08252020 NEWS, HEALTH & WOMAN, SPORTS AND BUSINESS.pdf

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VOLUME:117 No.186, AUGUST 25, 2020

THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1

WOMAN: IS HOME WORKING TOO MUCH OF A STRAIN?

ONE MORE WEEK With death toll jumping to 46, PM delivers surprise easing back of lockdown

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net AS he announced that most businesses in New Providence will be allowed to reopen on August 31, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said new COVID-19 data suggests no hard lockdown is needed at this time for the island.

However, Dr Minnis said the lockdown provisions now in place will remain until 5am next Monday in a bid to continue the slow of the deadly virus in the capital.

It was a sharp reversal for Dr Minnis, who just last week announced an immediate seven day near full lockdown for New Providence in response to the COVID-19 crisis - his strongest restrictions yet.

That decision was reversed in less than 24 hours after public outcry.

Asked what warranted the change from then to yesterday, Dr Marceline Dahl-Regis - special advisor to the prime minister - said new data that had just been analysed within the last 48 hours painted a different picture.

According to Dr DahlRegis, sifting through the backlog of cases also shaped the decision to reopen on August 31 and a recommendation that residents in Nassau did not need to be severely restricted.

Effective August 31, New Providence restaurants can provide outdoor dining, curbside service, take-away and delivery.

SEE PAGE THREE

DASHBOARD MISTAKES REVISED TO CLEAN UP PREVIOUS ERRORS

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net THE COVID-19 death toll increased sharply yesterday to 46. Chief Medical Officer Dr Pearl McMillan explained that the increase was mainly due to officials now including “deaths under investigation” to the dashboard. Officials have also revealed errors in data on previous dashboards, which they have since cleaned up leading to a decrease in overall cases.

On Saturday, the COVID-19 dashboard reflected 29 deaths out of 1,765 cases.

Sunday’s data - which was not released until yesterday - showed 69 additional

confirmed cases, which would have brought the total figure to 1,834, and that deaths had risen to 44.

However officials said Sunday’s true COVID-19 tally was 1,784 cases “after an ongoing data cleanup exercise which took effect last week” led to adjustments.

Meanwhile, yesterday’s data showed only 14 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 1,798, with 46 deaths.

Dr McMillan explained the rise in deaths. “That relates to us actually incorporating what we would call deaths under investigation into our dashboard. Before SEE PAGE FOUR

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis speaking yesterday

Photo: Patrick Hanna/BIS

‘DEVIL WILL BE IN THE DETAIL’ ‘BRAVE IS

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net LEONARD Sands, former president of the Bahamian Contractors Association, last night called for greater clarity on the projects the government plans to “fast track”, adding: “The devil is in the details.”

Mr Sands said the construction industry needed more information on the

volume, scale and nature of the private sector investments referred to yesterday by the prime minister if it was to properly prepare its workforce and maximise the potential opportunities.

“I think the challenge quite honestly is we need to know the volume and scale of projects that are in the chute and, for whatever reason, were delayed or did not progress because of COVID-19 and any number of bureaucratic situations

that prevented them from moving forward,” he said.

“We have heard very little about these projects. What are these projects, and what is their scale? We need to quantify it. It could be three projects; it could be 30 projects. You’re talking about a significant impact to the economy if it’s 30 projects.

There are more details that need to be fleshed out on the prime minister’s address.”

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

MAKING PROGRESS’ PROGRESSIVE Liberal Party leader Philip “Brave” Davis is “progressing” and responding well to COVID19 treatment in a United States hospital, The Tribune was told yesterday.

Mr Davis was airlifted there last week for further SEE PAGE THREE

BERNADETTE’S PASSION - NURSING AND PEOPLE

By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT ts-cartwright @tribunemedia.net NURSE Bernadette Rolle, who died last Friday, was yesterday remembered as a loving, giving and humorous person.

Nurse Rolle, a 44-year-old mother-of-two, worked at Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre for almost 20 years.

She contracted COVID19 and was admitted to the

NURSE Bernadette Rolle South Beach Clinic which is being used as a COVID-19 facility.

Over 20 patients at Sandilands have tested positive for COVID-19.

Her friend, Nurse Jenelen Rolle, spoke with The Tribune yesterday stating what kind of person the deceased was. “I met Nurse Rolle about 20 years ago at College of The Bahamas nursing school,” she said.

“We were doing classes together. That’s how we met. One of the things I really liked about her was

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE TWO

FACE-TO-FACE

A MISSION TO RIGHT WRONGS OF SLAVERY

SEE PAGE EIGHT

PAGE 2, Tuesday, August 25, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

Bernadette’s passion - nursing and people from page one that she was an upfront person. The kind of person that you don’t have to worry about how she feels.

She would tell you. She was an upfront person. She spoke her mind. You never had to figure out how she felt about anything.

“Even as a student she was the type of person who, when it came to information, she would always be the person who would be asking the questions. She would want answers. She was always curious. She had a passion for nursing and helping people. Not just sick people in the hospital, but her neighbours, people in her community. That was just her; a very giving and caring person.”

After Nurse Rolle’s death, voice notes circulated on social media with the deceased, in her last moments, sharing her grave condition and thinking of her children.

In a raspy voice and clearly gasping for air said, Nurse Rolle said: “I don’t think I can make it through.

Sometimes, it is just be rough. It is rough. It feels like a roller coaster; sometimes it’s smooth. When you think it’s going to stay smooth, it just gets rocky.

“I just be praying to God to make it through and I’m really hoping to be home with my kids. I know we’re separated, but I prefer to be there with them.”

Her tearful friend continued to recount their time together.

“After nursing school, she went to Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre and I came to public health,” Nurse J Rolle continued. “We maintained the friendship even though we worked in different places.

When we got into our careers, we started to have our children. I am the godmother of her children and she was the godmother of mine. My family became her family. Her mom became my mom. That’s how we lived. She was one of my closest friends. She was to me like a sister. She was like a sister to me.

“I have so many good memories of Bernadette.

Her sense of humour, that’s what I remember the most.

She always had a joke and gave everyone a name.

Whatever your character was like, that’s the name she gave you. And, then sometimes I would ask her why are you calling

them that and she would say, ‘that’s just how he is’.

As time progressed and even in recent years, even though we didn’t do some of the things we normally would do or spend the time we used to with each other,

we had that kind of relationship where I guess we knew that the next person would always be there.

That’s how it was. It’s really tough.”

After Nurse Rolle’s death, the Bahamas Nurses

Union called for more protection for healthcare providers.

When asked if she felt the death was unnecessary, Nurse J Rolle said: “I wouldn’t say that any death is necessary or unnecessary. I would say that she went too soon. I firmly believe that no man holds the power of life or death in their hands. I will say she just left us too soon.”

Hundreds of healthcare workers face challenges with exposure to COVID19 in caring for patients with the virus. Nurses and doctors walked off the job recently, protesting lack of proper protective gear.

ABOVE: Bernadette Rolle with her friend, Jenelen Rolle; left: with medical colleagues

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, August 25, 2020, PAGE 3

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

MAP HIGHLIGHTING COVID-19 CASES IN NEW PROVIDENCE FROM MARCH 15 TO AUGUST 13

46 deaths but Minnis eases back lockdown from page one Both the Fish Fry and Potter’s Cay Dock will be allowed to offer curbside, takeaway and delivery.

Construction activities and hardware stores will continue as usual while other retailers will be permitted to offer curbside and delivery services.

Dr Minnis also said offices and other businesses will be permitted to operate with physical distancing restrictions.

Individuals will be permitted to exercise outside from 5am to 9am while beaches will also be open for a short window—from 5am to 9am daily.

When asked if he had regrets about imposing the immediate lockdown, Dr Minnis said the data available last week suggested the need for the tough restrictions. This data showed that in the month of August, there was a 195 percent increase in the number of COVID positive cases, Dr Minnis said.

He said the data also showed there was a 107 percent increase in the number of deaths, with a 337 percent increase in hospitalisations in August. “…All of that is concerning,” Dr Minnis said yesterday. “…But my concern would have been first and foremost lives. Then we were faced with another situation. Individuals would have called me stating they were not given sufficient warning. There was no notice, no preparations etc and I would have been called everything except a child of God. “Then we had a similar situation and the decision was made to lockdown Grand Bahama and therefore because of the first experience we decided to give the appropriate notice,” he said, referring to the lockdown placed on Grand Bahama nearly five

weeks ago. We gave the appropriate notice and the data clearly shows that as a result of the mass migration from Grand Bahama, Abaco would have been infected, Baker’s Bay would have been infected, Moore’s Island would have been infected, the Biminis would have been exploded, the Berries would have been exploded and New Providence would have had a second impact not only from the travel to the northern hemisphere but the travel of these individuals into New Providence.

“Therefore recognising what would have happened it was always my intention to prevent such migration and to protect the Family Islands. It was essential to protect the Family Islands because there are older residents and they do not have the infrastructure in healthcare facilities as we do in New Providence.”

Dr Minnis also said: “It was felt that, and it was great debate between ourselves, it was felt that if warning or notice were given (of the New Providence lockdown) then there would be mass migration to the Family Islands by boats even though we would have taken the necessary precautions to try and minimise it hence Acklins would have become infected and Crooked Island.

“Acklins and Crooked Island have still been infected but let’s look at the history. A lockdown on interisland transportation was being stopped on the 28th of July, hours before that order came in, that order came into effect at 7pm to stop inter-island flights.”

The prime minister said hours before that order came into effect, 157 people left New Providence on a charter flight to Acklins and spread the virus.

“That is how Acklins and Crooked Island became infected. One hundred and 57 people. I call it totally

‘BRAVE MAKING PROGRESS’ from page one care at the insistence of his daughter, who has been on the front line of the COVID19 pandemic in the US. Meanwhile, PLP Senator Michael Darville, who also has tested positive for COVID-19, is now recovering at home.

Last Thursday, Mr Davis released a statement explaining the decision to complete treatment in the US. “The last few days have

been especially difficult for so many Bahamians. Please stay safe and look out for one another. Let’s continue to take care of ourselves, our neighbours, and our families,” the statement read. “As many of you know, my daughter Philippa is a very senior doctor in the United States. She would like me to be close by as I complete my treatment.

“After a family discussion, I have decided to fly to a hospital in the US. ”

irresponsible knowing that your inter-island flights were being canceled in a matter of hours.”

He said Crooked Island residents also called him on July 28 with similar concerns about domestic travel.

“The rest is history,” he said. “That is how Acklins became infected. That is how Crooked Island became infected and I am advised that individuals are trying to run from those given islands to Mayaguana and if that happens Mayaguana will subsequently become infected.

“So I was thinking first and foremost of saving lives and I was thinking first and foremost of protecting the family islands because I know they have comorbidities.”

For her part, Dr DahlRegis also explained how the last 48 hours altered the government’s direction and recommendation to allow businesses to operate in a week’s time.

She said: “I would like to share with you the data

that has been given to the government and that might have informed the decisions.

“Two weeks ago we had a very large number of cases.

We also had a significant backlog. Within two weeks, we were able to determine in terms of an epidemiological standpoint that we had got to be aggressive with identifying and informing the cases that were positive.

“There was an effort to as quickly as possible not only to inform the cases that they were positive and there were a few hundred but to also identify their contacts.

“Recognising that we could not do this with a paper based system, we were ably assisted by so many and the OPM’s office, the unit of technology, to put in place an electronic platform to document what we were doing to monitor the progress and to revise the number of cases according to the backlog,” Dr Dahl-Regis continued.

“This was a significant effort that required no fewer than 131 persons on a daily basis without stopping and so we were able to present to the government an analysis of the cases and there were a number

of corrections as you have heard. Based on those corrections that we have made and again ably assisted by so many we were able to offer them where we were in terms of this wave of the pandemic.

“Unfortunately we were only able to complete this in the last 48 hours and definitely in the last 24 hours and based on that we offered a revised recommendation to the government.”

New Providence was placed under a new lockdown on August 4.

Editorial View - Page 6

PAGE 4, Tuesday, August 25, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS from page one that, what we did was just report that were straight out COVID deaths or we were able to determine at the time of death that this death was actually caused

by COVID-19. And we had the non COVID-related deaths that you would see just under that number on the dashboard.

“But we made the decision to begin to incorporate a total number of deaths which includes those deaths that we are actually reviewing to determine whether they will be a COVIDrelated death or a non COVID-related death. So that is what resulted in the, what seems precipitous increase in the number of deaths on our dashboard.

So we are at 46 plus the

Dashboard mistakes revised to clean up previous errors five that are non COVIDrelated deaths.”

As the deaths have grown, so have the number of people admitted to hospital because of COVID-19.

Special adviser to the prime minister, Dr Merceline Dahl-Regis said 87 cases were now hospitalised.

Asked about it yesterday, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis laid out his plan for a bed capacity increase in the public sector. He said:

“We have a strategic plan moving forward in that we would move the (hospital) boarders out, thus clearing all of those spaces and the plan was to move the boarders either (to) Poinciana Inn on Bernard Road or identify existing private sector facilities that care for individuals and that would allow us these extra spaces within the hospital.

“We’ve also identified spaces within the Breezes hotel and those

non-COVID patients that are in the hospital they would be moved to Breezes thus freeing up the hospital itself and we’d be able to establish a COVID ward within the hospital and the non-COVID patients would be monitored at Breezes.”

Dr Minnis said as different aspects of the country’s COVID-19 response continued to work, he was certain the nation would overcome this bed shortage.

This came as The Tribune

MINISTER of State for Grand Bahama Senator Kwasi Thompson

Restrictions eased on Family Islands & GB

By TANEKA THOMPSON Tribune News Editor tmthompson@tribunemedia.net THE Office of the Prime Minister announced the ease of lockdown restrictions for Grand Bahama and several Family Islands yesterday, allowing the resumption of indoor church services, curbside business activity and outdoor dining.

These islands can also open schools for instruction, providing social distancing and sanitisation takes place.

The measures took effect from 5am and cover Grand Bahama, Andros, Crooked Island, Acklins, Eleuthera, Cat Island, Exuma, Bimini, the Berry Islands, Mayaguana, Inagua and Abaco.

While a 10pm to 5am daily curfew is in place on those islands, the following businesses are permitted to operate daily from 6am to 9pm: food stores, pharmacies, gas stations, water depots, hardware stores and laundromats.

From Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm, the

following can operate: commercial banks, credit unions and money transfer businesses; financial institutions with essential staff; law firms for criminal and urgent civil matters; retail bakeries from 7am to 5pm; and “other daily operations”.

The notice from OPM also says wholesalers and manufacturers may operate while other businesses that can provide curbside, online or delivery services can operate, including retail and gaming houses.

“Restaurants can open with outdoor dining, takeout, delivery and drivethrough services, except for fish fry restaurants,” OPM said. “Hotels with guests can operate with current restrictions of... no gaming, gyms and spas.”

Churches can also now resume indoor services on those islands, once they follow the Bahamas Christian Council’s COVID-19 guidelines. Churches can also continue to have office hours from 9am to 1pm. Daily private prayer may continue.

Weddings and funerals are permitted with a

maximum of 10 people, excluding the officiant and mortuary staff.

Government offices will be open with essential staff as directed by the relevant permanent secretaries, while those who can work from home will be advised to do so.

Gatherings of more than 20 people in homes will be prohibited.

Attending the beaches and parks on these islands is permitted 5am to 9pm daily, except for Grand Bahama which will be limited to 5am to 9am.

“Schools can open for academic instruction with physical distancing and sanitisation,” the OPM statement said. “For those homeschooling, a maximum of five students are permitted in programmes.

Requests for permission to instruct more than five students are to be made to the Ministry of Education.”

Construction is permitted, along with commercial fishing, crabbing and subsistence fishing.

“These provisions allow for commercial activity and opening up, while also

maintaining provisions to preserve public health,” OPM’s statement added.

Also effective from today at 5am, the islands of Chub Cay, Long Cay, Long Island, Rum Cay, Ragged Island and Spanish Wells will continue to have no curfew.

San Salvador and Harbour Island have also been moved to this category of islands. “Commercial activities are allowed with physical distancing and sanitisation protocols,” OPM said of this category.

“Social gatherings should be limited to no more than 20 people; physical distancing protocols for church services, funerals and weddings are to be followed; and beaches and parks are open.”

Grand Bahama had previously been under a lockdown for nearly five weeks after rising cases on that island. During a Zoom meeting on Saturday, many Grand Bahama business owners expressed frustration over not being able to operate and some threatened to protest if their concerns were not addressed.

was told that beds had reached capacity with a waiting list now in place for treatment at a public health facility on the island.

For her part Dr DahlRegis said a management strategy had to be looked at because a lockdown would not change the requirement for hospitalisations, adding more beds were needed.

“We know that when we have peak cases you have a lag between the requirements for hospitalisations

and you have a further lag with the documentation of deaths,” she said.

In terms of the errors on the previous dashboards, Dr Dahl-Regis said health officials are looking at digital data entry at the time of swabbing to eliminate paper records to correct this. Officials also said yesterday the Public Hospitals Authority has 66 ventilators spread across New Providence and Grand Bahama, with ten currently under repair.

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

that said that assistance programmes for small businesses were available to business owners during lockdowns in Grand Bahama “to help them survive, such as small business grants, business continuity grants, tax deferrals, and NIB unemployment for self-employed persons.”

He further noted the Office of the Prime Minister initiated a zoom meeting with the Prime Minister’s Covid-19 Task Force medical team and the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce.

“This meeting was very fruitful and some plans and suggestions for the way forward were discussed. The Chamber has also been provided with a draft Ministry of Health Workplace guidelines to operate during Covid-19.

“We are prepared to have further discussions with GB Port Authority business licensees and the GB Chamber who represent the private sector and business community in Grand Bahama. In fact, the cooperation of the business community will be key in continuing to combat this virus,” Mr Thompson stated.

“The Prime Minister has always been guided by the health professionals and the medical data. However, he has also stated that it must be balanced with rebuilding the economy. This is also true in Grand Bahama. We must open the economy, but it must be done in a safe and responsible way.”

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest said representatives from the group of small business operators were present and had the opportunity to receive answers to all their questions.

“The PM will address the nation this evening.

The representatives were advised to pay attention to then PM’s and Health Teams address rather than to speculate.The government remains available to meet with any legitimate group or individual to discuss their concerns,” Mr Turnquest said.

LOCKDOWNS HAVE WORKED FOR US, SAYS THOMPSON MINISTER of State for Grand Bahama Senator Kwasi Thompson said the lockdowns have worked for Grand Bahama, where they are now seeing a reduction in new COVID-19 cases, as well as cases in the hospital.

“The lockdown recommended by the medical officials was necessary, he said prior to the prime minister’s national address.

“Our hospital and ICU beds were at capacity. The Prime Minister took immediate action to save lives.”

He further reported: “We have begun to see a reduction in the number of new cases which Grand Bahama is now experiencing. The lockdown has worked for Grand Bahama. We no longer have cases spiraling out of control and have seen a reduction in cases in hospital and visiting our emergency rooms in Grand Bahama.”

Minister Thompson said the COVID-19 second wave caused a real crisis in Grand Bahama, where the numbers had escalated in a few short weeks from eight to now having over 500 active cases.

As a result of spike in cases following July 1, the Prime Minister imposed a two week lockdown in Grand Bahama on July 23 to August 7, which was extended for another 12 days to August 19, and further extended one week to August 24.

Non-essential businesses were lockdown for five weeks, and small business operators feared that another week would put them in financial crisis and called for the lockdown to be lifted so they could resume their operations, under the COVID-19 protocols and guidelines.

A letter on behalf of 180 businesses were sent to the Prime Minister on Sunday, calling on him cease and desist from lockdowns and meet with small operators to discuss a plan for the way forward and to reopen business.

Mr Thompson noted

JITNEY BOSS CALLS FOR NATIONAL PLAN FOR RESTART

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

THE proprietor of a local jitney service said uncertainty is the main challenge in the nation’s omnibus industry, as he called for stakeholders to be included in some national plan mapping the way to their industry’s return to normalcy.

The transport industry was shut down in early March during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Out of work for nearly four months, public buses were back on the streets on July 1 — included in the last phase of the government’s reopening plan — before a new emergency order was released on July 28, barring them from offering their services.

Lamont Rahming, proprietor of Economy Bus Line and Charter Services, said: “The uncertainty of the entire thing is one of the biggest challenges we have to face. Now we don’t know what’s going to happen. If we had some sort of road map or something where we could have some sort of expectation to say, for example, if we can get to this number then this is going to happen. If there were triggers in the national plan to address this whole COVID pandemic as it pertains to us, then that would bring some relief to us and give us some kind of road map or some kind of guide.

