Bahamas will lock down again for COVID-19

The worldwide science community is most worried about those countries that open things back up too soon or too open. Right now, China has them worried as you see people flocking to tourist areas. China only reported 39 new cases and 2 deaths yesterday and no one believes those numbers any more than they believe Russia's numbers.

At some point the "just like the flu" argument becomes valid. COVID-19 is here to stay. It will not be eradicated. We will have some herd immunity, but there will be a lot of people that die from it every year. Just like the flu. The crisis part of this disease was that it was new, there was no herd immunity, and everyone getting it at the same time and overwhelming our hospital system was a serious problem. From here on forward we'll have to live with it. We can't stay home forever.

Well, lets hope a vaccine is developed before " we cant stay home forever takes over".
Since we started getting our annual flu shots many years ago we have been fortunate to avoid illness during the seasonal flu period. Untill a vaccine is available covid-19 is not in that catagory.

We're a long way, and hundreds of thousands of deaths from that day. For now it's just about surviving.

Thats a pretty grim view. I would prefer to say it is about slowing the spread. And from the recent numbers worldwide, it appears to be working. There is no reason to think that the US won't start to see declining numbers in the next two weeks if we keep maintaining our social distancing. This included the Bahamas, as they are tied to Florida if I'm being honest. I once had a taxi driver in Nassau sum it up; "When the US sneezes, the Bahamas catch cold"

Not quite accurate. Vessels can depart and travel back to the US during the lock down but will not be able to get fuel along the way.

Also not quite accuracy. Here is a direct lift from the US Embassy Nassau Facebook Page last night. It seems there are periods where you can get fuel, just not during the FULL LOCKDOWN


⛵️⚠️ UPDATE FOR PRIVATE VESSELS ⚠️⛵️

Under the current 24-hour curfew emergency orders, now extended until April 30, all domestic inter-island traffic by air or boat within The Bahamas remains temporarily banned.

The emergency orders will, however, allow foreign pleasure craft currently anchored or moored in The Bahamas to depart DIRECTLY FOR THEIR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN, making only the absolute minimum necessary stops in order to ensure safe passage.

Vessels returning to the United States are permitted to re-fuel at fuel docks, but ARE PROHIBITED FROM DISEMBARKING ANY CREW OR PASSENGERS. All private vessels departing The Bahamas must do so expeditiously, with minimal stops or delays.

FULL LOCKDOWN PERIODS

Please note that vessels will NOT BE ABLE TO RE-FUEL or make use of fuel docks DURING THE FULL LOCKDOWN PERIODS the Prime Minister of The Bahamas announced on April 6 (see below for details). Vessels can still transit through Bahamian waters on a direct route back to the United States, but cannot re-fuel.

We urge any and all U.S. citizens on private vessels to return to the United States as soon as possible, ESPECIALLY BEFORE THE NEXT FULL LOCKDOWN period begins at 9:00pm on Wed, April 8. Do not wait; the time to leave is now. Depart as soon as weather and provisions allow you to do so safely, or be prepared to remain in The Bahamas for an indefinite period of time.

It bears repeating: restrictions to movement in The Bahamas continue to evolve rapidly, and WE CANNOT PREDICT if, when, for how long, or HOW SEVERELY MOVEMENT through The Bahamas MAY BE RESTRICTED further. In every instance, all vessels must follow the directions of the Bahamian authorities.

FULL LOCKDOWN SCHEDULE (when vessels can still move directly towards the US, but cannot re-fuel):

- 9pm on Wednesday, April 8 - 5am on Tuesday, April 14
- 9pm on Friday, April 17 - 5am on Monday, April 20
- 9pm on Friday, April 24 - 5am on Monday, April 27

Once more, private vessels departing The Bahamas must avoid any unnecessary deviation on the way to their final destination. Crew and passengers are PROHIBITED FROM DISEMBARKING and MUST REMAIN ABOARD their vessel. The emergency orders only allow stop-offs for re-fueling or to receive provisions essential for safe transit, such as food and water, outside the full lockdown periods noted above.

that’s why I said. Vessels can head home during the lock down period but not stop anywhere incl for fuel during the lock down

“Please note that vessels will NOT BE ABLE TO RE-FUEL or make use of fuel docks DURING THE FULL LOCKDOWN PERIODS”

"The World Health Organization addressed this question about COVID-19 (see fourth image down):https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters.

In addition, CDC offers the following



• Mosquitoes and ticks can’t spread all types of viruses.

• At this time, we have no data to suggest that COVID-19 or other similar coronaviruses (e.g. SARS, MERS) are spread by mosquitoes or ticks.

• For a virus to pass to a person through a mosquito or tick bite, the virus must be able to replicate inside the mosquito or tick.



AMCA will continue to monitor the situation with our public health partners and provide any new information as it becomes available."

That said tonight's headline is that it kills a person in the U.S. every 45 seconds and today was the deadliest day yet. So please keep your personal space and wear a mask when near other people.

My bad. I misread, and thought you missed the rolling Full Lockdown. Apologies

Absolutely. And don't believe a single word relying on input from WHO. Just assume that is can be transmitted. With any luck it cannot be transmitted through the keyboard.

Well, how about some good news. It's slowing, and fast. As some of you know I've been tracking some stats on the virus for weeks. I saw it accelerate, level and now it's slowing. And Farr's law says it will slow faster than it accelerated. Over the last 24 hours the death count was 1524, a mere 7.4% increase, a far cry from the 31% we saw March 28th.

Now the tricky part starts. How, where, when and how much to start easing restrictions. Unfortunately politics never left the process, even at the height of the crisis. Get ready for more BS than you EVER thought possible.

Well you know what Mark Twain said
“There 3 kinds of lies, Lies, damned lies, and Statistics “.

It’s all in the way you want to frame something.

That's kind of like saying that since we have more people we can afford to lose more people. Not comforting at all if your loved one is one of the 123,313. It's not even comforting to know that we have less than half the cases Europe has, especially since we're just getting started. Now is not the time for complacency.