCarthy in Dallas, Ron Rivera in Washington, Matt Rhule in Carolina, Kevin Stefanski in Cleveland, and Joe Judge with the Giants. The last three have never been head coaches in the NFL. Stars making big adjustments could include Brady and another long-time standout quarterback, Philip Rivers, now in Indianapolis; running back Todd Gurley in Atlanta;

receiver DeAndre Hopkins in Arizona; tight end Jason Witten in Seattle; safety Malcolm Jenkins in New Orleans; defensive end Calais Campbell in Baltimore; and linebacker Robert Quinn in Chicago.

Not to mention the humongous jump from college ball for the likes of top overall selection QB Joe Burrow in Cincinnati, defensive stud Chase Young in Washington, and the rest of a draft class that has yet to take a formal snap with their teams.

SOCIAL JUSTICE Ever since Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem to protest social injustice, the NFL has been slammed for being blind to the message Kaepernick and many fellow players were trying to deliver. In this year of racial reckoning, there has been an awakening across much of the league.

Right now, the NFL is planning to allow players to have decals on the back of their helmets bearing names or initials of victims of systemic racism and police violence. Trying to catch up, the league has gotten involved in earnest with initiatives that its players have sought or inaugurated over the past few years.

And, not to be overlooked, the Washington football team will have a new nickname very soon.

COLUMN: FINGERS CROSSED AS NFL TRIES TO PULL A SEASON OFF

By TIM DAHLBERG AP Sports Columnist NO fans. No exhibition games. A ton of testing.

And plenty of fingers crossed to see if it all actually works.

The plan to play professional football this fall is finally coming into focus, just as rookies are set to report to NFL training camps around the country. There will be an NFL season — or at least an attempt at one — even if that season looks unlike any of the 100 that have come before.

Whether it ends as scheduled on February 7 with

a Super Bowl in currently coronavirus-ravaged Florida is debatable. But the events of the last few days — including some encouraging progress in other sports — at least offer some hope.

Will it look the same as before? No, but we’re getting used to the idea that no sports will ever look quite the same again.

Besides, once you get past the empty seats and the masks on the sidelines, it will look good enough.

That’s being proven already elsewhere, and the NFL has surely taken notice. Golf, auto racing, boxing and UFC have all

returned and fans have shown they’re more than eager to tune in and watch on television even if it’s not quite what they’re used to seeing.

And if Major League Baseball can kick off a season Thursday with masks in the dugout, cardboard cutouts in the stands and fake fan noise for every home run, why can’t the NFL? That’s especially true after players successfully prodded the league to boost testing, allow more time to prepare and cancel meaningless exhibition games.

The combination doesn’t guarantee success against

a virus that is seemingly everywhere, but football was always going to be the toughest sport to play during a pandemic anyway.

There are other issues that remain to be settled — chief among them the expected plummet in league revenues that will affect everyone’s pockets — but the NFL’s announcement Monday that it would test players every day for the first two weeks of camp and then adjust took away what was looming as a major roadblock to the season.

That it came a day after players got on Twitter to demand better safety measures before they report was

hardly coincidental. “Listen to your players,” Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu tweeted. “We all want to play.”

That wasn’t the NFL’s only concession to quickly changing times. Separate from coronavirus protocols, the league — which has long banned any messaging by players — is also planning to allow decals on the back of helmets with names or initials of victims of systemic racism and police violence.

And, of course, the team that plays in the nation’s capital could have a new name by the time the season kicks off.

Those changes are long overdue, though they came surprisingly fast for a league that usually digs in its heels when confronted with issues it doesn’t want to address. Still, it is the threat of the virus that poses the most immediate danger to both the NFL and its players.

On Monday, the Giants and Jets bowed to the inevitable and said their seasons would begin with no fans in the stands. Unless things change quickly in the next few weeks, there will surely be empty stadiums in Dallas, Kansas City or any of the 30 cities where the NFL plays.

That includes the most expensive stadium ever, a $5 billion project that will house the Rams and Chargers in Los Angeles. And it includes the new $1.9 billion stadium that is nearing completion just off the glittering Las Vegas Strip.

If the Raiders play there, it will be without fans.

They’ll also play without owner Mark Davis, who said over the weekend that he wouldn’t attend games unless fans could attend, too.

“We’ve been wanting to have our phenomenal stadium and this practice facility, and everything was going so well for the Raider organisation,” he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

“All our dreams were coming true here in Las Vegas. The whole city has just been phenomenal and then real life steps in the way.”

Real life could intrude even further.

Even as training camps open, the NFL plan is just that — a plan. There are a million things that could go wrong, including the worstcase scenario of the virus ravaging a team so badly it can’t field enough players for a game.

The NFL does have plenty of resources, though, to give its plan a fighting chance. The league figures to do anything and everything possible to play because a lost season means hundreds of millions of dollars lost in television revenue.