“We need something that we can make possible plans (for). It is very difficult with the uncertainty,” said Mr Rahming, who spoke to The Tribune hours before

Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis and health officials held a press conference.

“We have rumours flying around and then some people making statements that turn out to be incorrect. They are dismissive saying this and that is not going to happen and then the very rumour turns out to be true.”

When the bus industry was reopened in July of this year, it was not business as usual. There were COVID-19 protocols put in place which made a bus ride a little different, such as requiring masks for entry and a 50 percent maximum occupancy, but the bus owners were happy to comply just to be back on the streets and earning a living.

Mr Rahming said as soon as business was beginning

to pick up after reopening, the industry was shut down again.

“Speaking to a few guys it seemed to show like it was coming back,” he said.

“Some of the people were beginning to have more trust in the system, especially when they saw you had to wear the masks. I talked to a couple of guys and they said the last day or so before we were shut down again, they saw some sense of getting back to normalcy. Of course it was a bit trying because they only had the half occupancy and all of that, but they saw that it was at least starting to level off a bit.

“It wasn’t all the back to pre-COVID numbers, but they began to see more of an uptick because when they first started back up, it was really, really slow. I

heard stories of guys being out, three, four, five hours to start the day off and hadn’t even gotten $20 yet. They began to see an improvement from that situation. And, they were beginning to have some confidence to say maybe we could have lived with this or an adjustment was being made. And, then comes the abrupt shut down.”

Uncertainty in the industry is definitely affecting the finances of the bus operators and drivers. A lot of them, during the first industry shutdown, made good with their creditors, but are now faced with going back to them for third chances.

“That’s (finances) the biggest strain of all,” Mr. Rahming continued. “You know even when our banks would have been working

with us saying we could defer payments, we took advantage of that. And, when we were back up and running, even with the reduced income at least it was something coming in.

So you were at least able to make some of your commitments or at least go back and renegotiate again.

“The lending institutions would have the mindset to say, ‘these guys are back up and running again, it may not be 100 percent but at least we can look forward to getting something from them.’ Now you are looking at going back to them to negotiate again.”

Mr Rahming said some of the guys are still holding on to the saying, “this too shall pass”, but there are quite a number who are very discouraged because of looming uncertainty.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, August 25, 2020, PAGE 5

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

THE RED Cross distributing food and vouchers in the Golden Gates community yesterday.

Photos: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

Hospital worker asks: Why wasn’t I told to quarantine?

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net A PRINCESS Margaret Hospital staff member is feeling frustrated after claiming she was not told to quarantine by hospital officials although she was exposed to three patients who later tested positive for COVID-19.

The hospital worker, who asked to remain anonymous, revealed she questioned why she was still working while some of her colleagues who were

exposed were allowed to quarantine.

The reason, she claimed she was told by the doctor she reports to, was that she was low risk as she wore the proper personal protective equipment (PPEs).

“She said because I had on all the proper PPEs - the mask, the gown, the glove and everything (I don’t have to quarantine). My thing is, everybody else on the ward who came into contact with them, they had on the same thing I had on so that’s where my query came in,” said the employee.

“How is it they should be quarantined and they had everything and I should not be? “.... Some people didn’t deal with them as long as we dealt with these people.”

The worker told The Tribune she was exposed to the patients back in July and was around these individuals for more than two weeks before she was informed. These patients were from two different wards.

She stated she was not aware the patients had the virus nor did they

show symptoms while she attended to them.

The woman recalled the first patient with whom she came into contact.

“She’s a patient they took to the theatre but they didn’t know she was positive. ICU had to be shut down, that was a patient that time who went in there….I was tending to her. When she went to ICU, that’s when they found out she was positive,” she said.

“Word got back to the ward and those persons on that ward they were quarantined but nobody

told me that this lady was positive and so I wasn’t quarantined.”

She said she also got confirmation from a doctor in the hospital that two other patients she tended to also had contracted the virus.

Bahamas Public Services Union (BPSU) Executive Vice President O’Neil Thurston, whose union represents patient care assistants, admitted to hearing some complaints about the hospital allegedly not following protocol.

“They are saying... let’s say they go on the ward and

there’s COVID patients on the ward, they’re not being sent home to self-isolate.

They’re not being tested,” he said.

Mr Thurston said the union has had meetings with health officials on the claims, which have been denied by the Public Hospitals Authority.

“They continue to refute it you know because apparently to PHA it’s not a big deal…. So our job as the union is to continue to agitate,” Mr Thurston said.

Attempts to reach PHA officials were unsuccessful.

PAGE 6, Tuesday, August 25, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

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From lockdown to opening the doors THAT wasn’t what we expected.

Just a week ago, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis was locking the whole of New Providence down without notice, albeit a decision that was swiftly reversed.

Yesterday, he tells us we’re going to open up at the end of the month. Talk about a 180 degree turn.

Last week, Dr Minnis pointed towards the possibility of a hurricane that never came – thankfully – as part of his reasoning for changing his mind on a full lockdown, but yesterday he acknowledged there was an outcry by Bahamians not prepared at short notice, while not quite bringing himself to say that was behind his change of heart.

There were other surprises too in yesterday’s press conference – the return of advisor Dr Merceline Dahl-Regis for one, and a disturbing surprise, the increase in the number of deaths to 46.

That figure needs some explaining – it now includes “deaths under investigation”, while previous dashboards have had errors that have now been apparently cleared up. Those problems with data are not comforting, as the daily dashboards are sometimes all the insight the public gets each day on how we are progressing in the fight against COVID-19.

Indeed, problems with the data also lie behind the change in approach from lockdown to opening up. Part of the problem was a backlog of tests and data.

Once experts got through that, they were able to give a more accurate recommendation to the government based on what the situation is now, not what it was a week ago. In essence, we were sending the fire brigade to where the fire was, not where it is burning right now.

There were some intriguing facts too – such as the occupations with the most workplace exposures. The uniform branches were on top of that list by a distance, followed by healthcare workers, then construction, then government and administration. Retail was next – which suggests that in large part, businesses have been doing the right

things. All those shops that have been soldiering through and keeping people supplied, take a bow. You’re on the right track.

The number of cases by nationality also brought an eyebrow raising number – that zero cases were visitors. Not one.

We welcome the prospect of reopening the country further – as long as the data is guiding the government on the right path. We admit to surprise given the direction the government seemed to be going in, with the rise in cases and even with the daily dashboards getting later and later in the day suggesting difficulties behind the scenes.

Sunday was the first day when a dashboard wasn’t released at all – delayed until today’s press conference. We also wondered whether the frustration aired by businesses in Grand Bahama played a part in focusing the government’s mind.

It is good news that the government feels we can go on the front foot. There are of course caveats. Just as things changed in a week to become more open, so too could they change before we reach the end of the month to close things down again.

One thing the Prime Minister said rang true about that, however. He said that it’s not just down to government, it’s down to us all. Wearing a mask should be an act of patriotism, done to make our nation healthier. Washing hands should be a matter of habit by now. We can speak up when we see someone not keeping their distance or with their mask down around the neck or missing entirely.

We would also note that rise in the number of deaths to 46. With those deaths under investigation, that number might drop a little as well as rise if other explanations for particular deaths are found, but what won’t change is the number of families mourning a loved one. We extend our sympathies to them all, and renew our determination to ensure as few of our fellow Bahamians as possible find their own lives in danger.

We can do it. We must.

Death rate is alarming EDITOR, The Tribune THE Nassau Guardian reported on Sunday that there have been two additional COVID-19 deaths recorded by the Ministry of Health, pushing the overall total to 29 – all since March. At the current rate, COVID-19 is killing on average nearly five people per month. With 18 deaths during the so-called second wave, this COVID-19 strain is more lethal than the first wave virus, which claimed 11 lives. A COVID-19 Task Force official on Grand Bahama told the media that COVID-19 patients at the Rand Memorial Hospital are sicker than those infected during the first wave. Whether or not his assessment is scientifically accurate, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that people with underlying conditions, such as cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunocompromised state from solid organ transplant, obesity, serious heart conditions, sickle cell disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus, are at increased

risk of severe illness from COVID-19.

During an address at the Bahamas Paediatric Medical Association Conference last October, former Health Minister Dr Duane Sands said that one in seven Bahamians are diabetic, with the death rate from diabetes standing at 37.9 deaths per 100,000 people. With 71.6 percent of the population being overweight, and 43.7 being classified as obese, COVID-19 has the potential to exact a heavy toll on an undisciplined Bahamian population, which has to be disconcerting to COVID19 Task Force and Ministry of Health officials, who are now mourning the tragic death of Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre Nurse Bernadette Rolle. With the availability of such data, it should come as no surprise that Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis continues to subject the Bahamian people to curfews and lockdowns, even to the extent of doing irreparable harm to the domestic, nonessential economy. Bahamians have been given the options of two poisons: an anemic economy or COVID-19.

They are badgering for the former. While Dean at St Paul’s Cathedral in London from 1621 to 1631, the English metaphysical poet John Donne witnessed the death of thousands, some of whom were his parishioners, due to the Black Plague which ravaged Europe. In his famous poem titled For Whom the Bell Tolls, Donne said the following: “No man is an island.....Each man’s death diminishes me. For I am involved with mankind. Therefore, send not to know. For whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.” Each time I hear word of another COVID-19 causality, my mind immediately goes to the situation in Donne’s day.

In addition to making nearly 2,000 Bahamians ill and wrecking the economy, the likes of which we have never in the post-Majority Rule generation seen before, COVID-19 is killing Bahamians at an alarming rate.

We can only hope and pray that this crisis comes to an end.

KEVIN EVANS Freeport, Grand Bahama, August 23, 2020.

Unity is key in the face of threat from this virus EDITOR, The Tribune COVID-19 has exposed a dangerous fault-line in our public discourse. Our political leaders are not singing from the same sheet of music to address the pandemic. As a result, we the people are getting mixed messages. The lack of clarity plus the loutish behaviour of some of us has put the nation at risk.

The PLP have second guessed the FNM government from jump-street. The legal community duked it out with the glitterati of the profession openly disagreeing on the very constitutionality of lockdown and mitigation efforts.

Kudos, however, to the leaders of the Anglican and Catholic churches who largely shepherded their flock with a message – be your brother’s keeper – that was based in both science and religion. That meant wearing a mask, social distancing and proper hygiene.

But the real failure has been on political messaging.

And let’s not forget that, after months of lockdown and curfews, many people were antsy and looking to break free of their home confinement.

Police Desk Sergeants could have exercised more discretion before charging every curfew violator. Magistrates needed to balance the need to show stoicism with the capacity to show mercy.

Unlike our Caribbean cousins, we live just a stone’s throw away from the world’s biggest Covid hotspot, South Florida.

When they exhale without a mask, we catch Covid.

Making public policy is much like making sausage.

It isn’t pretty, but it could be palatable, if executed correctly. No doubt under pressure from merchants and others to open the economy to tourists, the government was faced with the improbable dilemma of opening the border one

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net way. If tourists could come in, then surely Bahamians should be allowed to go out and come back.

So, thousands of Bahamians ignored the Prime Minister’s earnest pleas that they should not go to Florida, except in cases of emergency. As soon as the border opened on July 1, by the plane and ferry boat loads, obstinate citizens descended on the malls and the aisles of mega-stores in Miami.

Hard head bird don’t make good soup. There was confusion over the policy for those returning after less than 72 hours in Florida. They didn’t need a negative Covid test to return but they did need to self-isolate for 14 days.

It appears that was the weakest link in the policy. Had it been strictly enforced we might not have had an explosion in positive cases. There were unconfirmed reports of residents returning and immediately carrying on as if they had not just been in a US state that was recording 15,000 positive cases a day in July.

In true Pavlovian fashion the returnees read the Prime Minister like a book. Able to foreshadow the pending lockdown on Grand Bahama they scurried away to New Providence, Abaco and other islands, spreading the virus with surgical efficiency.

We are not alone in this.

Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname and others are all seeing dramatic spikes in Covid cases tied to the easing of border restrictions in June and July.

There is the dubious claim that the medicine (lockdown) is worse than the virus. We must reject this unscientific myopic thinking. We will slow our

return to a robust tourism economy if Covid goes on a tear through our communities.

Scientists tell us that until there is a vaccine, the only way to mitigate Covid is to limit its spread. Lockdown is the best way to do that when the population refuses to respect mask and social distancing rules.

When we sealed the border and put everyone on lockdown in March we flattened the curve. A false sense of security ensued.

With its leader temporarily off the battle field with the virus, we must hope for his speedy and complete recovery and that the PLP rethinks its messaging around lockdowns. They have a voice in this war.

Those lawyers grandstanding and seeking mileage from vexatious lawsuits in the middle of the pandemic should likewise rethink their position. Tort claims can wait until after the virus is vanquished.

All religious leaders should follow the lead of the Anglicans and Catholics and urge their flock to be their brother’s keeper.

The illustrious Dame Joan Sawyer should reserve a future date to lecture at the Eugene Dupuch Law School. There and then she could expand on arcane points of law that will inform the constitutional debate for which she is obviously spoiling.

In short, the grown-ups need to rally behind one message, to wit, every single Bahamian life is important and must be protected from Covid-19.

Bahamians of faith know only too well that our own individual well-being is forever bound to the wellbeing of everyone else in these islands.

If your neighbour’s house is on fire, help him – and wet yours.

THE GRADUATE Nassau, August 24, 2020.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, August 25, 2020, PAGE 7

PAIR ADMIT VIOLATING CURFEW BUT NEEDED TO EAT

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A MAGISTRATE yesterday discharged two men who claimed they violated the island’s curfew because they were trying to get something to eat.

Ahmad Ferguson, 22, and Ricardo Johnson, 21, appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes after officers found

them on Mount Royal Avenue around 4.55pm on August 8.

The men pleaded guilty to violating the curfew, but said they only left their house to get a cell phone to try and call somebody to get something to eat.

The court was told officers on mobile patrol near Mount Royal Avenue observed the two defendants walking. They then beckoned the men to stop

and asked them why they were breaching the curfew.

According to the prosecution, Ferguson and Johnson failed to give a satisfactory response. As a result, they were arrested and taken to the Wulff Road Police Station. In an interview with officers there, Ferguson said he was walking down the road to get his phone from his cousin. Johnson also told police he was accompanying Ferguson on the walk.

During the hearing yesterday, Ferguson told the magistrate they only left their house that afternoon because they were hungry.

He insisted they only violated the curfew because he was trying to “get his phone to call someone to get food” because they had nothing in their house to eat.

As a result, Magistrate Forbes granted the defendants an absolute discharge.

Still, he urged them to

“exercise better judgement” to avoid having to appear in court for “any reason” in the future.

Meanwhile, Ladon Stubbs, 42, was charged after officers found him on Carmichael Road and Allen Drive around 1.15am on August 21. He pleaded guilty to violating the curfew and was fined $500 or three months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

According to the prosecution, during his interview with police at a nearby station, Stubbs said he was on the road because he was heading home at the time.

When given an opportunity to speak yesterday, Stubbs said he worked as a tyre repair man. He claimed the day he was arrested he was driving home and his eyes started to burn, so he decided to pull on the side of the road to take a nap.

Three months in jail for WOMAN ATTACKED ANOTHER WITH breaking bail conditions

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net A 34-YEAR-OLD man who violated his bail conditions related to illegal firearm and ammunition charges was sentenced to three months in prison yesterday.

Alcott Roach appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes after he was accused of failing to sign in at his nearest police station between October 15, 2019 and August 20.

Roach was previously granted bail after he was charged with being in possession of an unlicensed firearm, an illegal shotgun and a quantity of dangerous drugs and ammunition.

He pleaded guilty to violating his bail requirements yesterday and was sentenced to three months in custody. During his hearing, Roach was also charged with marijuana possession after police found six grams of Indian hemp at his residence on August 20.

The court heard that day officers went to a residence in South Ocean Estates armed with a search warrant. Upon their arrival, the officers showed the defendant the warrant and

informed him they would be conducting a search in reference to dangerous drugs and firearms.

During their investigation, Roach told the officers he had been smoking a joint which he had discarded in a toilet. Upon further investigation, officers also discovered a clear Ziploc package containing suspected marijuana in Roach’s bedroom.

After pleading guilty to marijuana possession, Roach was fined $350. If he fails to pay the fine, he will spend another month at the

Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

Yesterday, two other men appeared before Magistrate Forbes for drug related offenses.

Keno Janvier, 29, was charged with dangerous drugs possession with the intent to supply after officers seized one pound of Indian hemp and $790 which they believed were the proceeds of crime from him on August 21.

The court was told when officers searched Janvier’s residence on the day in question, they found a

FIREARM CHARGE

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 53-YEAR-OLD man who appeared in court yesterday for illegal firearm and ammunition possession was denied bail ahead of his trial.

Patrick Peterson was remanded to prison over allegations he was found with a .9mm pistol, 75 unfired rounds of .9mm ammunition as well as a

black .9mm magazine on August 21.

He denied the charges during his hearing before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes and the matter was adjourned to November 17 for trial.

Due to the nature of the charges, Peterson was denied bail and remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services in the interim.

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

small glass container with one black plastic wrap and a clear plastic bag containing 35 silver foil wraps.

When the foil wraps were examined, each of them were found to contain a quantity of suspected marijuana. According to the prosecution, the drugs had an estimated street value of $1,000.

During his hearing, Janvier pleaded guilty and was fined $1,200 or three months at BDCS. Magistrate Forbes also said the funds that were confiscated from Janvier on the day of his arrest would be forfeited to the Crown.

Meanwhile, Adrien Hall, 24, was arrested after officers found five ounces of Indian hemp at his residence on August 20.

The prosecution said officers found the drugs in an opening in the roof above the closet in Hall’s bedroom. The court was also told police discovered $547 of mixed Bahamian and American currency which they believed was derived from the proceeds of crime.

He pleaded guilty to marijuana possession with the intent to supply and was fined $700 or two months in prison.

A SCREWDRIVER

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 24-YEAR-OLD woman was ordered to attend anger management classes after she admitted to assaulting another woman with a screwdriver during an argument last week.

Another woman was also placed on six months’ probation for threatening to knock down a woman with her car during the ordeal.

Shaquel Bonaby was arrested after a woman reported her for threatening her with a dangerous instrument on August 20.

She appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes alongside Shanice Brown, 21, who was also charged with threatening to harm another woman that same day.

The court heard the first complainant told officers she was at her residence when Bonaby drove past and pointed a screwdriver at her before stating: “I will jick you up (sic).”

The prosecution also said the second complainant told officers Brown threatened to run her over with her vehicle while

she was at her residence.

During the hearing, both women were represented by attorney Ian Cargill.

He told the magistrate the incident “emanated” from an argument Bonaby was having with her neighbours. He also said Brown only threatened to run over the second complainant because the woman refused to move from in front of her vehicle when she was asked.

Mr Cargill noted neither defendant had any previous convictions and insisted they were remorseful for their actions.

As a result, after accepting their guilty pleas, Magistrate Forbes ordered Bonaby to attend anger management classes at the Department of Social Services for six months. Still, he warned her if she failed to do so, she would spend three months in prison.

Brown on the other hand, was placed on six months’ probation. If she violates the condition of her release within that time frame, she could also risk spending one month behind bars.

Both women were ordered not to have direct or indirect contact with the complainants.

TWO MEN DENY THEFT CLAIMS

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

TWO men were charged with stealing by reason of employment in the Freeport Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Rashad Saunders, 30, of Flying Fish Street, Freeport, and Marvin Williams, 48, of South Bahamia, appeared before Magistrate Rengin Johnson.

It is alleged that on July 27, Saunders and Williams stole by reason of employment some $5,192 worth of property from their employer Contractor’s Direct. They pleaded not guilty and elected summary trial.

Williams was also charged with receiving. It is alleged that on the same date, he received $5,192 worth of property belonging to

Contractor’s Direct. He pleaded not guilty the charge and elected summary trial.

The matters were adjourned to November 17, 2020.

Carlson Shurland represented Saunders, and Brian Hanna represented Williams.

On the issue of bail, Mr Shurland said as it relates to the power of the court in special circumstances, particularly as a result of COVID-19, denying his client bail and remanding him to custody, would be giving him “a death sentence”.

Public policy, he said requires social distancing so that persons would not be exposed to COVID-19. He noted that the conditions at custody suite at Police Headquarters were “not sanitized,” and that some

officers there had been exposed to COVID-19.

He also noted the cells are 6x9 and cannot provide 6ft social distancing.

Magistrate Johnson denied bail, and referred him to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.

In other court matters, Delano Rigby, 23, pleaded guilty to stealing from a vehicle, and also to stealing from an auto business six car batteries. The incidents occurred between August 2 and 3.

Rigby, who was recently released from prison in May, told the judge that he sold the stolen batteries, which were each valued at $145, totally some $870.

Magistrate Johnson convicted him on the guilty pleas and sentenced him to six months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

COUNTRY OVERWHELMED BY COVID As COVID-19 cases continued to rise over the weekend, readers posted their views on the situation on tribune242.com.

Tribanon said: “I cringe whenever I think about all of the COVID-19 deaths, and how overwhelmed our country and our public health system has become, since that most fateful and foolish decision made by Minnis and D’Aguilar to prematurely reopen our borders on July 1.”

That prompted this reply from Cobalt: “For God’s sake, y’all please stop being so STUPID. Stupidity is as contagious as the virus itself! So please stop spreading it! No one in the Bahamas is at fault or to blame for the Coronavirus outbreak! It’s a global healthcare crisis to which everyone is subject! No one is immune, and no one is exempt. Whether or not the authorities reopened the boarders, infection and related deaths are going to be inevitable. It was only a matter of time. When was

the last time any of you read any scientific literature related to epidemiology or disease occurrences?

This is not the first time the World has dealt with a pandemic. But it is the first time the Bahamas has had to deal with one of this magnitude! The coronavirus is a highly contagious, virulent, airborne respiratory pathogen and we are a small, island nation. We live on an over-crowded island which creates unique obstacles for government and healthcare officials.

Mistakes are going to be made, and we must learn quickly as we go. Talking nonsense and exemplifying stupidity doesn’t help!”

There was this from Proudloudandfnm: “If Bahamians don’t start cooperating, stay home if you don’t need to go

anywhere, wear a mask PROPERLY when you do have to go out and keep your distance. This lockdown would be shortened and we’d be able to open up again. But keep in mind when we do open nothing much is going to change in terms of the economy.

There will still be no tourism, no FDI, not much of anything. So no idea what you anti-lockdown folks think will happen but we will not see a normal economy until a vaccine is developed or we find another way to thrive that does not include tourism.

“What are you people thinking? You honestly believe we’ll see an economic boom right now if we open up??

“Everyone needs to keep one thing in mind . . . THIS IS 100% TEMPORARY. Life will go back to normal once we have an affective vaccine. Just like it did after the 1918 pandemic . . .”

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

Death Notice for IVY CAROLYN FRENCH, 84 of Village Green, Nassau, The Bahamas died peacefully at home on Saturday, August 22, 2020.

She is survived by daughters Maureen French and Patricia French and her partner Bruce Ost; sister Evelyn Thring and her husband Jim of Ontario Canada; sister-in-law Margaret French and former son-in-law Derek Burrows.

She was Aunt Ivy to nieces Linda Sauer, Eileen French, Gloria Sykes and her husband Dave of Connecticut; Dawn Henderson and her husband Carmen of Victoria BC; nephews Jim French and his wife Janet; Edwin Tatton and his wife Brenda of Ontario Canada; Jim Thring and his wife Anita of Ontario Canada; John Thring and his wife Denice of Ontario Canada; Joseph Thring of Ontario Canada and nephew-in-law Edward Newbold.

Great Aunt to Melissa Fox and her husband Trevor; Allister Sands and his wife DeAnna; Adele Robson and her husband Bobby; Stefan Newbold and his wife Glenda; Darren Roberts and his wife Ashley; Michelle Stevenson and her husband Patrick; Joanna Lowe and her husband Simon; Jamie French; Kim Sykes Roberts and her husband Chris of Connecticut; Greg Sykes and his wife Maria of Connecticut; Kelly Sykes of Cambridge MA; Tanya and Pamela Tatton of Ontario Canada; Dr. Carla Henderson and her husband Brad of Ontario Canada and Dylan, Alexa, Alyssa, Kyra, and Brandon Thring of Ontario Canada.

Ivy is also survived by 23 great and great grand nieces and nephews: Kaitlyn, Jenna and Evan Fox; Lucaya and Alexis Sands; Cecily and Cynara Robson; Alaina and A.J. Newbold; Sofia and Saria Roberts; Connor and William Stevenson; Amelia Lowe; Shea and Devon Roberts; Connor and Ella Skyes and Kaysha, Chloe, Olivia, Avery and Amelia Wilson.

She is predeceased by her husband Sydney French, granddaughter Sydney Lily Burrows, parents Thomas and Esther Agnew, parents-in-law Nathaniel James French Sr. and Gwendoline French, her brother Thomas Agnew and his wife Mary, sisters Pat Skinner, Peggy Tompkins and Betty Tatton and her husband Harold, her brother-in-law N. James French Jr., sisters-in-law Gwendoline French and Agnes Evans and her husband George; nieces Donna Evans, Joan Newbold and Victoria Roberts, nephew Gregory Skinner, nephew-in-law Harald Sauer and Geneva Lloyd.

Ivy was lovingly cared for day in and day out by her earth angels Marjorie (Netti) McKenzie, Joy Albury, Caren Cummings, Dr. Ian Kelly and Dr. Indira Grimes.

In lieu of flowers, we would be honoured if you will remember her fondly and make a donation in her memory to the Bahamas Sailing Association in support of the Summer Sailing Camp, c/o The Nassau Yacht Club, P.O. Box N 752, Nassau, Bahamas.

Due to Corona Virus restrictions, a private interment will be held at Christ Church Cathedral Garden of Remembrance at a later date.

Arrangements by Kemp’s Funeral Home Limited.

PAGE 8, Tuesday, August 25, 2020

A

UGUST is the month that commemorates the emancipation of Africans in the Western world. The people of the Rastafari movement never let Emancipation Day pass without impassioned calls for the freedom, redemption and repatriation of African descendants throughout the Diaspora. It has been decades since the calls first began.

In The Bahamas, Priest Philip Blyden is among those leaders who have paved the way and set a foundation for those who seek to better understand themselves, Pan Africanism and the Rastafari movement. He is literally a walking history book, well versed in African, Caribbean and Bahamian history. He is a priest of the Ethiopia Africa Black International Congress (EABIC); Chairman of the House of Rastafari (HOR) inter-mansion group; an art, craft and creative design teacher at Akhepran International Academy; a skilled contractor and a father and grandfather.

The current pandemic caused the Rastas to decide not to march on the streets for their right to be heard and heeded this Emancipation Day, as they have done year after year. However, the priest affectionately referred to as “Blyden” wants people to know the current state of affairs in terms of systemic racism and even the health crisis being battled globally are all signs of things long foretold by the Rastafari movement and that now, more than ever, African descendants must rise and pull together for their survival and success.

Blyden was born and bred in Bain Town, Nassau.

His mother was Jane Whymns, a straw vendor who had a very strong bond to her faith and served as an usher at Transfiguration Baptist Church. His father was Joseph Blyden Jr. He was a Sergeant in the British Legion, banquet manager, hotel and catering teacher and a taxi driver.

Blyden’s great-granduncle was Dr Edward Wilmott Blyden, a pioneer in the African Nationalist movement. He was also noted as one of the grandfathers of Pan African ideology. He left his native St Thomas to go to school in the US, but this was a period right after Emancipation. He was a Presbyterian preacher but he still had to lay low as even free blacks were susceptible to being kidnapped and sold back into slavery.

He made the decision to take a boat to Liberia and there, he flourished, and he became the Dean of the University. Today, his legacy is one that Rastas seek to follow – to return to Africa and help build up a rich continent that their ancestors were stolen from.

Blyden remembers the Bain Town community in the 1960s as being “perfect” in terms of being a community built on African ideals. People were loving and principled and lots of African customs prevailed.

The community raised the child. They saved together and formed Asues. They used plants for food and medicinal remedies. They had societies to strengthen their bond.

Blyden says the community members had everything they needed, although they were poor and being rich in love and spirit made all the difference. He recalls when those communities in the inner cities of New Providence began to disintegrate and were replaced with the concept of “ghettoes”. Before this time, Bahamians were proud people who were working together to rise above their circumstances.

Colonialism thrived, but the community, or village, as he calls it, allowed African descendants to have their safe place. They were tight knit, and “cleanliness, morality and ethics were the order of the day”.

It was in that community that Blyden began to awaken to his African identity at a young age.

“At seven-years-old I had an odd experience when I coloured Christ brown and faced being ostracised from the other children in summer camp at church,”

THE TRIBUNE

A lifetime’s mission to redress the wrongs of slavery and explore a people’s African roots

MAIN picture: Rastafari Priest Philip Blyden and, inset, a recent meeting led by former Police Commissioner Paul Farquharson for the expungment of police records in the Rastafari community

he recalled. “A few months later while at home, I drew a portrait of Christ as a black man. This stirred up a lot of controversy in my family. I was taken before the elders, including my paternal grandmother who at the time was a matriarch of Bethel Baptist Church. The ordeal was long and drawn out, one of mixed opinions. They contended that one must not play with God. The Elders would keep a watchful eye on me. There were European Renaissance paintings, prints and similar posters everywhere in the churches, public spaces and accompanying illustrations in literature, always portraying biblical characters as Europeans, via GrecoRoman iconography.”

The watchful eye of elders could ensure the young Philip’s safety but could not fetter his mind, which continued to blossom

into vivid enthusiasm for the continent of his ancestors and the rich history and culture it holds. The more he studied, read and watched his environment, the deeper his river ran until he became a wellspring of African knowledge, and he gradually progressed to becoming a fire starter in the Rastafari movement.

“It was a joy to hear the early Rastafari pioneers who frequented the community like Ras Michael, “Fly” Major and Ras John Brown preaching and teaching of a black God,” Blyden recalls.

“Many parents were adamantly opposed to their doctrine and discouraged them from coming around, yet I knew the early ‘black heart’ man had truths and the missing part of our glory that parents nor history teachers could tell us.

“As time went on, I witnessed the changing of

the political guard. Majority Rule was ushered in of course with help of the grass root masses. Labour Unionists like Sir Randol Fawkes rose. My mother played an active role in the Native Straw Vendors Union and the Baptist Church was a catalyst to this end. I remember when Mahalia Jackson, Queen of Gospel in the late 1960s performed here during this era of social transformation. She gave an inspirational performance at the Southern Recreation Grounds in The Gazebo House (the same place where Marcus Garvey addressed the African masses 40 years earlier).

She was in the presence of Baptist ministers like Rev Dr HW Brown and others. The political socioeconomic landscape slowly began to change.

“As the years passed on, the rise of socialism touched the village. Mr Lionel Carey and Mr Lesley Campbell made their rounds on Saturdays without fail, dressed in African Dashikis and kakhis or jeans. Notwithstanding, socialism was generally tabooed and rejected by a westernised society. However, their literature was compelling to

read. Besides the leftist ideology and mainstream black international characters one would read about in conventional Afrocentric tabloids like Jet and Ebony. There’s one name that stood out - Dr Edward Wilmot Blyden. The quest for knowledge inspired me and lead me to research more about The Pan African Movement.

“From that point, my perspective was enlightening so it was easier to make the connection between Pioneers Drum and Bugle Corp (UNIA-ACL Youth group). Pre-independence, they dressed in red, black and green and waved Marcus Garvey’s UNIAACL African Liberation, Redemption and sovereign banner. Also The Bahamas National Cadets who proudly wore red, gold, green and black, the Ethiopian sovereign banner.

These two groups were organised by Dr Dame Doris Johnson and Mr Kermit Ford. The new Bahamas was born in the ideology of Marcus Garvey who was inspired by Bahamian, Dr Joseph Robert Love, the first African Nationalist pan-Africanist Patron Saint unsung.

“Yet despite these very rich historical records, somehow the old guard of colonialism was able to convince political leaders that an African Liberation/ Redemption identity and ideology would drive their tourism demigod away. On the contrary, many visitors are often disappointed when they weren’t able to experience a part of the African Liberation journey here in The Bahamas.

Meanwhile, our regional neighbours to the south were able to see record levels soaring in their economy.”

While working in Guadeloupe in 1979, Blyden took a few books with him, among them was ‘Black Skin, White Mask’

by Frantz Fanon. He was still on a quest for knowledge of self. The Caribbean region was budding in colonial resistance and Rastafari was at the forefront. Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada were “at the pinnacle of Black Power and socio-economics”. Blyden says the Rastafari community in Grenada assisted Maurice Bishop win the elections and he in turn locked them up.

Dominica was bustling with Rastafari people and Eugenia Charles had a bounty on Rastas in the hills.

Every where Rastafari prospered they were hunted, tortured, oppressed and imprisoned, Blyden says.

“I returned to Nassau on November 15, 1979 not knowing that Bob Marley

was performing here,” Blyden shared.

“I noticed a surging increase of Rastafari numbers, so we formed study groups and made arts and crafts, Rastafari icons, cultural T-shirts and the like. As time went by in the 1980’s, the African village that we once knew (in the inner cities) was almost gone. By 1988 while involved in a Rastafari Inter-mansion group King of Kings Missionary Movement, I was asked to assist organising a platform of unity, fellowship, fundraising and a Human Rights Drive. As the group dissolved, it was decided that funds that were raised go to the EABIC at the headquarters in Bull Bay, St Andrew, Jamaica.”

Blyden found that the EABIC church, the Bobo Shanti, were in the mountains in Jamaica living the lifestyle of the African village he grew up in and yearned for. He met King Emmanuel Charles Edwards, their leader, who encouraged him on a righteous path. Over the years, Blyden would be a part of delegations that would agitate to the government, make presentations at the House of Assembly and the Senate in Nassau, meet with the Governor General, and urge the press to document their mission. He was one of the first Rastas to live at the camp on Fire Trail Road East, which is now the home of the EABIC Bahamas Branch.

“We call for freedom, redemption and international repatriation to Africa with universal reparations and compensation for the survivors of the African holocaust (trans-Atlantic slave trade),” he said.

“This was the mandate and resolution that was agreed on at the Nyahbinghi Seminar Conference called to order by then Prince Emanuel on March 1, 1958 in Jamaica when all Mansions of Rastafari and pan-African activists convened and agreed to agitate people to people and government to government.

Now today, Africans are repatriating to Africa from the all over the diaspora.

The healing cannabis plant (ganja) that we were persecuted and oppressed for is worth billions of dollars on the stock market today.

Not one word of Marcus Garvey, Dada Emanuel and King Selassie I have failed or become fruitless.

As their messenger, I am fulfilled in delivering the message people to people, government to government through the divine powers of Qedamwi Haile Selassie and Empress Menen.”

THE TRIBUNE

S

OME people consider that so much has been written about the coronavirus pandemic that there is little further to say. But last week’s events, involving the announcement on Monday evening - with no prior notice - of a total lockdown followed by a U-turn on Tuesday afternoon with conditions less restrictive than before, created a crisis of public confidence in the government. As a result, there was new controversy about the official handling of the crisis and, in such circumstances, it is hard to resist offering fresh comment.

Monday’s announcement left no time for people to prepare or to shop for food and resulted in mayhem, with residents converging on food stores, gas stations and water depots for panic buying at the last minute.

As conditions eased later in the week, with supermarkets now allowed to stay open until 9pm, questions were raised once more about the need for lockdowns even as the number of new infections in The Bahamas is increasing.

To my eye, the debate about how to handle the coronavirus crisis may have changed because over the weekend there has been official confirmation that COVID-19 is here to stay for the foreseeable future.

During the last few months we have been told, consistently, that it is not going away any time soon unless a vaccine becomes available.

Now, the Director General of the World Health Organisation himself has made this official by saying publicly that the pandemic could last for another two years as a “once-in-acentury” health crisis. It is also significant that the UK’s former chief scientific adviser, Professor Sir Mark Walport, who is a member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), has stated that “this is a virus that’s going to be with us forever in some form and almost certainly will require repeated vaccinations”.

In light of these views of the experts, I suggest that, while the task of government should continue to be to try to limit transmission of the virus, it is unrealistic to seek to eradicate it in present conditions. Thus, the question arises whether lockdowns are the best way of dealing with a long-term situation of this sort unless they are part of a broader plan.

Initially, such action seemed right in order to keep people apart from one another and it worked in so far as the numbers of infections were kept to a relatively low level. But the price was serious damage to the local economy. Given the risks of further such damage if new lockdowns are imposed, does it make sense to continue to do so now that people have become accustomed to social

Tuesday, August 25, 2020, PAGE 9

COVID’s here to stay and it may be we’ll just have to learn to live alongside it The

Peter Young column distancing and are, by and large, adhering to the new requirements, including regular hand washing and the wearing of masks in public?

It is surely right to place restrictions on both small and larger gatherings like sporting events and social get-togethers, including night clubs, bars and restaurants. But, from my wife’s and my own observation, social distancing measures in places like banks, pharmacies and food stores are being carefully observed and applied so there is no need to limit their activities – and, in cases where the restrictions are not in place, they can be enforced by government inspectors.

As is well known, the virus was mainly brought to The Bahamas by those who visited Florida after borders were reopened on July 1. This accounts for the sudden spike in the number of infections. These look bad compared with the original figures, but we are not told about the seriousness of the infections. As a proportion of the total amount of cases, the numbers of deaths and those hospitalised are relatively low. The presumption must be, therefore, that most who have tested positive have not been severely infected.

Without wider testing, even the layman may conclude that there are likely to be many more than the figure of about 1,500 confirmed cases; but, on the evidence so far, the majority of any new cases will probably be mild rather than serious. So, with the number of severe cases still fairly low, some people question whether the pressure on medical facilities is as bad as the authorities have suggested.

It is interesting that a former UK Supreme Court judge, Lord Sumption, has commented that Britain

has to learn to live alongside the virus until a vaccine is available. He supports voluntary but controlled social distancing rather than lockdowns because, he says, keeping people apart by forcing them to stay at home will “merely push transmission to the period they are lifted”. It is also instructive to note the UK government has now adopted a system of selective restrictions rather than total lockdowns – and, as I mentioned in an earlier article, the latest advice by the WHO is that localised measures should be used to stem COVID-19 rather than national lockdowns due to the health, social and economic repercussions.

As former Health Minister Dr Duane Sands is reported to have said, the overwhelming majority of Bahamians want the virus to be beaten and a vital part of that is social distancing.

But people need food and medication in order to live properly, so the emphasis should be on education and enforcement rather than lockdowns - with action taken by the appropriate authorities to ensure social distancing is followed as widely as possible across the country. It is also important to increase testing and tracing so as to monitor and control confirmed cases in order to ensure selfisolation. That seems to be the key - as well as social distancing - to limiting transmission of the virus.

As for Britain, with its economy said to be on “lifesupport”, one commentator in the UK press has suggested that economic logic and common sense dictate “we can’t remain paralysed for a minute longer” – life always involves an element of risk and “it’s now time to get back to work”.

Yesterday the Prime Minister surprised everyone by

POLICE officers handing out water and masks in New Providence last weekend announcing a significant relaxation of the lockdown protocols based on the most up-to-date medical advice he has been given. Most of us I would suspect had imagined we would be given a few days grace before

a ‘hard’ lockdown was imposed. Now, it seems, if the numbers keep heading in the right direction that’s not going to be necessary.

From next Monday we will be back in another form of ‘lockdown-lite’

- still a huge hindrance to our normal way of life but a step in the right direction.

As WHO has pointed out, however, whatever form of lockdown we chose, by itself it is not going to be enough.

AN OLD CONVERSATION BUT NOW REALLY COULD BE TIME FOR CHANGE FOR as long as I can remember - having followed events in The Bahamas for more than 20 years - there has been talk of the need for economic diversification. As I understand it, this has been the policy of successive governments since the early 1990s because of an over-emphasis on tourism and financial services, both of which depend on outside factors and influences beyond Bahamian control and leave the country particularly vulnerable.

So, despite already being one of the wealthiest countries in the Caribbean region, it makes sense to protect itself against external shocks by broadening its base of economic activity - and particularly after the blow to the economy of severely reduced tourism as a result of the pandemic.

Against this background, it was interesting to read in The Tribune recently an interview with former Attorney General Alfred Sears about COVID19 providing what he described as a “once-in-50years” opportunity for The Bahamas to overhaul its economic “architecture” for “the new global realities it will face in a post-pandemic

FORMER Attorney General Alfred Sears world”. He called it “a Sir Stafford Sands moment” reflecting the transformation of The Bahamas in the 1950s from seasonal tourism, fishing and subsistence farming to year-round tourism and financial services.

It is clear the country should capitalise on its assets like long standing political stability and a highly respected judicial

system, proximity to the world’s largest market, good existing infrastructure, an equable climate and plenty of undeveloped land in the Family Islands whose development should be a priority.