Will it work? It just might, though it’s still anyone’s guess.

The future, as we’ve learned during the pandemic, is getting awfully hard to predict.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, July 22, 2020, PAGE 15

SAN Francisco Giants’ Antoan Richardson (00) and Jaylin Davis kneel during the national anthem prior to an exhibition baseball game against the Oakland Athletics on Monday in Oakland, California.

(AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Antoan Richardson takes a knee

By JANIE MCCAULEY AP Baseball Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jaylin Davis called home and spoke with his family then his decision immediately became clear: he would kneel for the national anthem.

If there even was an anthem.

The Giants were playing an exhibition game at Oakland on Monday night with no fans after a months-long delay caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

It turned out Davis had all kinds of support on every side of him, including from first-year San Francisco manager Gabe

Kapler, who also took a knee before the Giants’ 6-2 victory.

Fellow outfielders Mike Yastrzemski and Austin Slater chose to kneel.

So did first base coach Antoan Richardson, while shortstop Brandon Crawford stood between Davis and Richardson with a hand on each man’s shoulder.

“For them to be courageous enough to do it it really meant a lot,” Davis said Tuesday. “... We kind of talked at the beginning before we even started camp that we wanted to make known that we weren’t going to let everything be pushed aside just because baseball was back.”

Kapler and Davis had been in regular communication about racial and social issues and the manager called Davis earlier Monday to inquire about what Davis might do.

After the game, Kapler said the Giants would continue to have important discussions about their role in driving change and making an impact when it comes to racism and injustice.

The 26-year-old Davis said it was a difficult decision to kneel given he is a rookie. Then Yastrzemski and Hunter Pence pulled him aside and assured the right fielder they would support him regardless.

Davis said he has more ideas to shed light on the issues that matter to him.

“They told me not to worry about being a firstyear guy or anything, if I felt comfortable doing it then I should do it,” Davis said.

“Having Gabe and all of them do it, too, that kind of helped me be more comfortable about it. I think it’s been big. I’ve gotten texts from guys that I played with with the Twins, old coaches, that I’ve had. They just told me that they would support me and they’re behind me.”

President Donald Trump took notice and posted on Twitter: “Looking forward to live sports, but any time

I witness a player kneeling during the National Anthem, a sign of great disrespect for our Country and our Flag, the game is over for me!”

Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started taking a knee during the national anthem in 2016 to protest racial inequality and police mistreatment of minorities.

He was roundly criticised for years, but public sentiment has changed since George Floyd’s death in May. Floyd, a Black man, died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck while Floyd was handcuffed

RICHARDSON and saying that he couldn’t breathe.

Kapler has been outspoken on issues such as police brutality. He talked to the team Monday before taking a knee.

“I wanted to demonstrate my dissatisfaction with our clear systemic racism in our country and I wanted them to know that they got to make their own decisions and we would respect and support those decisions,” Kapler said. “I wanted them to feel safe in speaking up.”

PAGE 16, Wednesday, July 22, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

JAZZ TO HONOUR LATE COACH JERRY SLOAN WITH PATCH ON JERSEYS FINA GIVING SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Utah Jazz will honour Hall of Fame coach Jerry Sloan by wearing a patch on their team jerseys and warmups when the NBA season restarts in Orlando, Florida.

The patch features the number “1223,” which was the amount of total wins for Sloan in his 23 seasons as head coach of the Jazz. Sloan died in May of

complications from Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia. He was 78.

The team will wear the patch for the first time Thursday in a preseason game against Phoenix.

“Coach Jerry Sloan will forever be in the hearts of the Utah Jazz organisation and fans everywhere, and we feel it is only fitting to honour him in this way,” said Greg Miller, a member of

the NBA Board of Governors and director of the Larry H Miller Group of Companies.

“His contributions to our Jazz family and communities are a defining part of our franchise history and we look forward to seeing 1,223 on the jerseys of our players in Orlando as a nod to his legacy.”

The team also plans to wear jerseys with a commemorative

black strip and the same “1223” design next season.

Other tributes will be announced later.

Sloan guided the Jazz to 16 straight winning seasons and 13 50-win campaigns. He coached 133 different players during his time as Utah’s head coach.

He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.

ALMOST $6.5M TO HELP ATHLETES PREPARE FOR OLYMPICS

By The Associated Press

A BASKETBALL court is shown at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex in Kissimmee, Florida, yesterday. The NBA’s marketing motto for the restart of the season at Walt Disney World is “Whole New Game,” and in many respects, that’s very true.

(AP Photo/Tim Reynolds)

A WHOLE NEW LOOK, FOR A WHOLE NEW NBA GAME EXPERIENCE

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida (AP) — There’s no bench. The courtside broadcasters will not be courtside. And the stat crew will be doing their work inside what loosely can be described as an oversized hockey penalty box.