While fully embracing the digital economy, Mr Sears has suggested expansion of “a number of niche industries”, creation of an

aviation hub, farming, seafood harvesting and light manufacturing. He also spoke of boosting export earnings by permitting local web shop operators to sell their services to other jurisdictions.

The Bahamas already has, of course, a ship registry - and an aviation hub, with its many airports in the Family Islands, is based on managing and controlling its own airspace. Meanwhile, agriculture could be expanded to reduce the dependence on food imports by fulfilling local needs without attempting to compete in export markets.

In addition, the potential for eco-tourism should be limitless once visitors return to our shores. Linked to that is the huge demand for vacation home rentals and bed and breakfast establishments. These are needed in order to tap into the natural habitat and the tranquillity and beauty of the islands which lack accommodation facilities but offer fishing, bird watching – not least flamingos, the national bird of The Bahamas, on the island of Inagua - wildlife photography, hunting of wild boar and similar pursuits.

Over the years, there

have been various studies of economic diversification.

Among many suggestions and recommendations, I found it particularly interesting to read about development of light manufacturing because in the late 1990s I spent time promoting to investors in the UK the potential for that at the Sea Air Business Centre being constructed for that purpose in Freeport.

One new effect of coronavirus which has received little publicity is the flight to other countries of millionaires from across Latin America in order to protect their wealth. Reports suggest there may be up as many as 500,000 people with assets exceeding one million dollars in countries like Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Chile where there are large disparities between the rich and the poor.

Such countries are apparently planning to introduce tough new restrictions and taxes on the wealthy as a result of fiscal shortfalls resulting from COVID-19. Some now say this presents opportunities for other jurisdictions to offer fasttrack residency schemes and favourable tax

conditions; for example, in The Bahamas reducing the minimum investment in real estate needed to become a permanent resident. Another related but simpler scheme is attracting the growing numbers of so-called “digital nomads” who need nothing more than a laptop and a Wi-Fi connection to earn a living no matter where they are in the world. Barbados, for example, whose tourism sector has taken a heavy hit from the pandemic, is offering a one-year visa for such people and, reportedly, charges $2,000 for it.

Returning to Mr Sears’ ideas, he spoke of the need for a strategic vision and a bi-partisan political approach in an effort to rebuild the nation’s economy. But he stresses that more mundane, though no less important, issues like a reliable and less expensive power supply and development of renewable energy, together with improvement of the ease of doing business, will also be key factors – and then, of course, although he does not mention it, the potential bonanza of off-shore oil production is still lurking in the background.

PAGE 10, Tuesday, August 25, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

MARCO COLLAPSES TO SET STAGE FOR LAURA TO HIT US AS HURRICANE NEW ORLEANS Associated Press

AS Tropical Storm Marco fell apart, the Gulf Coast yesterday turned its attention to Laura, another system following just behind that could grow into a supercharged Category 3 hurricane with winds topping 110 mph and a storm surge that could swamp entire towns.

Still a tropical storm for now, Laura churned just south of Cuba after killing at least 11 people in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, where it knocked out power and caused flooding in the two nations that share the island of Hispaniola. The deaths reportedly

included a 10-year-old girl whose home was hit by a tree and a mother and young son who were crushed by a collapsing wall.

Laura was not expected to weaken over land before moving into warm, deep Gulf waters that forecasters said could bring rapid intensification. “We’re only going to dodge the bullet so many times. And the current forecast for Laura has it focused intently on Louisiana,” Gov. John Bel Edwards told a news briefing.

Shrimp trawlers and fishing boats were tied up in a Louisiana harbour ahead of the storms. Red flags warned swimmers away from the pounding surf. Both in-person classes and virtual school sessions

were canceled in some districts. In Port Arthur Texas, Mayor Thurman Bartie warned that unless the forecast changes and pushes Laura’s landfall farther east, he will ask the city’s more than 54,000 residents to evacuate. “If you decide to stay, you’re staying on your own,” Bartie said.

Officials in Houston asked residents to prepare supplies in case they lose power for a few days or need to evacuate homes along the coast. “We are battle-tested.

We are ready to deal with this situation as well,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said.

State emergencies were declared in Louisiana and Mississippi, and shelters were being

THE AFTERMATH of Tropical Storm Laura in Haiti yesterday

opened with cots set farther apart, among other measures designed to curb coronavirus infections.

Edwards encouraged evacuees to stay with relatives or in hotels.

But officials said they made virusrelated preparations at state shelters in case they are needed.

As Marco was on its deathbed, the National Hurricane Center issued its first storm watches for Laura.

Forecasters posted a hurricane watch from Port Bolivar, Texas, to Morgan City, Louisiana, a tropical storm watch from Port Bolivar to San Luis Pass, Texas, and from Morgan City to the mouth of the Mississippi, where a collapsing Marco hovered.

POISONING SIGNS FOUND IN RUSSIAN DISSIDENT BERLIN Associated Press

POLICE in riot gear stand outside the Kenosha County Court House yesterday

Guard called out after police shoot black man WISCONSIN Associated Press WISCONSIN’S governor summoned the National Guard for fear of another round of violent protests yesterday after the police shooting of a black man under murky circumstances turned Kenosha into the nation’s latest flashpoint city in a summer of racial unrest.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said 125 members of the National Guard would be in Kenosha by night with responsibility for “guarding infrastructure and making sure our firefighters and others involved are protected.” County authorities also announced an 8pm curfew.

The move came after protesters set cars on fire, smashed windows and clashed with officers in riot gear Sunday night over the wounding of 29-year-old Jacob Blake, who was hospitalised in serious condition. In a widely seen cellphone video made by an onlooker, he was shot, apparently in the back, as he leaned into his SUV while his three children sat in the vehicle.

Tensions flared anew yesterday after a news conference with Kenosha Mayor John Antarmian,

A VIDEO grab of armed officers pursuing Jacob Blake originally to be held in a park, was moved inside the city’s public safety building. Hundreds of protesters rushed to the building and a door was snapped off its hinges before police in riot gear peppersprayed the crowd. Police in the former auto manufacturing centre of 100,000 people midway between Milwaukee and Chicago said they were responding to a call about a domestic dispute. They did not say whether Blake was armed or why police opened fire, they released no

details on the domestic dispute, and they did not immediately disclose the race of the three officers at the scene.

The man who claimed to have made the video, 22-year-old Raysean White, said that he saw Blake scuffling with three officers and heard them yell, “Drop the knife!

Drop the knife!” before the gunfire erupted. He said he didn’t see a knife in Blake’s hands.

The governor said that he has seen no information to suggest

Blake had a knife or other weapon, but that the case is still being investigated by the state Justice Department. The officers were placed on administrative leave, standard practice in a shooting by police.

Evers was quick to condemn the bloodshed, saying that while not all details were known, “what we know for certain is that he is not the first black man or person to have been shot or injured or mercilessly killed at the hands of individuals in law enforcement in our state or our country.”

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden called for “an immediate, full and transparent investigation” and said the officers “must be held accountable”.

“This morning, the nation wakes up yet again with grief and outrage that yet another black American is a victim of excessive force,” he said, just over two months before Election Day in a country already roiled by the recent deaths of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta and Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky.

“Those shots pierce the soul of our nation.”

TESTS conducted on Russian dissident Alexei Navalny at a German hospital indicate that he was poisoned, but doctors said yesterday he was being treated with an antidote and his life was not in immediate danger.

The Charité hospital said in a statement that the team of doctors who have been examining Navalny since he was flown from Siberia and admitted on Saturday have found indications of “cholinesterase inhibitors” in his system.

Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had personally offered Germany’s assistance in treating Navalny before he was brought to Berlin, said in view of the findings and his “prominent role in the political opposition in Russia, authorities there are now called upon urgently to investigate this crime in detail and in full transparency.”

“Those responsible must be identified and held accountable,” Merkel said.

Cholinesterase inhibitors are a broad range of substances that are found in several drugs, but also pesticides and nerve agents.

Charité said the specific substance to which Navalny was exposed is not yet known.

“The patient is being treated in intensive care and remains in medically induced coma. While his condition is serious, it is not currently life-threatening,” the hospital said in a statement.

Cholinesterase inhibitors act by blocking the breakdown of a key chemical in the body, acetycholine, that transmits signals between nerve cells.

This results in overstimulation of the junction between nerves and muscles. Each year hundreds of thousands of people suffer from cholinesterase inhibitors poisoning, mostly due to exposure to pesticides.

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES BURN ON AS DEATH TOLL REACHES SEVEN Associated Press

FIREFIGHTERS battling three massive wildfires in northern California got a break from the weather early yesterday as humidity rose and there was no return of the onslaught of lightning strikes that ignited the infernos a week earlier.

A warning about dry lighting and gusty winds that could spark more fires was lifted for the San Francisco Bay Area and relieved fire commanders said the weather was aiding their efforts.

“Mother Nature’s helped us quite a bit,” said Billy See, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection incident commander for a complex of fires burning south of San Francisco.

California has had more than 13,000 lightning strikes since mid-August and more than 600 wildfires statewide have burned more than 1.2 million acres, or 1,875 square miles, said Daniel Berlant, assistant deputy director with California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire.

More than 1,200 buildings

ONE of the three huge wildfires currently affecting northern California have been destroyed and 14,000 firefighters have been deployed, he said.

The three big fires around the Bay Area and many others burning across the state have put nearly 250,000 people under evacuation orders and warnings and authorities renewed warnings for anxious homeowners

to stay away from the evacuation zones.

Six people who returned to a restricted area south of San Francisco to check on their properties were surprised by fire and had to be rescued, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office said.

The death toll from the fires reached seven over

the weekend after authorities battling a big fire in the Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Francisco announced the discovery of the body of a 70-year-old man in a remote area called Last Chance.

He had been reported missing and police had to use a helicopter to reach the

area of about 40 off-the-grid homes at the end of a windy, steep dirt road north of the city of Santa Cruz.

The area was under an evacuation order and Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Chris Clark said the discovery of the man’s body was a reminder of how important it was for

residents to evacuate from fire danger zones.

“This is one of the darkest periods we’ve been in with this fire,” he said.

The Santa Cruz fire is one of three “complexes,” or groups of fires, burning on all sides of the San Francisco Bay Area. All were started by lightning.

Fire crew made slow progress battling the blazes over the weekend, which included a break in the unseasonably warm weather and little wind.

A fire in wine country north of San Francisco and another southeast of the city have within a week have grown to be two of the three largest fires in state history, with both burning more than 500 square miles.

The wine country fire has been the most deadly and destructive blaze, accounting for five deaths and 845 destroyed homes and other buildings. Three of the victims were in a home that was under an evacuation order.

Officials surveying maps at command centres are astonished by the sheer size of the fires, said Cal Fire spokesman Brice Bennett.

BODY AND MIND

Podcasts to keep you sane during lockdown

With lockdowns now a part of our weekly life, people can feel as if they are cut off from the outside world – and from the kind of help and advice that they need more than ever. Fortunately, guidance can just be a few clicks away, with a host of podcasts dealing with mental health or how to deal with the issues that come with lockdowns.

NPR Life Kit has tackled a host of problems people are facing – now more than ever - and one recent show was especially useful for parents looking at the prospect of teaching children at home with schools unlikely to be opening their doors at the start of the new term.

The episode “How to make sure your child learns this school year” looked at the bigger problem. As the show hosts say, there is a childcare crisis and it precedes the pandemic. School often allows us to get on with the rest of our lives while the children are taken care of and learning, and that comes to define the shape of our lives, fitting around school

runs. The pandemic is raising lots of questions about that – from whether one parent needs to step back from work to deal with children and their schooling in this environment, and the longterm consequences that has on finances, including promotions, getting back to work later, and so on. The hosts also put it bluntly, every choice is going to be a balance of time and money.

They also offer advice on how to get children involved in how schooling will work at home. This can involve sitting down with kids and ask what approach they would prefer. Many of us have already had an experience with distance learning for our kids this year – now’s the time to sit down with them and ask what worked, what didn’t, and whether you found them to be self-directed or whether it was a struggle for them.

Tips include getting children involved in getting their work area organised the way they want it – and that many tutors are turning to online sites such as Fiverr and can be available to help

children in specific areas. A lot of the show is very US-centric, but a lot of the advice is good wherever you are. (website: https://www.npr.org/ lifekit)

than a physician. It passes the time, it makes you aware of what’s going on in your life and other people’s lives, and does its job. (website: https://imanistateofmind.com/podcast)

Imani State of Mind tackles the question “But How Are You REALLY Doing?” in an episode with that title – and it doesn’t just deal with the isolation from the pandemic, but also the ongoing stress from the Black Lives Matters protests in the US. Quite simply, people feel there is so much going on that it is hard to deal with the stress of so many things all at once – but this show, with Dr Imani Walker joined by reporter Priska Neely, cuts through the surface responses of “I’m fine” to get to what people are really feeling.

It comes across more as a radio talk show rather than really delving into the issues – this isn’t a self-help guide to fix your problems. But on the other hand, that means it can be something you listen to as a companion rather

Better Than Happy is hosted by life coach Jody Moore and aims to help you create a life “that’s even better than happy”. The episode I listened to, “Other People’s Models”, is especially timely in a lockdown, in that it encourages you to measure your happiness by your own set of values rather than other people’s. This can be hard, especially in marriages where you suddenly find yourself cooped up for long periods with one person where you might be more used to extra space.

This show helps to work through those issues, and understand what you need is not necessarily the same as what others need, and not to run someone else’s race.

It includes discussions of sex, so not one for when little ears are around perhaps, if you can find that bit of space in lockdown.

It has a lot of support material on its website too, giving a road map to previous podcasts to help you out with particular issues, or a guide to new listeners to bring people up to speed. (website: https://jodymoore. com/podcast) Lastly, The Chronicles of Now takes issues in the news and highlights them through short stories by well-known authors. The story I listened to was “String Theory”

by Roxane Gay, who imagines an America left at the back of the queue waiting for a vaccine.

There is an interview with author afterwards, while the story talks of survival and ex in quarantine, with the central characters stranded and waiting for it all to come to an end. The host is Ashley Ford, who asks thoughtful questions and goads more from the author than the words of the story alone. (website: https://chroniclesnow.com/podcast)

Scientists say Hong Kong man got coronavirus a second time

By MARILYNN MARCHIONE AP Chief Medical Writer University of Hong Kong scientists claim to have the first evidence of someone being reinfected with the virus that causes COVID-19.

Genetic tests revealed that a 33-year-old man returning to Hong Kong from a trip to Spain in mid-August had a different strain of the coronavirus than the one he’d previously been infected with in March, said Dr. Kelvin Kai-Wang To, the microbiologist who led the work.

The man had mild symptoms the first time and none the second time; his more recent infection was detected through screening and testing at the Hong Kong airport.

“It shows that some people do not have lifelong immunity” to the virus if they’ve already had it, To said. “We don’t know how many people can get reinfected.

There are probably more out there.”

The paper has been accepted by the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases but not yet published, and some independent experts urged caution until full results are available.

Whether people who have had COVID-19 are immune to new infections and for how long are key questions that have implications for vaccine development

and decisions about returning to work, school and social activities.

Even if someone can be infected a second time, it’s not known if they have some protection against serious illness, because the immune system generally remembers how to make antibodies against a virus it’s seen before.

It’s not clear how different a virus needs to be to trigger illness,

but the new work suggests that “COVID patients should not be complacent about prevention measures” and should continue social distancing, wearing masks and other ways to reduce infection, To said.

Two experts with with no role in the work agreed.

“We’ve always known reinfection was a possibility and I think this is highly suggestive” that it

occurred in this case, said Dr Jesse Goodman, a former US Food and Drug Administration chief scientist now at Georgetown University. “If there is a reinfection, it suggests the possibility there was residual immunity ... that helped protect the patient” from getting sick again, Goodman said.

However, “if immunity wanes from natural infection, it could be a challenge for vaccines” and may

mean booster shots are needed, he added.

Julie Fischer, a microbiologist at CRDF Global, a nonprofit health group in Arlington, Virginia, said the study gives convincing evidence that reinfection can happen.

“The real question is what this means for severity of disease” if that occurs, and whether such people can infect others, she said.

One expert saw the report as good news. Dr Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said it’s encouraging the reported reinfection was without symptoms.

“That’s a win as far as I’m concerned” because it suggests a first infection may protect a person from moderate to severe disease the second time around, he said in an interview streamed by the Journal of the American Medical Association.

A mid-May survey by the doctors’ information-sharing site Sermo found that 13 percent of the 4,173 doctors responding believed that they had treated one or more patients who were reinfected. Among the respondents, seven percent of those in the US and 16 percent in other countries thought they’d seen such a case.

However, health officials have also wondered whether people who tested positive long after their initial illness were simply showing signs of not completely clearing the virus rather than being infected anew.

PAGE 12, Tuesday, August 25, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

A COLOURFUL participant of the Walk for the Cure 2019.

Cibc Firstcaribbean’s Walk For The Cure Goes Virtual In Its Ninth Year A WOMAN uses the new INNOVO device

Revolutionary device to treat urinary incontinence Tens of thousands of Bahamian women and men have their bladder dictate their lives and reduce the quality of their every day lives.

The negative impact of urinary incontinence/leak and urinary urgency can be profound.

Stress urinary incontinence is the uncontrollable leak or passage of urine with any increased abdominal pressure associated with common activities such as laughing, sneezing, coughing, lifting or exercising.

Stress urinary incontinence is not related to psychological stress, but a pressure/stress on the bladder that occurs when there is a weakening of the muscles and tissues that support the bladder and a weakening of the urethral sphincter. Stress urinary incontinence affects as many as one in three women of varying ages.

Risk factors for stress urinary incontinence includes previous pregnancy, vaginal delivery, obesity, smoking, menopause and advancing age.

One in ten men experience stress urinary incontinence and many of these affected men, may have had previous prostate cancer surgery.

Urge urinary incontinence is the uncontrollable leak of urine after the failure to make it the bathroom after the urge is felt.

Many women experience both stress and urge urinary incontinence.

The majority of men who suffer from urge urinary incontinence or suffer from overflow urinary incontinence have an obstructive prostate or, less commonly, a urethral stricture as the root cause.

Painless, minimally invasive endoscopic resection of the obstructing prostate can permanently solve the issue of an obstructive prostate. No pain medication is required after endoscopic prostate resection and no to minimal recovery period is needed.

Women worldwide and in the Bahamas commonly suffer from stress urinary incontinence and often live their lives wearing panty liners, or pads, or even adult diapers.

Stress urinary incontinence negatively affects the quality of

life of women and men in multiple ways. Sexual intimacy can lead to uncontrollable urine leak, which leaves far too many women fearful to be intimate.

Women suffering from urinary incontinence sadly often live their lives wearing dark clothing every single day to try and hide potential wetness and stains associated with urinary incontinence/leak.

Women are sometimes afraid to exercise because of the embarrassing stress urinary leak. There are many negative health effects for these women who stop exercising.

Imagine being fearful to simply laugh and enjoy life because of stress urinary incontinence/leak.

This is the horrible reality for tens of thousands of Bahamian women.

The constant fear of the perceived smell of urine limits social interactions and often negatively affects the professional lives of women as well.

Many Bahamian women are afraid to have a glass of water when they leave their homes because of the overwhelming urge to urinate frequently.

In the Bahamas, several minimally invasive outpatient procedures are readily available to successfully treat both stress and urge urinary incontinence.

Patients can take an extended lunch break and often return to work after any of the minimally invasive procedures, and have no further episodes of urinary incontinence/leak.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved synthetic transvaginal urethral slings are available through Urology Care Bahamas to minimally invasive treat stress urinary incontinence in a less than thirty minute outpatient procedure.

FDA approved minimally invasive Botox injections effectively treats urge urinary incontinence and is likewise available locally in the Bahamas as a twenty minute outpatient painless procedure.

FDA approved minimally invasive placement of synthetic bulking agents such as macroplastique at the level of the opening of the bladder and urethra, can

successfully treat stress urinary incontinence.

For men with severe stress urinary incontinence, artificial urethral sphincter surgery is available locally.

The FDA has now approved the non-invasive highly effective management of stress, urge and mixed urinary incontinence using the device INNOVO. No procedure is necessary.

INNOVO is a the state-ofthe-art, non-invasive pelvic floor exerciser that provides the pelvic floor muscles with effective strengthening that treats the root cause of bladder leak due to urinary incontinence for both women and men. The advanced device was FDA approved late last year and is now available in the Bahamas for the first time through Urology Care Bahamas.

INNOVO is a painless and simple to use; just put on the device, which is similar to a comfortable pair of bicycle shorts, and it delivers painless electrical stimulation to the entire pelvic floor muscles in a short 30-minute session. All varying sizes of the fitted shorts are available.

A hand-held controller is connected to the INNOVO shorts and the intensity of the painless electrical stimulation of the pelvic muscles can be controlled by the user.

The electrical stimulation is painless and the device can be used within the confines of the user’s home whenever it is convenient.

Sit comfortably and watch TV or read a book and the noninvasive painless device simply delivers electrical stimulation to your weakened pelvic muscles.

The device is used five times a week for 30-minute sessions to treat stress urinary incontinence and it is worn three to four times a week to treat urge urinary incontinence. After 12 weeks, the vast majority of women will be dry and no longer need panty liners or pads.

The scientifically proven success of the INNOVO device is extraordinary.

Eighty-seven percent of users have no or mild urinary leak/ incontinence after a 12-week

Why telling kids to ‘clean your plate’ can be harmful Health coach Ethan Quant, CEO of Elite Wellness Solutions, has succeeded in his weight loss journey and now wants to share his methods with the Bahamas in an effort to foster a culture of wellness and conquer the obesity epidemic.

As we are all home more due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I want to encourage parents to use this as an opportunity to teach their children healthy habits.

Growing up, I remember that my mother always used to warn that I had to eat all the food off my plate. Since she worked so hard to provide for me and my siblings, the notion of leaving food on the plate was unconscionable. I am sure that a lot of you can relate. In fact, this isn’t even just a Bahamian custom. I dare to say that this is common around the world, particularly in families with few resources to waste. It is a broad expectation for children to clean their plates.

While this practice of parents telling their children to clean their plates may be rooted in good intentions, it actually causes more damage than good. Mainly, it is the basis of developing of an unhealthy relationship with food, simply because children are forced to eat when they don’t want to. We know that on a physical level this can cause the child to start to ignore their body’s natural cues for hunger and fullness. This can result in mindless eating that is, as we know, a major

ETHAN QUANT

HEALTH COACH contributing factor to obesity in children and adults.

The thing is, when I had my daughter found myself saying the same things. I was essentially enforcing the same bad habits that contributed to my own unhealthy relationship with food.

It wasn’t until I started my health,

THE UROLOGY DOCTOR IS IN...

Dr Greggory Pinto treatment period, involving three to five 30-minute sessions each week. Ninety-three percent of users saw a significant reduction in urinary leak after just four weeks of use.

INNOVO has provided over 1.5 million successful treatments of stress urinary incontinence in Europe thus far.

A weak bladder is a fixable problem and thousands of Bahamian women and men can regain their happiness, confidence and freedom in their lives.

Laugh hard again and with no leak of urine.

Exercise full throttle once again without any fear of urine leak.

Say goodbye to panty liners and pads and no longer fear smelling like urine.

Seek confidential and compassionate, painless treatment for your urinary leaking.

A confidential urology consult is required to pinpoint the exact cause of bladder leak and determine whether the INNOVO device is right for you.

• Dr Greggory Pinto is a board certified Bahamian urologist and laparoscopic surgeon. He has trained in Germany, South Africa and France, and is a member of the European Association of Urology. He can be reached at the OakTree Medical Center, #2 Fifth Terrace and Mount Royal Avenue. Call (242) 322-1145-7.

wellness and fitness journey that I began the very difficult process of retraining my body and my mind to listen to its cues for hunger and fullness.

Fortunately, it was a lot easier for my young daughter. This is why it’s important for parents to make a conscious effort to ensure that their children develop habits and behaviours that are consistent with living a healthy lifestyle. One major way to do this is for the parents themselves to be living a healthy lifestyle.

I hear from parents often that it’s hard to get their children to eat healthy. I can appreciate how difficult it can be, especially when eating healthy was not an initial focus. However, just because it’s difficult doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

Below are just a couple of tips that you can start to use to help your kids develop healthy habits and behaviours. These tips may also be beneficial for you as well.

• Develop healthy habits like eating vegetables and fruits, using cues of hunger and fullness, and physical activity.

Kids at this age are watching their parents intently so they will naturally pick up the habits and behaviours that the parents have - good and bad. Avoid things like eating all the food on the plate, using food as an incentive or threat, eating dessert and watching TV while you eat. If your kids

The region’s largest cancer fundraiser, CIBC FirstCaribbean’s Walk for the Cure, is going virtual this year and hoping to attract even more numbers.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has upended the world and caused us to find new and innovative ways of doing things and Walk for the Cure 2020, while staying true to its mandate of raising cancer awareness in the region and supporting cancer care and education organisations, will definitely be walking a new route this year - a virtual one, ” said Mark St Hill, executive co-chair of the walk and managing director of Retail and Business Banking.

He noted that plans are already being rolled out across the region for the virtual event, which will see the usual fundraising and pre-walk activities in each territory taking place online and via social media, before culminating with a Regional Virtual Walk and Concert of Hope featuring leading entertainers from across the region on October 4.

Executive co-chair and the bank’s managing director of Wealth Management, Dan Wright, said the new format would allow for “thousands more across the region and in the diaspora to participate and offer their support to this very worthy cause”.

Mr Wright noted while no fundraising target will be set or the usual tiers of sponsorship offered, he was still very hopeful that the cancer support and care organisations that benefit from the walk will still receive significant support from businesses and the public.

“We are keenly aware of the adverse financial effects felt by virtually all businesses as a result of COVID-19. We thank our many corporate partners, many of whom have been with us from the inception, for their support over the years and we are hopeful of their support this year, even if at a reduced level,” he said.

This is the ninth year for the walk which takes place across the bank’s 16-member footprint and has raised over $2.7 million over the past eight years.

The funds generated from the walk are used primarily to assist with the purchase and maintenance of equipment used in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients.

They are also used to provide assistance, care and counselling to patients and their families as well as to raise awareness, and stress the importance of early detection, through education campaigns across the region.

People can keep up to date with this year’s walk through CIBC FirstCaribbean’s website and social media pages.

see you doing these things they will most likely end up adopting the same bad behaviours and habits.

• Engage children in food preparation from the beginning to end Kids are more likely to eat what they help grow and prepare. It gives them a sense of pride and accomplishment.

• Decrease access and exposure to unhealthy options and screen time Limiting access to unhealthy food options is very important at this time. In other words, don’t keep junk food in the house, as kids are more likely to grab that which is easily accessible. Also, limit screen time to encourage increased physical activity. This might mean to encourage children to play outside or take the dog for a walk.

Of course, there are a lot more tips and strategies that you can use but these are a good place to start.

If you need help navigating any aspect of your health wellness and fitness journey feel free to reach out to me directly. Always remember, at the end of the day you have the power to be successful in health, in fitness, and in life.

• You can contact Ethan Quant at ethan@elite-wellnesssolutions.com or on Instagram at @ ethanquant.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, August 25, 2020, PAGE 13

Why so many women still take their husband’s last name

By SIMON DUNCAN Emeritus Professor in Social Policy, University of Bradford (THE CONVERSATION) Our names lie at the heart of our identity. But in Britain, nearly all married women – almost 90 percent in a 2016 survey – abandon their original surname and take their husband’s. (In the US it is around 80 percent) The survey found that even most of the youngest married women – those aged 18–34 – chose to do so. Some women, incorrectly, even imagine it is a legal requirement. Most countries in western Europe and the US follow the same pattern.

This change in women’s identity, by taking a husband’s name, has emerged from patriarchal history where wives had no surname except “wife of X”. The wife was the husband’s possession and right up to the late 19th-century, women in England ceded all property and parental rights to husbands on marriage.

So how has a practice born out of women’s subordination to men remained so entrenched in an age of women’s emancipation?

To understand this, in our research we interviewed soon to be, or recently married, men and women in England and Norway.

Norway makes an interesting comparison as although it is regularly ranked among the top four countries in the world for gender equality, most Norwegian wives still take their husband’s name.

Patriarchy and resistance We found that patriarchal power has not gone away. In England, for example, some husbands made marriage conditional on their wives taking their name.

Mandy* gives a striking example: “I actually didn’t want to change my name but … he said if that hadn’t changed there would have been no point getting married … he said the wedding would mean nothing.”

More often, male preeminence in names was just taken for granted. English women frequently called upon tradition: “it’s traditional and conventional” (Eleanor), or felt that name

change was “the right thing to do” (Lucy). For Jess the meaning of her wedding was “that I’ll take my partner’s surname and stand by my vows”.

We found though that such views were much less common in Norway – where most women keep their own name as a secondary, middle, surname to preserve their own identity.

For some English women, taking the husband’s name was not only assumed and unquestioned, it was eagerly awaited. As Abigail put it, “I’m so looking forward to being a wife and having my surname changed”. Adele thought “it’s nice to be able to say ‘husband’ and take someone else’s name and call yourself ‘Mrs’”.

The flip side of patriarchal power was that some women were resistant to losing their identity.

As Rebecca explained: “I would like to keep my own name … I need to be me and I wouldn’t want to lose who I am.”

In Norway, Caroline felt the same: “I am who I am, so I have no need to change my name.”

Two Norwegian women we spoke with also raised explicit feminist objections. Anna felt that name change “says a lot about the patriarchal culture”. While Oda criticised women for not thinking about what a name means and men for the “weird” practice of imposing their names on other people.

The ‘good family’ Many name changers acted between these two poles of male power and women’s resistance.

But it seems taking the husband’s name is also seen as being a good way to show others this is a “good family”. As Claire says “I would like (others) to know that we were a family and I think names is quite a good way of doing that”.

In both countries, we found a common surname symbolising the family as a unit was primarily

associated with having children.

Eirin in Norway had been struggling between “the feminist me” and her husband who wanted her to take his name – though she felt this was “not urgent, at least not until you have children”.

Supposedly, different parental names would be confusing. One woman we spoke to felt that “the kids won’t know whether they’re coming or going”. Though evidence suggests children are not at all confused about who’s in their family, whatever surname they might have. Rather it seem nonconformity creates adult discomfort.

Some English women also felt that not changing your name indicated less commitment to the marriage – as Zoe explains: “I think if you’ve kept your name it’s kind of like saying I’m not really that committed to you.”

This feeling was not directly expressed by the Norwegian couples – probably because of the widespread practice of using the

wife’s surname as a secondary, middle, family name.

Not the norm Clearly then, showing others you are a “good family” is not a seamless, uncontested process.

The display needs validation by others – and this makes adopting the husband’s name all the more likely.

Indeed, our study found the possibility of a joint name or using the women’s name was rarely considered among English couples.

So although some women may be actively involved in choosing their marital name, taking the man’s name still remains the norm. * Names have been changed • This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com.

Picture book on Kamala Harris coming tomorrow NEW YORK (AP) — That didn’t take long: Just weeks after making history as the running mate for Democratic nominee Joe Biden, Senator Kamala Harris will be the subject of a new picture book.

Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing announced last Wednesday that prize-winning author Nikki Grimes has written “Kamala Harris: Rooted in Justice,” which features illustrations by Laura Freeman.

The book comes out tomorrow.

In June, Simon & Schuster published “Joey: The Story of Joe Biden,” a picture book written in part by his wife, Jill Biden.

Harris, a California Democrat, is the first Black woman and first Asian American woman named to a major party presidential ticket. Later on Wednesday, she was scheduled to accept her nomination at the Democratic National Convention.

Harris told her own story in “The Truths We Hold,” which came out last year.

Trailblazing Black female editor made history as US VP candidate

By RUSSELL CONTRERAS Associated Press RIO RANCHO, New Mexico (AP) — Kamala Harris made history last week by becoming the first Black woman to be nominated to run for vice president on a major party’s ticket.

But the first Black woman to run for vice president in the nation’s history was trailblazing newspaperwoman Charlotta Spears Bass.

The groundbreaking journalist and civil rights activist who ran in 1952 on the Progressive Party ticket is the subject of a new PBS/WNET “American Masters” short. The 12-minute film is the final installment of a series focusing on 26 American women from 1890 to 1920, like Mexican American journalist Jovita Idar and Tye Leung Schulze, the first Chinese American woman to vote in the US. Born in 1888 in Little Compton, Rhode Island (others have said she was born in Sumter, South Carolina), Bass rose to become publisher and owner of The California Eagle in 1912

following the death of the newspaper’s founder, John James Neimore. The Eagle served as Southern California’s Black newspaper and it pushed for civil rights while covering the community of Black migrants from Texas.

With her husband, Joseph Bass, as editor, the paper took on police brutality, the Klu Klux Klan, and DW Griffith’s racist film, “Birth of A Nation.”

Filmmakers Charlotte Mangin and Sandra Rattley said they wanted to introduce Bass to a new generation since many people do not know her story.

Mangin went through her archives in Southern California and discovered the original ballot where her name is listed during the 1952 presidential election. “I found her memoirs, which she wrote in the third person,” Mangin said. “Her life spans such an incredible century of change in American history.

She’s constantly reinventing herself but always with the same message of social justice.”

Rattley said knowing the story of Bass can put into perspective what the US is seeing

today around women’s equity.

“Kamala Harris did not drop from the sky,” Rattley said. “She is part of a legacy of women who proceeded her.”

Nikole Hannah-Jones, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter who spearheaded the 1619 Project on slavery for The New York Times Magazine, is among those interviewed in the film.

Hannah-Jones said she became familiar with Bass during graduate school as she was examining the role of the Black press. The publisher’s fearless tone and unapologetic voice immediately grabbed Hannah-Jones.

“I see myself as part of a long tradition of Black women who refuse to engage in respectability politics, who refuse to be told how to engage,” Hannah-Jones said. “If she were living today and on Twitter, she would not suffer fools. She would speak out as she did in print...and she would suffer for it.”

The short is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, which falls on Women’s Equality Day. It will be available for free on the American Masters website.

PAGE 14

TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2020

Is ‘working from home’ putting extra strain on women?

By CARA HUNT Tribune Features Writer cbrennen@tribunemedia.net Working from home, the “new normal” for many right now, may have sounded very appealing a few months ago. Women, mothers in particular, hoped that staying home would help them in taking care of their kids, who have been mostly off from school since March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

According to an article in the Harvard Business Review, studies have shown that the flexibility afforded by working from home may actually lead to putting more stress on women. Research has found that women are more likely to carry out more domestic responsibilities while working at home, whereas men are more likely to prioritise their work over household chores or taking care of children.

This week, we spoke with several Bahamian women who have

had to adjust to working from home to find out their secrets on how to strike that sometimes elusive balance between home life and work life.

Lanae said in her case the early bird catches the worm.

“I am in finance and so a lot of my work has to be done early to catch the European markets et cetera, and so I honestly get up the same time as if I was headed into the office which was for 7am.

I sit at my computer at 6am and do e-mails and start what I need to do; the things that have to be sent away. It honestly works better for me because by the time my kids wake up around ten o’clock I have gotten a lot done and that’s a great time to take a break and get them breakfast. I am usually done around 4pm and then I take a few minutes to start dinner and housework and then the evenings are free. But for me the key is that early wake-up. That allows me freedom at night,” she said.

She added that she needs a clear separation from “work” to “home”.

“Your office is now now home and so you need to find a definite cut-off point,” she said.

Keisha, a human resource manager, agreed.

“I had a hard time shutting off,” she admits, “I would be checking my work e-mails all day and night and I never shut off. It was like work was consuming me. Now I put in my hours and whatever doesn’t get done will get done the next working day. But I have to have that time when I say I am done work for the day,” she said.

Gina, on the other hand, said “turning off” at a set time is difficult because she has two young kids.

“My kids are not at the age where I can let them just chill while I work, and so for me, I just work throughout the day,” the office manager said.

“I try to get an hour in before they wake up, and then when they

take a nap I can get some done. I do a lot of work between 9pm and midnight when they are asleep just because, honestly, I get more done that way,” she said.

“My boss is really cool and is like, ‘I don’t care how you structure your time away from the office as long as I get what I need’.

But I have taken many calls in my ‘bathroom office’ and my boss has heard my kids in the background calling for me, et cetera.

But you do what you have to. My husband is an essential worker so he is out working in the day and so he holds the fort down when he gets home. It’s exhausting but we are just happy that we are employed.”

Crystal said a supportive partner is essential.

“My husband and I are both working at home,” the businesswoman explained. “We keep a schedule of our Zoom meetings, conferences, and try to coordinate who keeps an eye on the kids so

that the other one can get stuff done and then swap. I don’t know how we would have made it if we weren’t both home.

She added: “Another random piece of advice is get dressed. I am not saying full suit, full make-up, but don’t stay in your PJs all day. I just feel that if I get dressed I am more focussed.”

For Arnette, who works in sales, the challenge is avoiding distractions.

“When you’re in the office it’s just work, but when you are at home you are thinking about the kids and they figure home time is their time and they want your attention, and then you are thinking about laundry and dishes and cleaning in addition to the work stuff all at once,” she said.

“It’s a lot and it’s stressful.

The only advice I can give is just focus on one thing at a time. You can’t clean and work, so pick one, knock it out, and then move to the next thing.”

Toni Braxton inspires with unusual skincare routine

By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Reporter acadet@tribunemedia.net From naming her wigs, to using unorthodox objects to help complete her makeup look, R&B superstar Toni Braxton certainly caught the attention of many women when she revealed her beauty secrets to Vogue during a recent video tutorial.

“It works for me”, the singer repeatedly said as she took viewers through her daily regimen.

She began by describing herself as a “simple girl” who enjoys going to stores like CVS and Walgreens for products to wash her face.

After washing her face and giving her wig, which she nicknamed “Samantha”, a shout-out, she went on to share her moisturiser of choice and the process of applying it to her face. It was just after setting her eye cream that we got a first glimpse of a personal device that most of us do not associate with skincare.

“This thing right here, OK, I’m going to be honest, it’s a vibrator.

But I call it a ‘face tingler’. It tingles the muscles in my face and gets them activated and working. I haven’t used it on anything else other than my face, OK? Just FYI, I just take this; it has got this little ball here, which

is perfect sometimes. I just put it in the freezer and it is really cold. I just kind of rub it and it just activates all those muscles, gets ‘em together. We are working today, we are gonna be cute today. Under my eyes are really important to me. It tells your age a little bit,” said Toni describing the process.

In response to the singer’s unique beauty tip, one Bahamian woman told The Tribune: “I thought it was funny but cute, because Toni is so quirky and cute. She is 52 and flawless, so maybe we can learn a thing or two from her. Keep in mind she is doing a video with no filter whatsoever and her skin was flawless.”

Another reader said: “I love that she lets us in on the secret; she didn’t have to, but she did.

She is confident in her beauty and it shows. Who would have thought Toni Braxton is out here putting a d***o to her face as a part of her skincare regimen; not me for sure.

I am just here for how flawless she looks in her 50s; that is goals right there. After seeing the clip,

I watched the entire video and noted down some tips myself.”

Many women have been learning how improve on their makeup application while in quarantine these past few months. Some even took it as far as starting blogs and YouTube channels. Like many other celebrity women, Toni said she enjoys doing her own makeup.

“I love doing my own makeup; it kind of relaxes me. I always had makeup artists when I’m doing shows and things like that, but they kinda just have everything in place for me and let me play with it, and then they clean it up.

I kinda learned how to do my own makeup when I did Broadway,” the singer said.

“I never used to wear lashes when I first came out in the business in the ‘90s. I thought they were completely uncomfortable, but then I learned about Brigitte Bardot and her lashes were everything. And I simply just take the end of a brush and just kind of put it on.”

Other celebs who have shared their beauty secrets during quarantine have included Rihanna, Mariah Carey,US CongresswomanAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Olympic gymnast Simon Biles, Alicia Keys, Naomi Campbell, ‘Vampire Diaries’ star Kat Graham, and many others.

SPORTS SECTION E

TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2020

SEE PAGES 17 & 18

Lakers honour Kobe Bryant with ‘Black Mamba’ uniform

LOS Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis wears a Kobe Bryant patch on his jacket during warmups before Game 4 of a first-round playoff series against the Portland Trail Blazers last night in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. SEE FULL STORY PAGE 18 (Kevin C Cox/Pool Photo via AP)

USAIN BOLT, Page 19

Richardson and Giants in the wild-card race

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

t the midway point of Major League Baseball’s shortened season, Antoan Richardson and the San Francisco Giants are in the midst of the National League wild-card race.

The Giants are currently on a six-game winning streak and improved their record to 14-16 with a 6-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks Sunday night at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California.

Halfway through the season, the Giants are third in the NL West and No. 7 in the NL overall. Eight of the 15 teams in the NL will advance to the playoffs.

The Giants open up a three-game home stand tonight against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

San Francisco got off to a slow start to the season at 8-16 but have worked their way back into contention

A

for a playoff spot at the 30-game mark in the 60-game season.

“I believe in this club, I believe in the resilient nature of this club, I believe in the offensive strides we’ve made, obviously the starting pitching has been one of the strengths of this club, I believe in our capability from every angle right now,” first year manager Gabe Kapler said to the Mercury News.