The NBA comes back today with a very different look - exhibitions start with a four-game slate and continue through July 28. The league’s marketing motto for the restart of the season at Walt Disney World is “Whole New Game,” and in many respects, that’s very true.

The arenas that will be used for the exhibitions, the seeding games that start July 30 and then the playoffs that are scheduled for mid-August through mid-October set up much differently than usual — all with safety during a pandemic very much in mind.

Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers said league officials have been great, “they really have been. They’ve done

everything right as far as I’m concerned.”

“I mean, when you think that we’re running a village for the first time, the league is doing pretty well in city management.”

The court dimensions, of course, are unchanged.

Everything else about an NBA game setup is new.

Seating in the bench areas will be assigned, with folding chairs set up on three rows instead of the customary two and spaced out several feet from one another — instead of players sitting shoulder-to-shoulder as they have in the past. And across the centre stripe, the words “Black Lives Matter” are painted onto the surface.

The area where the official scorers, timers and statisticians sit is enclosed by plexiglass, with social distancing in that makeshift room as well. Broadcasters, who are courtside in normal circumstances, will be higher up and several feet further back from the playing surface. Even the setup for replay reviews will be different — that monitor is in the corner of the arena, instead of

being kept at the scorer’s table and utilised when needed.

League officials hope they thought of every way to keep people apart and promote social distancing.

Some teams have gotten tours already; Denver centre Nikola Jokic didn’t get to see the arenas yet, but said Nuggets President Tim Connelly gave them good reviews. “I didn’t see it in person,” Jokic said. “Tim told me it looks really nice. But to be honest, I’ve played in every possible arena. Nice, bad. Cold, hot.

Whatever.”

The exhibitions that start today will be glorified scrimmages, designed to help the teams, the referees and even the game-night workers figure out how everything works. Teams have even collaborated on their game plans, asking one another what they want to work on in these matchups that won’t count for anything.

They won’t even have a game feel: No national anthems will be played, no starter introductions will take place, warmups might not even happen like usual and some real-game elements might

get tested out to see what works.

The first scrimmages for each team will also have 10-minute quarters, as opposed to the usual 12. “I’ve just got to take it one game at a time, see what it’s like during these scrimmages,” Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard said.

Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said he reached out to Utah’s Quin Snyder and Sacramento’s Luke Walton on how they wanted to make things work in their upcoming scrimmages, and other coaches have had similar conversations.

The Clippers play Orlando today. Rivers said he knows exactly what Magic coach Steve Clifford will do in that scrimmage, and Orlando knows the Clippers’ plans as well.

“We’re looking at this as an opportunity to get better for both teams,” Rivers said. “So, coaches are absolutely sharing things.

We’re asking them in this quarter can you do this, on-side, out-ofbounds, can you do this defence, then what do you want me to do? I think it’s been great in that way.”

THE latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world: • Swimming governing body FINA is giving almost $6.5 million to help athletes prepare for the postponed Tokyo Olympics.

FINA says it wants to help athletes who “endure hardships related to their training and competitive opportunities due to the pandemic.”

The plan includes $4 million for at least 160 national federations to support athletes with expenses for training, competitions and living over the next year.

A further $2 million will support 100 scholarships for athletes who currently do not have Olympic qualifying standards to prepare at national or continental centers. FINA supports regional bases in Russia, Senegal, Thailand and the United States.

Grants totalling $460,000 will go to continental swimming bodies to distribute.

• The ISTAF track meet in Berlin has outlined plans to have up to 3,500 spectators in attendance on September 13.

Organisers say they have developed a wide-ranging plan to ensure spectators stay healthy but haven’t revealed specifics. They were hoping for up to 45,000 fans at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin before the pandemic.

Meet director Martin Seeber says he hopes it will be “a first small step back to normality.”

Pole vault world record holder Armand “Mondo” Duplantis is headlining the event.

The announcement comes as other European track meets plan to bring fans back. Tickets are on sale for the Diamond League meet in Monaco next month and organisers in Lausanne are staging a pole vault competition in the city which could have 5,000 fans if Swiss authorities agree.

• This season’s Scottish Cup final will be played midway through next season.

The Scottish soccer federation says the pandemic-delayed competition will be completed on December 20. That is more than seven months after the original date for the final on May 9.

The competition was stopped at the semi-final stage. Defending champion Celtic will play Aberdeen and Edinburgh rivals Hearts and Hibernian will meet in the other semi-final on the weekend of October 31 to November 1 at Hampden Park in Glasgow.

Organisers say players who would ordinarily be barred from playing for a second team in the same competition can play for their new club even if they were earlier fielded by a different team. The 2020-21 season in the Scottish league will start on August 1. The 2019-20 league season did not resume after the lockdown and Celtic was declared champion based on average points per game.