Over the course of the last six games, the Giants have outscored opponents by 29 runs with a differential of 42-13.

In February 2019, Richardson re-joined the Giants, the club where he began his professional career. In his role as an outfield coordinator, he was tasked at overseeing on-field development throughout the organisation.

He had the opportunity to serve as a first base coach at the major league level for the first time late last season.

RICHARDSON Richardson coached first for the Giants for a single game last June in their 5-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Regular first-base coach Jose Alguacil was away from the team attending his son’s graduation, and the Giants rewarded Richardson with the call-up.

Kapler brought Richardson on as a full-time member of the staff for the 2020 season.

In the offseason prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Richardson had an

immediate impact following the team’s first few Spring Training games, particularly on its base running.

The Giants posted a whiteboard in their clubhouse at Scottsdale Stadium which recognised the “baserunning BOSS” from each game. Kapler credited Richardson for the team’s emphasis on leads and turns this spring in an effort to gain the edge on the basepaths.

He also joined several players and staff that knelt during the national anthem before the Giants’ 6-2 exhibition victory against the Oakland Athletics.

The group included right fielder Jaylin Davis, who is African American and appeared in just 17 games for the Giants.

Davis said he leaned on Richardson for support as one of the few minorities in a leadership position within the game. As a player, Richardson was drafted by the Giants in the 35th round of the 2005 MLB Draft.

‘I DIDN’T EXPECT TO BE HERE AFTER THE CORONAVIRUS CAME ALONG’

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net HE graduated in the St Anne’s Class of 2019 as the valedictorian, but now Red Line Athletics’ sprinter Davon Johnson has decided to follow in the footsteps of his older brother David III at St John’s University in Minnesota.

“Things are going good.

I didn’t expect to be here after the coronavirus came along, but everything is going good,” the younger Johnson told The Tribune.

“I spent a couple of days here with my brother getting a couple of things done before I move onto the campus. So everything is going well and I can’t wait to start my journey at St John’s.”

With the coronavirus putting a damper on many student-athletes making their transition from high school to college, Johnson said he’s looking forward to the strict protocols in place to help mitigate the spread of the disease on campus.

“Some persons will be doing classes virtually and

some persons will be doing classes face to face, so I just want to see how everything will work out,” said Johnson, who will begin his classes on August 30 as he pursues a degree in accounting.

While he was able to secure a partial scholarship for academics, due to the fact that the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology limited the amount of assistance given to students during the pandemic, Johnson said he will expect to compete for the Athletic team when the season gets started next year. “I want to compete for the track team. I just haven’t been in contact with the coaches as yet,” said Johnson, who goes in with a personal best of 10.9 seconds in the 100 metres.

It was not an easy task in completing his tenure as a high school student, but Johnson said the experience will definitely prepare him for college.

“I was really just motivated to achieve the goals that I set out for myself,” said Johnson when asked how he managed to juggle

DAVON JOHNSON, inset and in action on the right, receives the baton from Otto Laing on the anchor leg for the Bahamas’ silver medal under-17 boys 4 x 100m relay team. competing in track and his studies to emerge as the most outstanding studentathlete for the Blue Waves at St Anne’s.

“It really comes down to being motivated and putting your trust in God, believing that he will see you through and allow you to achieve your goals and

aspirations. I’m thankful to God for what I have accomplished.”

For the second consecutive year, Johnson made the CARIFTA team, picking up his first medal as a member of the under-17 boys 4 x 100m relay team that finished second at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex

in George Town, Cayman Islands. He also made the finals of the 100m where he was seventh in 11.07. “I just hope to give it my all when I go to train over here. I want to get in good shape so that I can come home and make the CARIFTA team again,” said Johnson, who made his CARIFTA debut in 2018 here at home at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

The 2020 CARIFTA Games, the 49th version of the top junior regional track and field competition, was scheduled for the Bermuda National Sports Centre in Devonshire, Bermuda over the Easter holiday weekend, but was postponed to 2021 because of the coronavirus.

Having celebrated his 17th birthday on July 13, Johnson will be moving up to the under-20 division in 2021. But now that he’s moved out of his family nest in Johnson Terrace, headed by parents David Jr and Joanne Johnson, Johnson feels he will be better prepared for the challenge ahead of him. “God set me up to be here right

now. I had a rough time because I didn’t know how I would have made it with the border closed because of COVID-19,” Johnson reflected. “I just want to thank God for allowing me to be here. It’s just a blessing.”

After David III informed him about his experience at St John’s, having graduated two years ago and is now working for a company called Veritis in Minneapolis, Davon said he was eager to enrol at the school and he was advised that they had an excellent accounting programme, which could help him in his future endeavours from an academic standpoint.

“I want to thank God, thank everybody who supported me and all of my family for the sacrifices that they made to send me off to school and to put me in an environment where I can excel and improve in life,” Johnson summed up.

“I also want to thank all of my friends, who encouraged me on this journey.

I hope that I won’t let any of you down as I come here and do what I have to do.”

Williams uses perfect tiebreaker to avoid loss in NYC NEW YORK (AP) — Her yells of “Come on!” filling a stadium devoid of spectators, Serena Williams was pushed to the brink of a stunning loss in her longest match since 2012 before pulling away with a perfect tiebreaker and edging Arantxa Rus 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (0) yesterday at the Western & Southern Open.

“I had a crowd in my head or something,” Williams said with a laugh.

“For me, it was like there was a crowd there.”

Rus is a Dutch qualifier ranked No. 72 whose flat, left-handed strokes from the baseline gave Williams

some trouble. Williams dropped four games in a row in the second set, then did so again in the third, when she fell behind 6-5.

Rus served for the match there and, at deuce in that game, was two points from victory.

She wouldn’t win another point. A double-fault gave Williams a break chance, and an errant groundstroke sent the match to the concluding tiebreaker.

Showing the strokes and grit that carried her to 23 Grand Slam titles — against an opponent who has never won so much as one tourlevel singles title of any

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sort — Williams ran away with it, ending the 2-hour, 48-minute match with a forehand, celebrating most points with a yell and a clenched left fist.

Williams hadn’t spent that much time on a court since the 2012 French Open, when she lost in the first round to Virginie Razzano in 3 hours, 3 minutes.

That was Williams’ only career first-round exit at a Grand Slam tournament.

“I did hit a wall today in the second set, I was so hot. That never happens,” Williams said. “So I think physically, I’m fit. Tennis is mental. You know, it’s all mental.”

The 38-year-old American is seeded third at the Western & Southern Open, which normally is held in Ohio but was moved to the site of the US Open in Flushing Meadows this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. The two hard-court tournaments are

SERENA Williams celebrates a point during her match with Arantxa Rus, of the Netherlands, during the second round at the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament yesterday.

(AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) forming an unusual double- Kenin, it appeared Wilheader with no fans; the US liams might join them.

Open starts August 31.

But thanks in part to 14 After losses Sunday aces — one at 121 mph

by No. 1 seed Karolina — Williams moved into a Pliskova and No. 2 Sofia third-round match against

No. 13 Maria Sakkari, a 6-4, 7-6 (9) winner against Yulia Putintseva on Monday after beating 16-year-old American Coco Gauff in the first round.

Looking ahead to what’s next, Sakkari, who is Greek, figured it might work to her advantage to have a quiet setting, because if there were a crowd of thousands when she plays Serena, it would break down along these lines: “99 per cent with her, 1 per cent with me.”

In other women’s action, No. 6 seed Petra Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion, joined the list of early exits with a 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 loss to 48th-ranked Marie Bouzkova. No. 8 Johanna Konta defeated Kirsten Flipkens 6-2, 6-0, No. 14 Elise Mertens got past Kristina Mladenovic 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-3 and qualifier Jessica Pegula beat 18-year-old Amanda Anisimova 7-5, 6-2 in an allAmerican matchup.

PAGE 16, Tuesday, August 25, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Doctor: NFL COVID-19 testing issues gave it test fire drill

By LARRY LAGE AP Sports Writer ALLEN PARK, Mich.

(AP) — In two-plus weeks, the NFL kicks off its season. That doesn’t leave the league much time to resolve significant issues about its COVID-19 testing procedures.

BioReference Laboratories, which is conducting tests for the league, said yesterday an isolated contamination caused 77 “most likely false positive results,” at its lab in New Jersey. Eleven clubs were affected, and the tests were re-examined and found to be false positives.

“This has been an interesting dynamic because what happened this weekend gave the NFL an opportunity to do a sort of a test fire drill,” noted Dr Larry Caplin, who said he consults nearly 20 NFL players and their union about testing protocols, “It exposed issues and potential vulnerabilities in their process, and a lot of it relates to the speed in which they’re able to confirm results.”

Among teams reporting false positives, the Minnesota Vikings had 12 team members, the New York Jets 10, the Chicago Bears nine and the Detroit Lions one. In all, 44 players and 33 club personnel drew false positives.

“It’s probably good that it happened now since we’re able to adjust and adapt and figure out the things if it did happen during the season, and kind of what we would do from there,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said.

Five labs across the country process PCR tests for the league’s 32 teams and only the New Jersey facility had false positives on Saturday.

The Cleveland Browns initially cancelled practice, but after re-testing turned up negative tests they decided to have their workout — without their coach. Kevin Stefanski had a false positive test, triggering anxiety for him at home where he lives with his wife and three children.

“I can laugh about it now, but truly it wasn’t fun to have that phone call very early in the morning and not get news that it was potentially an error until later,” he said.

Stefanski said he immediately left his house in order to not put his family at risk. It took four hours before Stefanski learned he was negative.

The 38-year-old Stefanski praised the Browns for the way they handled “a fire drill” with their virus protocols, adding that being held out of practice gave him and his staff a chance to carry out contingency plans if any coaches are out.

“Everything went off without a hitch and I was able to watch 7 on 7 on my iPad about 10 minutes after it ended,” he said.

“So, a very unique kind of like a bad dream when you know practice is going on and you’re not there. It felt pretty strange.”

As the NFL moves toward the end of training camp and the start of the season, the scope of testing may expand to family and friends of players.

“I’ve had discussions with senior people at the NFLPA and we’re talking about some recommendations that the league hasn’t put into place yet around creating a secondary bubble,” said Caplin, who has 30 years of logistics experience and is the CEO of Pennsylvaniabased DOCS Health that

BROWNS head coach Kevin Stefanski directs practice at the NFL football team’s training facility in Berea, Ohio.

(AP Photo/Ron Schwane) helps schools, the military and other clients with healthcare. “That would include potentially testing the people that the players interface with on a regular basis when they’re home.”

Caplin, though, acknowledged there is not a foolproof system in place for any entity to test for COVID-19.

“There is no perfect test, start there,” he said. “All testing has potential to have false positives — or false negatives.”

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen lamented having a false positive test that kept him off the field Sunday.

“I was super frustrated that I wasn’t here,” Allen said. “Those are reps that I can’t get back. At the same time, I think it was a good opportunity for our team to kind of go through a day of adversity like this ... in case it were a game day.”

The NBA has played uninterrupted in a bubble in Central Florida. The NHL has pulled off its postseason plans with its own version of bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta.

Major League Baseball, meanwhile, is attempting to play without a so-called bubble and has had to cancel dozens of games due to positive tests.

“The NBA has created an island and everyone on the island gets tested continuously and monitored, and they don’t allow anyone exposed on the island,” Caplin said.

“That’s the ideal way to operate. The second best is what the NHL is doing, which is basically they created two bubble environments where they’re also testing the people working in the restaurants and the people working in the hotels.”

The NFL has no bubble plans for this season, and the Miami Dolphins announced yesterday their plan for having fans at their first home game on September 20.

Would more or exclusive use of point of care (POC) tests at NFL team facilities help reduce the chances for a recurrence of the weekend’s false positives? .

“We’re looking actively at the role of the POC machines, getting much

more data on them,” said Dr Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer.

“Some people asked why not use them for all tests? ... The supply chain of reagents is not as robust and we’re not able to do the tens of thousands of tests we’ve been doing solely with POC.” Sills also mentioned the time it takes to run them, and their different accuracy profile compared to the PCR tests.

“We do believe that the problem has been corrected,” Sills added.

“Many of our club personnel saw it as an opportunity to see in real time how we would treat these situations.”

The NFL tested all players and personnel before beginning training camp and said 53 of 2,840 players — or 1.9 per cent — were positive. During daily testing through August 11, the league said more than 100,000 tests have been processed and 0.46 per cent of the results came back positive. The results were even better among players tested from August 12 to 20 with zero positive tests, according to the NFL. The NFL Players Association, of course, needs to know that its members will be in the safest league environments for the next six months. Like everyone else involved, it’s fair for them to question how a contamination of 77 tests occurred, as well as seek assurances the problem has been dealt with.

“This is an extremely rare event,” Sills said.

“Overall, our testing programme has gone incredibly well. We haven’t had a major outbreak. I think our protocols are working. The event of this weekend shouldn’t change that view.”

AP TOP 25: CLEMSON NO. 1, FOLLOWED

BY OHIO STATE, ALABAMA CLEMSON is the preseason No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25, a poll featuring nine Big Ten and Pac-12 teams that gives a glimpse at what has already been taken by the pandemic from an uncertain college football season.

Ohio State (1,504 points) was a close No. 2 behind Trevor Lawrence and Clemson (1,520), which starts atop the rankings for the second straight season. The Tigers beat the Buckeyes in a thrilling College Football Playoff semi-final last season.

Alabama is No. 3, Southeastern Conference rival Georgia is No. 4 and defending Big 12 champion Oklahoma is No. 5. Defending national champion LSU is No. 6.

The 85th edition of the AP rankings will be like none before.

When the season starts — if the season starts — the Buckeyes and 53 other Bowl Subdivision teams will no longer be eligible for inclusion in the Top 25 because they have postponed their seasons to the spring. The Big Ten, where Ohio State and No. 7 Penn State play, and the Pac-12, home to No. 9 Oregon, cancelled their fall sports seasons because of concerns about the coronavirus.

The Mid-American and Mountain West conferences have also said they will try to play spring football.

The SEC, Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12, American Athletic, Conference USA and Sun Belt are forging ahead with fall sports, with changes: The three remaining Power Five conferences, the SEC, ACC, and Big 12, have eliminated all or most nonconference games and delayed the start of their seasons from one to three weeks.

‘RISKY?’ PLENTY OF DEBATE ABOUT DOLPHINS ALLOWING SPECTATORS

By STEVEN WINE AP Sports Writer MIAMI (AP) — Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick says an NFL crowd of 13,000 is enough to be heard.

“I played a lot of games in college with less fans than that,” the Harvard alum said yesterday. “We’re excited to have fans out there cheering for us.”

The Dolphins announced plans to allow up to 13,000 masked, socially distancing fans to attend their home opener against the Buffalo Bills on September 20, and the decision generated plenty of noise around the NFL and beyond.

Bills coach Sean McDermott described as “ridiculous” the lack

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of league-wide uniformity regarding crowd sizes during the coronavirus pandemic. Denver Broncos coach Vic Fangio disagreed, and said the Dolphins’ announcement signifies progress against the virus.

Florida political leaders were also divided. US Rep. Donna Shalala sounded an alarm about spectator safety, but Gov. Ron DeSantis said cheering crowds are something to cheer about.

“Look, we’ve been watching sports on TV,” DeSantis said during a news conference at the Dolphins’ stadium to announce their plan.

“But when you watch the NBA with an empty arena, or Major League Baseball with an empty stadium,

it’s just not quite the same.

I know this isn’t going to be people falling from the rafters here, but I think it is something that will give people a little bit of hope.”

Crowd size for the Dolphins-Bills game will be about 20 per cent of the stadium’s 65,326-seat capacity, with groups of spectators spaced 6 feet apart.

The same plan will be followed for the University of Miami’s home opener against UAB at the stadium on September 10.

Fifteen of the NFL’s 32 teams have ruled out spectators to start the season.

The Dolphins are one of at least eight teams hoping to have a limited number of spectators, while many teams haven’t announced plans.

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To which the Bills’ McDermott says: Boo. “I think it’s honestly ridiculous that there will be on the surface what appears to be a playing field that’s like that, inconsistently across the league with the different away stadiums,” McDermott said.

Several other coaches, including the Broncos’ Fangio, declined to lobby for a blanket policy.

“I really don’t give a damn about that,” Fangio said. “If we can play in a stadium that’s full, half-full, third-full, home or away, we’re happy. That shows progress with the COVID.” The Broncos won’t have fans at their home opener.

Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin echoed Fangio in saying he didn’t

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care about uniformity regarding crowds.

Tomlin is a member of the NFL competition committee, which decided earlier this year to allow fans where permitted by state and local governments.

“I think we all acknowledged very early in the summer -- by ‘we’ I mean us, globally, the NFL -- that as we faced this pandemic, some of the competitive fairness things are going to be tough to manage,” Tomlin said.

“And attendance is one of them.”

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers — an American studies major at Cal — also voted against a league-wide policy.

“I don’t know how much competitive advantage there is with 13,000 fans, but I would like to see it left up to the teams to decide,” Rodgers said.

“I think that’s what makes the most sense — much like powers that aren’t defined in the Constitution are left to the states, I think the same thing with the teams.”

DeSantis and MiamiDade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez didn’t reference the Constitution, but both did applaud the Dolphins’ plan, which includes safety upgrades at the stadium.

“They’re not going to make a lot of money this season,” DeSantis said.

“Putting all the money they did into this to give fans the ability to watch some football in person, I think, means a lot.”

Depending on pandemic trends, the options for later games range from halfcapacity crowds to no fans at all, Dolphins CEO Tom Garfinkel said.

DeSantis said Florida’s virus numbers are moving in an encouraging direction.

But COVID-19 still outpaces the ability of contact tracers to contain outbreaks in the state, and South Florida remains a hot spot.

Shalala, who served as the secretary of health and human services during the Clinton administration, expressed concern about the safety of those attending games.

“It is very difficult to open anything when you have community spread,” said Shalala, former president at the University of Miami.

“We still have community spread in South Florida.

So the kinds of precautions that need to be taken are extraordinary, and I think it’s going to be very difficult to do. ... There is no question that it’s risky.”

According to the Dolphins’ 46-page plan for games, fans and stadium employees will be required to wear masks when not eating or drinking. Fans must cheer and boo with their masks on, and enforcement will be done by guest services, stadium personnel and law enforcement.

“If you are someone who doesn’t want to wear a mask, this isn’t the place for you this year,” Garfinkel said. “Don’t buy a ticket.

Don’t come.”

Tailgating will be prohibited. There will be staggered gate entry, with fans encouraged to enter at a designated time listed on game tickets.

The stadium will provide additional points of entry and exit to help avoid bottlenecks, and upgraded metal detectors will allow for faster processing. New bathroom faucets, toilets and soap and paper towel dispensers will require no contact.

Season ticket holders will have first priority to purchase tickets based on their tenure, and the Dolphins will urge at-risk fans to stay home. “I know the Dolphins organisation is going to do it the right way in terms of the safety guidelines,” Fitzpatrick said. “As players, we want fans out there, so if we can do it in a safe way, then the more the merrier.”

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, August 25, 2020, PAGE 17

MIDDLETON COMES ALIVE IN 4TH QUARTER, BUCKS TAKE 3-1 LEAD LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo offered some advice to teammate Khris Middleton before the fourth quarter of yesterday’s playoff game against the Orlando Magic: “Shoot until your arms fall off.”

Middleton took the advice to heart.

Antetokounmpo had 31 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists and Middleton finally came alive with a huge fourth quarter as the Bucks beat the Magic 121106 to take a 3-1 lead in the first-round series.

Middleton scored 18 of his 21 points in the final quarter and finished with 10 rebounds after being held to one field goal in the first three quarters on 1-of-9 shooting.

“At times I am too unselfish, so I have to force the issue,” Middleton said.

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said it was

“just a matter of time” before Middleton had a breakout game.

If the Bucks hope to win their first NBA title since 1971 they’re going to need Middleton to be a consistent scorer and take some of the pressure off Antetokounmpo.

The top-seeded Bucks led by three entering the fourth quarter before Middleton scored 11 points during an 18-2 run on three 3-pointers and a mid-range jumper off an inbouds play to help the Bucks build a 102-83 lead.

“Giannis told just to me be aggressive and that is what I tried to do,” Middleton said.

Middleton averaged just 11 points per game in the first three playoff games on 12-of-37 shooting.

Antetokounmpo finished the game 14 of 21 from the field, but did most of his damage inside the paint where he was 12 of 14.

and make shots and we didn’t.”

Milwaukee has now won three straight after losing the series opener to the eighth-seeded Magic.

Middleton said the Bucks have improved since the first game.

“Sometimes things aren’t going to go our way and you won’t make shots or whatever, but as long as you keep grinding good things are going to happen,” Middleton said.

MILWAUKEE Bucks’ Khris Middleton drives past Orlando Magic’s James Ennis III (11) during the second half yesterday.

(AP Photo/Ashley Landis) Nikola Vucevic continued his strong play for the Magic, finishing with 31 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Terrence Ross had 19 points and seven rebounds off the bench.

“To start the fourth we went through a dry spell offensively and we didn’t execute well,” Vucevic said.

“It’s tough when you play well for three quarters. You have to be able to execute

TIP INS Bucks: Made 17 3-pointers on 41 attempts. ...

Antetokounmpo has at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in all four games to start the playoffs.

Magic: Aaron Gordon (hamstring) and Michael Carter-Williams (foot) have not played yet in the series.

Their status for Game 5 is unclear.

VUCEVIC’S SERIES Vucevic has been huge for the Magic, averaging 29.5 points per game. Clifford said that speaks to Vucevic’s commitment to getting better when teams returned for the NBA restart.

“He’s dominating the floor,” “Magic guard Markelle Fultz.

Added Clifford: “He has been hungry to prove he is better than he was in last year’s playoffs.”

Budenholzer said he isn’t too concerned about stopping Vucevic, but his focus is more on slowing down Orlando’s team as a whole.

“The key for us is we are taking away the paint,” Budenholzer said.

“He’s going to make some shots.... Ultimately it’s not about Vucevic. As long as our team defence is in a good place, I’m OK with that.”

Schroder scores 30, Thunder top Rockets to even the series LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida (AP) — Dennis Schroder scored a career playoff-high 30 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied from 15 points down in the third quarter to beat the Houston Rockets 117-114 yesterday to even the first-round Western Conference playoff series at two wins apiece.

Chris Paul scored 26 points and Shai GilgeousAlexander added 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Thunder, who won despite allowing 23 3-pointers.

James Harden had 32 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds for Houston. Eric Gordon scored 23 points and Danuel House added 21 for the Rockets, who won the first two games of the series. Former Thunder

star Russell Westbrook sat out for Houston again with a strained right quad. The All-Star point guard has not played in the series.

The score was tied at 60 at the half. The Thunder shot 47.8 per cent and the Rockets 47.7 per cent before the break.

Houston made its first eight 3-pointers to start the third quarter. The Rockets led 93-80 before Schroder made a 3-pointer and Houston’s Austin Rivers was called for a foul away from the shot. Oklahoma City’s Nerlens Noel made the free throw, and that sequence sparked a 12-0 run for the Thunder. Schroder shot a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer, and the Oklahoma City climbed within 93-92 at the end of the third.

Harden made a 3-pointer with 16.3 seconds to play to cut Oklahoma City’s lead to 113-111, but Schroder made two free throws with 15.8 seconds to go to give the Thunder control for good.

TIP-INS Rockets: Ben McLemore was called for a Flagrant 1 in the second quarter for hitting Schroder in the head when Schroder drove to the hoop. ... Made 8 of 15 3-pointers in the first quarter.

Thunder: Shot 61 per cent in the first quarter. ...

Paul scored 14 points in the third quarter. ... Outscored the Rockets’ bench 43-13.

UP NEXT Game 5 will be played on Wednesday.

OKLAHOMA City Thunder’s Dennis Schroder (17) scores against Houston Rockets’ Jeff Green, right, during the second quarter of Game 4 yesterday.

(Kevin C Cox/Pool Photo via AP)

PAGE 18, Tuesday, August 25, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

LOS Angeles Lakers centre JaVale McGee (7), guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (1) and forward Anthony Davis (3) walk in front of the boards remembering late Los Angeles Lakers player Kobe Bryant in the first half of Game 4 of a first-round playoff series against the Portland Trail Blazers last night in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

(Kim Klement/Pool Photo via AP)

On Kobe Bryant Day, Lakers dominate Blazers 135-115 Florida (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers jumped out to an apt 24-8 lead on Kobe Bryant Day and dominated the Portland Trail Blazers the rest of the way to take a 3-1 advantage in their playoff series with a 135-115 victory last night.

LeBron James had 30 points and 10 assists in 28 minutes before heading to the bench late in the third quarter. The Lakers led by as many as 38 points for their third straight win in the opening-round series, the team’s first playoff appearance since 2013.

The Trail Blazers won the opener but have appeared gassed in the past two games as the grind of the bubble and injuries appear to have taken a toll. Damian Lillard, the MVP of the seeding games in the NBA bubble, had 11 points before leaving with a right knee injury in the third. Jusuf Nurkic had 20 points and 13 rebounds.

Anthony Davis added 18 points in 18 minutes for the Lakers before leaving the game midway through the third with back spasms.

The Lakers, the top seed in the Western Conference, can close out the series on Wednesday.

It was considered “Kobe Day” because Monday was 8/24, the two numbers Kobe Bryant wore during his 20-year career.

Los Angeles honoured the Lakers legend and his daughter, Gianna, during the game, wearing black “Black Mamba” jerseys with a heart-shaped No. 2 patch to honour Gianna.

Bryant, who was killed in a helicopter accident with his daughter in January, would have celebrated his 42nd birthday on Sunday.

“We want to have this be a day to celebrate his life and carry that type of emotion into the game,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said before the game.

“We’ve always wanted to embody what he stood for and we all know that he would want us to keep our foot on the gas even though we’ve won two in a row.”

Inspired by Bryant, the Lakers’ 24-8 lead seemed fortuitous, and they went on to outscore the Blazers 43-25 in the first quarter.

The Lakers led 80-51 at the half.

It was the most points in a half for Los Angeles in a playoff game since a game against Denver in 1987.

LOS Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) reacts after scoring in the first half against the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 4 last night.

(Kim Klement/Pool Photo via AP)

James nailed 3-pointer from some 36 feet out and then demonstratively nodded as the Lakers took an 80-53 lead. The Blazers struggled to even keep up.

Lillard dislocated his left index finger in Game 2 and backcourt teammate CJ McCollum has been playing with a fractured vertebra in his lower back.

The severity of Lillard’s knee injury was not immediately known.

TIP INS Lakers: Rajon Rondo did not play, again spoiling his return from a right thumb injury. Rondo was a late scratch from Game 3 because of back spasms.

Trail Blazers: It was the first time this season that the Blazers allowed an opponent 80 first-half points. ...

Blazers forward Zach Collins will need surgery on his left ankle injury.

Collins had just returned from a shoulder injury that kept him out of much of the season.

UP NEXT Game 5 in the series is set for Wednesday.

PORTLAND Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard walks on the court in the first half last night.

(Kim Klement/Pool Photo via AP)

DRAGIC STRIKES, 5TH-SEEDED HEAT DISMANTLE PACERS TO ADVANCE LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida (AP) — Bam Adebayo got his first playoff series win, but the big man wasn’t planning on celebrating for too long.

He planned to give himself about 2 1/2 hours to enjoy the Miami Heat’s victory over the Indiana Pacers before turning his attention to the Eastern Conference semi=finals and a possible date with the topseeded Milwaukee Bucks.

“One hundred per cent I think we can get to another gear,” Adebayo said. “And that’s everybody here. This next series might be different. We might need to have different schemes.”

Goran Dragic scored 23 points, Adebayo had 14 points and 19 rebounds and the fifth-seeded Heat completed a first-round sweep,

beating the Pacers 99-87 last night.

Tyler Herro had 16 points for the Heat, who made it out of the first round for the first time since 2016.

Victor Oladipo had 25 points and Myles Turner added 22 points and 14 rebounds for the Pacers, who have been bounced in the first round of the playoffs in five straight seasons.

“The playoffs are unpredictable and you never know how they can go,” Adebayo said.

“The thing I took from this is you have to leave it all on the floor.”

Miami’s bench outscored Indiana’s depleted reserves 38-3.

Dragic’s layup at the end of the third quarter gave the Heat an eight-point lead and the Pacers never

mounted a serious comeback in the fourth.

Indiana cut the lead to 91-85 with 3 minutes left, but the Heat got three offensive rebounds on one possession before Herro scored on a driving layup.

The Heat set a franchise playoff record with 124 points in Game 3, but this time they won with defence.

“They played four great games and won in four different ways,” Oladipo said.

Heat guard Jimmy Butler left the game in the first quarter with a left shoulder strain.

He returned after halftime and finished with six points in 23 minutes, although he made a handful of big plays on defence.

Butler said the shoulder was bothering him before the game. “I was hoping

it would cool down but it didn’t,” Butler said. “I’ll be OK.” Coach Erik Spoelstra called it a soft tissue injury.

“He has built up a résumé of being able to play through various injuries and his toughness will never be questioned,” Spoelstra said.

“In the second half he gave us some really competitive minutes just gutting through it.”

Miami moves on to face the winner of the MagicBucks series.

Top-seeded Milwaukee dropped the opener to Orlando but has won three straight and would close out the series with a win Wednesday.

“The rest is going to be great for myself and my teammates,” Butler said.

The Pacers played the series without Domantas Sabonis.

“He was our best player this year,” said Nate McMillan, who is 3-16 in the playoffs in his four seasons as Pacers coach, with his team being swept three times. “Once you get in the playoffs, you need everybody. ... It was just a tough adjustment for us.”

TIP-INS: Heat: Held a 60-34 edge in rebounding.

Pacers: T.J. Warren scored 21 points. ... The team shot 41.2% from the field.

NUNN’S TIME Kendrick Nunn saw his first playoff action for Miami, scoring seven points in 14 minutes. “I’m so

proud of Kendrick,” Adebayo said. “He has been through some tough times the last couple of weeks. ... I told him to stay locked in. He got his number called and he produced. He stayed locked in and didn’t get discouraged with the situation.”

OLADIPO’S FUTURE Oladipo didn’t offer much certainty about his long-term future with the Pacers.

“I can’t really control that right now,” Oladipo said.

“I’m not really worried about that right now. …

My main focus is on getting healthy.”

McMillan said of Oladipo: “I think next year he will be stronger, more confident and better than he was in this restart.”

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, August 25, 2020, PAGE 19

USAIN BOLT TO ‘STAY IN’ WHILE AWAITING RESULTS OF VIRUS TEST

By The Associated Press

laying in bed in the video, said he has no symptoms.

“Just to be safe, I’ll quarantine myself and just take it easy,” he said.

He wrote in the posts: “Stay safe my ppl” with hands folded in prayer.

The comments on his post ranged from well wishes like “please get better my legend” to advice such as “drink up your ginger tea non stop.”

On the track, Bolt was known for his poses — his “Lighting Bolt” became iconic — and of course his post-race celebrations.

His speed and charisma made his sport can’t-miss viewing whenever he lined up in the blocks.

Bolt set the world records in the 100 and 200 metres at the 2009 world championships in Berlin. He retired after worlds in 2017.

(AP) — JAMAICAN track sensation Usain Bolt said on social media yesterday he is awaiting the result of a coronavirus test and is quarantining himself as a precaution.

The 34-year-old retired sprinter who won gold in the 100 and 200 metres at the last three Olympics posted a video on social media to explain the situation.

“Good morning everybody. Just waking up. Like everybody, checked social media and saw that social media says I’m confirmed of COVID-19,” he said.

“I did a test Saturday, because I work. I’m trying to be responsible, so I’m going to stay in and stay here for my friends,” said Bolt, who appeared to be

JAMAICA’s Usain Bolt crosses the finish line to win gold in the men’s 100-metre final in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London on August 5, 2012. (AP)

Tokyo Skytree lights up to mark 1 year to go for Paralympics TOKYO (AP) — The Tokyo Skytree was lighted in red, green and blue yesterday to mark one year to go for the opening of the Paralympic Games.

The Olympics and Paralympics were to take place this year but have been postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tokyo Olympic organisers have also announced that the Olympic flame that has been in Tokyo since it arrived from Greece in March will go on display beginning on September 1 at the Japanese Olympic Museum in Tokyo.

Organisers say the flame will remain there until November 1. It is not clear where it will be located after that. The Olympics are to open on July 23,

2021, with the Paralympics opening on August 24.

Local organisers, the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee have given no details about how the mega events will be held next year with COVID-19 still spreading.

The Olympics involves 11,000 athletes and the Paralympics 4,400.

Organisers have said only that they plan to scale back and simplify, but have said they will not begin sharing details until the fall.

In a poll published last week by the Kyodo news agency, a majority of Japanese companies among almost 13,000 surveyed opposed holding the Tokyo

Olympics and Paralympics next year. The survey showed 27.8 per cent want the games to be cancelled, and 25.8 per cent said they should be postponed again.

Japanese organisers and the International Olympic Committee have said if the Olympics can’t be held next year, they will be cancelled.

In the survey, 46.2 per cent said they wanted the games to go ahead in some form — with fans, or without fans.

Japan is heavily invested in the Olympics and is officially spending $12.6 billion, though a government audit says the number is twice as large.

The online survey was conducted between July 28 and August 11.

N E P O

THE TOKYO Skytree shows a special lighting in red, blue and green, the symbol colours of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, in Tokyo yesterday. The lighting Monday marked one year to go before the planned opening of the Paralympics that was postponed this summer due to the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

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Thursday, June 4, 2020

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PAGE 22, Tuesday, August 25, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

BLUE LAGOON DISMISSES OFFICIAL’S SEPARATION TALK

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A MAJOR Bahamian destination provider has denied that the jobs of 140 staff members are in jeopardy after a senior government official said he had been informed of “talk about separation packages”.

Jessica Robertson, Blue Lagoon Island’s spokesperson, told Tribune Business that “Blue Lagoon is not firing staff” after John

Sands Beer back in production by September-end FROM PAGE 24

twin blows, Mr Sands added that he had managed to keep the company’s entire 130-strong workforce employed over the past 12 months.

“I haven’t let anybody go,” he told Tribune Business. “This brewery will be so much better now than it was before. It’s bigger, better. The cost involved is 40 percent higher than what the [insurance] claim is. I chose to make the place better and more efficient.

I really don’t like to put a number out there, but it’s costing millions of dollars.”

Mr Sands said his struggles to keep the Bahamian Brewery and Beverage Company and its staff afloat over the past 13 months had added to the pain he felt when informed that his main competitor, BISX-listed Commonwealth Brewery, and its retail arm had seemingly been allowed by the Government to remain open during the latest lockdown and run an online ordering operation targeted at consumers.

Tribune Business reported on this situation on Monday, with Mr Sands saying: “Here I am trying to put the brewery back together, and scratching where I don’t itch, and this is taking place.

I’m closed and they’re open.

“I’m trying to keep 130 people employed. How am I to keep 130 people employed in conditions like that? I’ve bent over backwards to keep these people employed, rebuild this

Pinder, director of labour, suggested this might be one outcome of recent talks with some employees.

She added: “Understanding that Blue Lagoon Island has been closed to the public due to the global COVID-19 pandemic since mid-March, we have adjusted our scheduling as necessary.

“Our human resources team has worked tirelessly during this unprecedented situation to ensure that every member of our team has had access to the

brewery, and I get a slap in the face like that. My coat tail is horizontal trying to get this place up and running.

“It’s been one hell of a year. We’ve all had this one hell of a year, as there are so many other people involved in this. People are hurting.

I’m doing my damnedest to try and keep my people afloat, but my shoulders are only so broad and I can only carry so much weight.”

The Bahamian Brewery and Beverage Company’s manufacturing facilities were knocked out when four feet of Dorian’s flood water penetrated its buildings and destroyed all its electrical machinery, finished product and ingredients in inventory.

Besides the brewery’s machinery and warehoused product, Dorian’s floodwaters also impacted its reverse osmosis plant and key ingredients such as hops, sugar and yeast. Despite being constructed some six-and-ahalf feet above ground level to prevent flooding associated with hurricanes, its plant proved no match for Dorian.

“We took a hell of a hit, with three-and-a-half to four feet of water through the brewery,” Mr Sands told Tribune Business at the time. “That hi-tech machinery doesn’t go together well with four feet of sea water so, as a result, we’re going to be out of commission for some time.

“I think we’ll be out, me speaking as a layman, at least six months. A lot of the machines are out. They’re only good for crawfish now.

There was a tremendous amount of electrical equipment and all that takes time to put back together. I wish I could sugarcoat it another way but that’s how it is. It’s terrible. It was a disaster.”

National Insurance benefits owed to them, as well as to the special government subsidy.”

The “government subsidy” refers to the 13-week extension to NIB’s unemployment benefits scheme that is being financed by the Public Treasury, and not the social security scheme.

Ms Robertson added: “In addition to this assistance from government, for which we as a corporate entity are grateful, Blue Lagoon Island has also given staff grocery vouchers

throughout the pandemic to further assist.

“We have also spent this time as a company training our staff on how to operate in this new environment.

We brought in a physician to train in the correct and safe use of the PPE (personal protective equipment) that the company has provided, and we have also encouraged staff to participate in a number of online training programmes so that when we are able to open, we are ready to do so in a manner that is safe for

FROM PAGE 24

up significant portions of the island’s domestic economy in less than a week, said the government planned to give a swift go-ahead for all “viable” private sector construction projects awaiting required approvals.

“Based on the Economic Recovery Committee’s (ERC) recommendations, we are preparing a strategy to approve all pending viable private sector and construction projects that are currently under consideration, and to fast track those approvals,” the prime minister said without going into specifics.

“The approval and execution of these projects will generate immediate employment and business opportunities for Bahamian contractors and trade professionals.” Such a recommendation from the government-appointed Economic Recovery Committee represents further “low hanging fruit” for The Bahamas in efforts to revive its economy from the COVID-19 doldrums.

Persons such as Robert Myers, the Organisation for Responsible Governance’s (ORG) principal, have been advocating for months that stimulating construction-related foreign direct investment (FDI) is critical to both tapping into one of the few non-tourism foreign exchange earnings streams

available to The Bahamas and job creation - especially for semi-skilled and unskilled workers.

The latest Department of Statistics data from 2018 showed construction as employing almost 20,000 Bahamians, and Mr Sands yesterday said the industry needed more information from the government on what exactly it plans to speedily approve.

“If these projects are going to be fast-tracked, what are the timelines for them to be started so our workforce can be engaged?” he questioned, adding that the prime minister’s focus on government-funded capital works investments represented a further source of interest for Bahamian contractors.

“The government is accelerating the execution of the budgeted public infrastructure and construction projects, and will pay special attention to the smaller scale projects that benefit multiple smaller contractors,” Dr Minnis said. “This will allow for increased employment in many vulnerable segments of the economy and benefit a number of Bahamian small firms.”

Mr Sands said this made it imperative for the Bahamian construction industry to hear from Desmond Bannister, minister of works, describing him as “the key guy” for the sector after the prime minister said all Cabinet ministers

President Vice President Treasurer Secretary

Jim Bernard Kimra Ritchie-Sweeting

3. APPOINTMENT TO REAL ESTATE BOARD: Mrs. Nikki Boeuf was appointed as a Director to the Real Estate Board due to a vacancy which became available.

4. DIRECTORS ELECTED AT THE 2019 AGM AND WILL CONTINUE TO SERVE UNTIL 2021 Helen Dupuch Sally Hutcheson

Kim Kikivarakis-Dillett Kirk Ingraham

5. APPOINTMENT OF REGISTRAR Miss June E. Fife was re-appointed as Registrar to the Real Estate Board.

Date: July 31st, 2020

will report to the nation on how their ministries plan to advance in a COVID19 world. The Ministry of Works’ capital budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal is more than $151m.

“I believe the government has a lot of capital works in mind,” the ex-BCA chief told this newspaper, “but they need to speak to it so people can have more confidence as to what they are speaking about.

“The minister of works has to flesh out the details through to the close of 2020, and all he sees happening in the next 12 months in the country. Without that level of detail we’re optimistic and hopeful, but it’s better to be grounded in fact than just a little optimism.”

The prime minister’s pivot from full lockdown to New Providence’s partial economic re-opening, which takes effect from next Monday, August 31, largely takes The Bahamas’ commercial hub back to the state it was in prior to this month and the reimposition of restrictions designed to counter the surge in cases amid COVID-19’s second wave.

A prime beneficiary is the restaurant sector, which can emerge from a three-week lockdown to offer outdoor dining, takeaway, curbside and delivery services. And this time, particularly where Arawak Cay and Potter’s Cay are concerned, there will be less discrimination

as vendors at both locations will be allowed to provide curb side, takeaway and delivery services.

Ash Henderson, marketing director for the Myers Group’s various restaurant brands, hailed the industry’s re-opening as “tremendous” and said it would enable the group to bring 1,000 persons back to work across the formats.

“Being able to re-open is huge for us,” he told Tribune Business. “We employ more than 1,000 people, and the extended closure obviously put all those employees into flux and severely impacted us.

These last two to three weeks of complete shut down, it’s tough to run a business with zero revenue coming in.”

The Myers Group operates the local KFC, Dunkin’ Donuts, Burger King, Pizza Hut and Quiznos franchises, as well as Anthony’s on Paradise Island. Mr Henderson said all planned to re-open from Monday to “help the economy, help the country and help people’s state of mind”.

“We’ll be ready to roll,” he added. “We’re waiting to see what the actual orders are from the Prime Minister’s Office but we will certainly be open as late as we’re legally permitted to be.

“Most of the year we’ve had to close at 6pm, as well as deal with the weekend lockdowns, and normally we’d be open deep into the night between 10pm and midnight. It was a huge cut to our available hours.”

Hardship sign: Incoming wire transfers ‘doubling’

The Public is advised that effective July 2020, the following Officers and Directors were elected by the membership to serve on the Board of Directors of the Bahamas Real Estate Association.

2. DIRECTORS Brian Austin John Constantakis Michael Lightbourn

All of this is a conversation from a staff member that spoke to me. There was some talk of separation packages, but I don’t have any official recourse or any official notice that that was going to happen.”

Mr Pinder said Blue Lagoon management may have spoken to Senator Dion Foulkes, minister of labour, to inform the government officially of any workforce-related measures were to be implemented.

Mr Foulkes could not be reached for comment.

‘Devil in the details’ on construction fast track

FROM PAGE 24

1. OFFICERS Christine Bowe Wallace-Whitfield, Hartman Longley, II Sara Callender, Cara Christie

our team and our guests.”

She spoke out after Mr Pinder said he had been informed Blue Lagoon was discussing cost-cutting measures with some workers. “I have been advised that there were some interviews with some staff there on Blue Lagoon trying to discuss with them the way forward, but I haven’t heard any results from it,” the director of labour said.

“They are still trying to work around some level of less hours or less scheduling or separation packages.

June E. Fife Registrar of Real Estate

on ‘a level playing field’ with the banks and credit unions, Mr Morris added: “The big thing for us is we have a lot of clients who have incoming transfers and had been depending on us for access to those funds.”

He said Omni acts as local agent for CAM, a US-based company that handles significant remittance flows to Haiti and other Caribbean nations. “During the shutdown we had been getting lots of calls from persons seeking to access

their funds,” Mr Morris continued.

“One of the calls I took this week, the client said once they got access to their funds they didn’t have to be reliant on government’s financial assistance as they would have their own money. I’m particularly happy we can now help those clients.

“We do micro loans, and a lot of clients had been looking to draw down on,” he added. “Those micro loans that we were able to facilitate on Friday were for between $500 to $3,000.

There are a lot of persons

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who need that.

“You may have one family member working but no one else, so they have to supplement their earnings from other income. We had quite a few releases of payments, loans that were approved before the shutdown, so we were able to accommodate that. We are also doing loans for the Small Business Development Centre, so we were able to facilitate that.

There were lots of payouts, lots of outgoing payments that we had to settle.”

The Sun Cash spokesman, meanwhile, said the money transmission sector’s re-opening had again provided Bahamians - especially those living in remote Family Island communities - with access to financial services and electronic payments systems that helped sustain commerce throughout the archipelago.

“What has happened over these last five months with the lockdowns and social distancing, and need to limit people-to-people interaction, the market has really come to begin to see the value and the options they have to access their money electronically,” they said.

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he Ranfurly Homes for Children has been a safe haven for thousands of Bahamian children since 1956. The Home provides a safe, structured environment for children who have been orphaned, abused, neglected or abandoned.

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For more information visit: www.ranfurlyhome.org Please “Like” us on Facebook Ranfurly Home for Children, Mackey Street P.O. Box 1413 Nassau, Bahamas 242-393-3115

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, August 25, 2020, PAGE 23

Greece plans Mediterranean navy exercises; Turkey objects ATHENS Associated Press

GREECE’S navy and air force will conduct military exercises beginning today in the eastern Mediterranean near a contested area where Turkey is prospecting for oil and gas, authorities said, drawing an angry response from Turkey.

Germany, meanwhile, is stepping up diplomatic efforts to prevent tensions

between the two regional rivals from escalating further, sending its foreign minister to both Athens and Ankara today.

The Turkish government disputes Greece’s claim to exclusive rights in the waters where Turkey’s Oruc Reis research vessel is now surveying. The United States and the European Union so far have broadly backed Greece in the dispute,

but EU countries remain split over a request from Greece to impose sanctions on Turkey. The tensions between the two NATO members over Mediterranean Sea rights have echoed across Europe.

Greece’s three-day, livefire exercises will start southeast of the Greek island of Crete, officials in Athens said.

Turkish President Recep

Tayyip Erdogan accused Greece of endangering navigational safety with the exercises.

The announcement is “a spoiled act that endangers the coastal and navigational safety of all ships in the region”, Erdogan said in a televised address. “As of now, Greece will be the only one responsible for any negative development in the region.”

Turkey says the Oruc Reis is supposed to keep working through Thursday. Greece has repeatedly demanded its withdrawal, sent its own warships to the area and placed its armed forces on alert.

Athens says the tensions led to a minor collision earlier this month between a Greek frigate and a Turkish frigate, in which nobody was injured.

THE WEATHER REPORT

5-Day Forecast

TODAY

ORLANDO

High: 93° F/34° C Low: 78° F/26° C

TONIGHT

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

Some sun with a thunderstorm around

A shower early; partly cloudy

Clouds and sun, a t‑storm in spots

Partly sunny, a t‑storm in spots

Clouds and sunshine

Sunny intervals, a t‑storm possible

High: 90°

Low: 81°

High: 89° Low: 80°

High: 90° Low: 80°

High: 90° Low: 79°

High: 89° Low: 78°

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

101° F

86° F

99°-88° F

102°-89° F

102°-89° F

101°-88° F

TAMPA

High: 94° F/34° C Low: 76° F/24° C

The exclusive AccuWeather RealFeel Temperature® is an index that combines the effects of temperature, wind, humidity, sunshine intensity, cloudiness, precipitation, pressure and elevation on the human body—everything that affects how warm or cold a person feels. Temperatures reflect the high and the low for the day.

N

almanac

E

W

ABACO

S

N

High: 88° F/31° C Low: 83° F/28° C

8‑16 knots

S

WEST PALM BEACH High: 91° F/33° C Low: 81° F/27° C

7‑14 knots

FT. LAUDERDALE E

W

FREEPORT

High: 91° F/33° C Low: 82° F/28° C

N

S

E

W

High: 92° F/33° C Low: 80° F/27° C

MIAMI

High: 92° F/33° C Low: 81° F/27° C

15‑25 knots

Statistics are for Nassau through 2 p.m. yesterday Temperature High ................................................... 90° F/32° C Low .................................................... 77° F/25° C Normal high ....................................... 89° F/32° C Normal low ........................................ 76° F/24° C Last year’s high ................................. 92° F/33° C Last year’s low ................................... 75° F/24° C Precipitation As of 2 p.m. yesterday ................................. 0.02” Year to date ............................................... 38.35” Normal year to date ................................... 23.97”

ELEUTHERA

NASSAU

High: 90° F/32° C Low: 81° F/27° C

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2020

High: 88° F/31° C Low: 82° F/28° C

N

KEY WEST

High: 90° F/32° C Low: 84° F/29° C

High: 87° F/31° C Low: 81° F/27° C

N

S

E

W

7‑14 knots

S

8‑16 knots

ANDROS

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

uV inDex toDay

The higher the AccuWeather UV IndexTM number, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.

tiDes For nassau Low

Ht.(ft.)

1:14 a.m.

1:57 p.m.

High

3.0 3.4

7:31 a.m.

8:24 p.m.

0.3 0.8

Wednesday 2:16 a.m.

3:02 p.m.

2.8 3.3

8:31 a.m.

9:33 p.m.

0.4 0.9

Thursday

3:23 a.m.

4:08 p.m.

2.7 3.3

9:35 a.m. 0.5 10:41 p.m. 0.9

Friday

4:30 a.m.

5:10 p.m.

2.6 3.3

10:40 a.m. 0.6 11:42 p.m. 0.8

Saturday

5:32 a.m.

6:07 p.m.

2.7 3.3

11:40 a.m. 0.6 ‑‑‑‑‑ ‑‑‑‑‑

Sunday

6:27 a.m.

6:57 p.m.

2.8 3.4

12:37 a.m. 0.8 12:34 p.m. 0.5

Monday

7:16 a.m.

7:42 p.m.

2.8 3.4

1:24 a.m.

1:23 p.m.

Today

Ht.(ft.)

0.7 0.5

sun anD moon Sunrise Sunset

6:48 a.m.

7:35 p.m.

Moonrise Moonset

1:33 p.m. none

First

Full

Last

New

Aug. 25

Sep. 2

Sep. 10

Sep. 17

CAT ISLAND

E

W

Erdogan vowed yesterday not to abandon the search for energy in the eastern Mediterranean.

“Turkey will not take the slightest step back concerning the operations of the Orus Reis nor (concerning) our (naval) fleet,” he said.

“On the contrary, Turkey will act with more determination concerning the protection of its rights, and (of) laws in the region.”

SAN SALVADOR

GREAT EXUMA

High: 87° F/31° C Low: 81° F/27° C

High: 87° F/31° C Low: 81° F/27° C

N

High: 88° F/31° C Low: 82° F/28° C

E

W S

LONG ISLAND

tracking map

High: 87° F/31° C Low: 81° F/27° C

8‑16 knots

MAYAGUANA High: 87° F/31° C Low: 82° F/28° C

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

CROOKED ISLAND / ACKLINS RAGGED ISLAND High: 86° F/30° C Low: 81° F/27° C

H

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 81° F/27° C

GREAT INAGUA High: 89° F/32° C Low: 81° F/27° C

N E

W

N E

W

S

S

8‑16 knots

8‑16 knots

marine Forecast ABACO ANDROS CAT ISLAND CROOKED ISLAND ELEUTHERA FREEPORT GREAT EXUMA GREAT INAGUA LONG ISLAND MAYAGUANA NASSAU RAGGED ISLAND SAN SALVADOR

Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday: Today: Wednesday:

WINDS E at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 7‑14 Knots SE at 7‑14 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots ESE at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 8‑16 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots NE at 8‑16 Knots ESE at 7‑14 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots ESE at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots ESE at 8‑16 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots

WAVES 3‑6 Feet 3‑5 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑3 Feet 3‑5 Feet 2‑4 Feet 3‑5 Feet 3‑5 Feet 3‑6 Feet 3‑5 Feet 2‑4 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑3 Feet 3‑5 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 1‑3 Feet 3‑6 Feet 3‑6 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑3 Feet 2‑4 Feet 1‑3 Feet 2‑4 Feet 1‑3 Feet

VISIBILITY 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles

WATER TEMPS. 86° F 86° F 86° F 86° F 85° F 85° F 85° F 85° F 86° F 86° F 87° F 88° F 86° F 86° F 85° F 85° F 86° F 86° F 84° F 84° F 86° F 86° F 85° F 85° F 85° F 86° F

business@tribunemedia.net

TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2020

$3.98 Sands Beer back in production by September-end

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net SANDS Beer and its “light” version will be back by end-September, their Freeport-based brewer has pledged, with manufacturing restored to between 65-70 percent of pre-Dorian capacity by that date.

Jimmy Sands, the Bahamian Brewery and Beverage Company’s founder, told Tribune Business that the total sum being invested in rebuilding the company’s production facilities will be “40 percent higher” than the proceeds received from his storm-related insurance claim.

Explaining that the extra investment had resulted from his desire “to make the place better and more efficient”, Mr Sands said the company’s brewing revival - set to launch almost 13 months after the category five hurricane’s storm surge devastated its plant and warehouse inventory - will focus on its core beer lines first.

The others, including Strong Back Stout, High Rock Lager, Bush Crack Beer, Triple B Malt and Sands Passion Radler, will make their comeback later once The Bahamas’ COVID-19 border restrictions are eased to enable more specialist technicians to enter and complete mechanical repairs, the Bahamian Brewery and Beverage Company chief added.

“I hope to have production towards the end of next month; Sands and Sands Light,” Mr Sands told this newspaper. “The others will follow after that. After the borders opened on July 1 I had all the equipment here, all the machines here, and brought in 13 technicians out of Europe. One week later I brought in a further eight.

“Now these people are putting the brewery back together but I won’t be able to complete it fully. I’ll have it running at 65 percent to 70 percent until the travel restrictions are lifted and I’m able to bring in further technicians to complete the 30 percent that remains. I’ll be able to complete 70 percent by the end of September under current conditions.”

The Bahamian Brewery and Beverage Company, in common with most Freeport-based industrial concerns, was granted permission by the competent authority (Prime Minister’s Office) to remain open throughout Grand Bahama’s three-week lockdown which ends today.

Mr Sands said the Dorian-enforced halt to production of the company’s local brands, coupled with COVID-19 lockdown restrictions and the inability to sell its imported alcohol to consumers, had cost the brewery “hundreds of thousands of dollars a month”.

Yet despite the financial challenges created by Dorian and COVID-19’s

SEE PAGE 22

$3.98

$4.03

$4.00

Hardship sign: Incoming wire transfers ‘doubling’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

T

HE Bahamas is no longer “a sending country” for international wire transfers, money transmission providers revealed yesterday, with incoming transactions “doubling” due to COVID-19 hardship.

Harvey Morris, Omni Financial Group’s chief executive, told Tribune Business that incoming wire transfers had significantly increased as Bahamians and other nationalities living abroad sent in money to help relatives who have lost jobs and incomes here due to COVID-19.

“While we have seen a decline in overall transfers at this time, we have seen a significant increase in incoming wire transfers,” he disclosed. “I can tell you that in recent times our incoming wire transfers have doubled.

We’ve seen a significant

• Providers: Bahamas no longer ‘sending country’ • Outgoing remittances ‘offset’ by arriving flows • Lockdown increased dependency on state jump on the incoming.

“People from everywhere are trying to help their family who are not working.

This is always a very good indicator; wherever there is a challenge, an island with a challenge, we always see an increase in transfers to that destination. Everyone who has a little bit sends a little to help out someone not as well off as they are.”

A spokesman for Sun Island Transfers, which trades as rival money transmission provider, Sun Cash, confirmed the trends detailed by Mr Morris.

“Before the pandemic, the balance was clearly in favour of funds going out,” they told Tribune Business of wire transfers involving The Bahamas.

“Now I would say the balance of funds coming and going out has offset. They are about equal. That says a lot. Before, The Bahamas was a sending country.

Now it’s equally a receiving country because people incountry are hurting.”

The Bahamas has never figured prominently in international wire transfer surveys but has always been considered a net remitter of funds. The large expatriate Haitian, Jamaican, Filipino and Mexican/Dominican labour force regularly sends a significant portion of their wages to family living back home.

However, the surge in incoming wire transfers, and the fact they now equal the outgoing variety, further

exposes the devastation inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic on the Bahamian economy through job and income loss, and the descent of many families into poverty and dependence on state benefits. It suggests persons are becoming increasingly reliant on friends and relatives abroad for support.

Mr Morris, meanwhile, hailed the government’s decision to allow money transfer businesses such as Omni to resume operations with effect from last Friday as it allowed numerous clients access to funds critical to keeping themselves and their families from hardship.

Besides placing the sector

SEE PAGE 22

‘Devil in the details’ on construction fast track

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

AN ex-Bahamian Contractors Association (BCA) president last night called for greater clarity on the projects the government plans to “fast track”, adding: “The devil is in the details.”

Leonard Sands told Tribune Business that the local construction industry needed more information on the volume, scale and nature of the private sector investments referred to yesterday by the prime minister if it was to properly prepare its workforce and maximise the potential opportunities.

“I think the challenge

• Ex-Association chief urges greater clarity • To enable sector to maximise benefits • Restaurant group to bring 1,000 back

LEONARD SANDS

quite honestly is we need to know the volume and scale of projects that are in the chute and, for whatever reason, were delayed or did not progress because of COVID-19 and any number of bureaucratic situations that prevented them from moving forward,” he said.

“We have heard very little about these projects.

What are these projects, and what is their scale? We need to quantify it. It could be three projects; it could be 30

projects. You’re talking about a significant impact to the economy if it’s 30 projects.

There are more details that need to be fleshed out on the prime minister’s address. The devil is in the details.”

Mr Sands was reacting after Dr Hubert Minnis, in an address that effectively completed a 180-degree u-turn from full New Providence lockdown to opening

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Ease leaves GB with ‘crippled but better’ economy

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE prime minister’s decision to ease COVID19 lockdown restrictions on Grand Bahama was yesterday said to have placed the island on “a crippled economic footing, which is much better than nothing”.

Carey Leonard, the Freeport-based Callenders & Co attorney, told Tribune Business that the prime minister’s decision to restore commercial activity to the status it was in pre-August represented “great news” for an economy that has been under lockdown for three weeks.

Speaking ahead of today’s easing, which also applies to multiple Family Islands, Mr Leonard said: “That’ll take the pressure off. That really helps put us back....

I wouldn’t say on a regular economic footing, but a crippled economic footing, which is much better than nothing.

“At the moment, we have no economy. This gives us a good start. We may have a crippled economy, but at least it allows us to earn money, and the average man who lives pay cheque to pay cheque needs to earn money to go and buy food. The only thing we can hope is that Bahamians must realise we have to comply, wear our mask. That’s the best way to stop the spread, and be sensible.”

Mr Leonard’s position was echoed by Gregory Laroda, the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce president, who last night told Tribune Business that the relaxation was effectively what the island’s business community had been seeking.

“That really is a lifeline for those businesses still afloat, micro and small businesses,” he said. The easing, which also applies to Andros, Crooked Island, Acklins, Eleuthera, Cat Island, Exuma, Bimini, the Berry Islands, Mayaguana, Inagua and Abaco, reduces the nightly curfew to between 10pm to 5am.

PM’s address ‘struck the COVID-9 balance’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE Chamber of Commerce’s chief executive last night praised the prime minister for “striking a good balance” between COVID-19’s economic and health challenges in his decision to relax restrictions.

Jeffrey Beckles, pictured, told Tribune Business that Dr Hubert Minnis’ decision to move from total New Providence lockdown to re-opening the domestic economy within a week should not be characterised as a “180 degree about-turn” as some are likely to portray it.

Instead, he argued that the private sector and the government needed to work in partnership to “recover the economy” and employment

while mitigating the health risks associated with COVID-19 and avoiding a further surge in infections.

With The Bahamas and world having little choice but to live with the virus for the foreseeable future, the chamber chief added that this nation will have to constantly adapt and adjust to what works against COVID-19 and what does not “until we find our lane”.

Hailing the prime minister’s address as “wellreceived” by both the chamber and wider private sector, Mr Beckles said it

appeared as if the business community’s recommendations had been adopted by the government.

“I think he did exactly that: Struck a good balance between health and the economy,” he told this newspaper of Dr Minnis’ address.

“It speaks to the fact they can perfectly co-exist, especially understanding that COVID19 will be with us for a while.

“We certainly need the health and economic protocols, and understanding of how to balance both.

A strong economy is critical... The balance was struck today, and it’s a good indication of what we need to do to get moving.”

It was not entirely clear, though, what prompted the prime minister to shift from full New Providence lockdown to relaxing restrictions, and partially restoring the

domestic economy to what it looked like pre-August, in the space of a week. Public health officials sought to justify the move by saying a new analysis of COVID-19 data in the past 48 hours was not necessary.

Dr Minnis, though, permitted non-essential retailers to begin offering curbside and delivery/pick-up services once again from Monday, August 31, while officebased companies are being allowed to operate with the necessary physical distancing restrictions.

“We are committed to a measured, phased re-opening of the economy and society, based on specific health metrics,” the Prime Minister said. “It is hoped that this will aid the public to gauge when there may be more relaxed or more restrictive measures.”

However, one retailer, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Tribune Business last night that they will not open to offer curb side services as the losses involved justified them remaining closed. Other retailers have also described curbside services as difficult to pull-off and generating just 20-30 percent of the revenues they will earn in-store.

Dr Minnis’ address indicates economic concerns are now factoring more heavily into the government’s COVID-19 decision-making.

The switch of emphasis comes following a rising crescendo of warnings from individual businesses and private sector groups that lockdowns/ restrictions are pushing many firms beyond the point of no return, and that there soon may not be much of an economy left to recover.

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