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VOLUME:117 No.122, MAY 20TH, 2020
THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1
INSIDE: DON’T MISS YOUR BUMPER PUZZLE PULLOUT
Health chief’s answer on why islands stay shut:
‘I HONESTLY DON’T KNOW’
By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT ts-cartwright @tribunemedia.net
DEPUTY Chief Medical Officer Dr Delon Brennen said he does not know why some Family Islands without COVID-19 cases have not been allowed to resume normal commercial activity, saying that is not a Ministry of Health level decision. Meanwhile, Carlton Bowleg says he is in talks with government officials to hopefully ease COVID19 restrictions in the Berry Islands. Mr Bowleg, North Andros and Berry Islands
MP, believes it may be an oversight that Berry Islands is still under strict measures. On Sunday, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis declared that Cat Island, Long Island, Abaco and Andros could resume normal commercial activity, joining other Family Islands that were given the greenlight earlier this month. The Berry Islands, Exuma, Eleuthera and San Salvador were not included on that list. All Family Islands, as well as New Providence, are still under weekend lockdown and weekday curfew.
AFTER months of speculation surrounding the future of Commodore Tellis Bethel, Minister of National Security Marvin Dames confirmed yesterday the senior officer will be transferred to the Ministry of National Security, adopting a new role that “will fit right into his skill set”.
SEE PAGE SEVEN
SEE PAGE EIGHT
RETURNEES MUST PAY FOR FLIGHT By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
SEE PAGE FIVE
WEB SHOPS GOING LEGAL ON CLOSURE
SEE PAGE THREE
However, the minister did not say yesterday what those duties will exactly entail, only telling reporters that information will be made available “in due time”. Speaking ahead of a Cabinet meeting, the Mount Moriah MP said: “He will be moving over into the Ministry of National Security. We will be happy to
SITTING IN THE ASSEMBLY WON’T GET THE JOB DONE
SANDRA Moss is angry that her son, a college student in Arkansas, has to pay Bahamasair to return to the country this week even though residents who were repatriated here during the first exercise flew on the airline free of charge. “This is not fair,” she said yesterday. “Don’t start something that you can’t finish. They made it seem like they’re going to bring
COMMODORE HANDED NEW ROLE AT MINISTRY By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net
ALICIA WALLACE
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
DREAM DAY DELAYED OLWYN DePutron was looking forward to her wedding to Bahamian Cornelius Yee until the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Now, she is getting ready with a Plan B. Full story - Page 2
‘NYGARD STAFF DELETED FILES’ By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
EMPLOYEES of Peter Nygard allegedly deleted thousands of files from company computers as the FBI raided the fashion mogul’s New York office and California home. Lawyers representing 46 women who accuse Nygard of raping them made this allegation in court documents filed on Monday.
ACCUSED: Peter Nygard Lawyers alleged the plaintiffs were tipped off from former employees
that Nygard’s executives ordered employees to destroy computer files and “clean up” records. The court document says: “Upon receiving this information, plaintiffs immediately sent defendants’ counsel a preservation letter, identifying that they received information that defendants’ employees were instructed to spoliate evidence contained on
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
SEE PAGE SEVEN
SEVERAL web shops yesterday ordered attorney Wayne Munroe to file legal action against the government over their continuing COVID-19 closure. Mr Munroe said his clients had told him to fast-track litigation and not bother offering the government a chance to reconsider its actions. FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS
TECHNOLOGY
LEBRON JAMES TRIUMPHS AT THE WEBBYS
SEE PAGE NINE
PAGE 2, Wednesday, May 20, 2020
THE TRIBUNE
CORONAVIRUS CRISIS OLWYN DePutron was planning her dream wedding until COVID-19 dashed those plans and put her wedding coordinator in a frenzy. Now, Ms DePutron, a New Yorker, has put together a Plan B to marry Bahamian Cornelius Yee.
Bride-to-be is looking forward to her Plan B By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT ts-cartwright @tribunemedia.net FOR Olwyn DePutron, getting married in The Bahamas was a dream come true until COVID19 dashed those plans and put her wedding coordinator in a frenzy. Ms DePutron, a New Yorker, was set to marry Bahamian Cornelius Yee on April 18 at Bahamas Harvest Church. Their reception was to be at the picturesque Sapodilla property on West Bay Street. When she first heard about the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms DePutron was not overly alarmed. Now she is busy rescheduling, hoping the event can be held here this summer with some modifications. “The first thing that came to my mind when I heard about the
coronavirus was ‘it’ll fly over,’” the bride-to-be said. “But then the numbers kept increasing and ‘it’ll fly over’ turned to ‘this is really serious’. I hoped that we would get back to normal by April.” That was not to happen and her wedding coordinator, Lesley Pinder of Treisia Eventz, had to go into motion rescheduling hotel reservations, ground transportation and external wedding activities. “My wedding date was April 18,” Ms DePutron told The Tribune. “With borders closed and restaurant closures my bridal shower was first cancelled and then my wedding was rescheduled. Friends were all hoping, along with me, that the city, the world would move back to close to normal. As time went by, the wedding was viewed as an outlet
to getting back to socialising and getting out.” She said she didn’t panic or lose too much sleep over the change of plans. In fact, she held on until the last minute to make a ‘plan B’. “This (Plan B) meant updating invitations, reprinting alternative guest books and favours which had a date of April 18 and communicating the change with friends and family,” she said. “Vendors were very accommodating and open to working with me as I began to form my plan B. I wanted, and still want a nice wedding, a memorable ceremony with loved ones celebrating with me. “I want a day with friends and family who walked with me through the chapters of my life, prayed with and for me, who supported me, and who will continue to support me in the future. I now
have a plan B in place and hope to have the wedding of my dreams.” Weddings and funerals were affected by COVID-19 restrictions. Under the state of emergency orders, no more than 10 guests can attend such events. Ms DePutron had to put the restrictions into consideration as she made plans for her rescheduled wedding. “My wedding would now have just a slightly smaller number of people physically in attendance,” she said. “Instead of inside a church, the ceremony might be in an open area. Since we are still dealing with COVID and plans are being made by government officials for post-COVID actions, what changes need to take place is still up in the air. That said, whatever is needed to ensure safety will be implemented.”
The bride-to-be realises that there will be lots of changes at a post-COVID lockdown wedding. More than likely venues will need to have a very strict sanitation plan in place; social distancing would need to be practised and the number of people in attendance would have to be monitored. Asked if she ever considered a virtual wedding option, Ms DePutron said: “That is not an option for me. The situation we are currently in will go away and go away relatively speaking in a short amount of time. “Not the best of situations, but I don’t think we would see more than six to nine months of a delay. I value the presence of people and I’m one to celebrate everything. I feel an important milestone like a wedding should be celebrated with the presence of family and friends.”
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, May 20, 2020, PAGE 3
CORONAVIRUS CRISIS By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net
ABOUT 30,000 people have received unemployment assistance from the National Insurance Board amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Public Service Minister Brensil Rolle, who added that officials will be making additional payments to 6,000 affected workers this week. Giving an update to reporters ahead of a Cabinet meeting yesterday, Mr Rolle said applications to NIB show more than 30,000 people have been laid off or lost their income due to the virus. He said: “Approximately 30,000 individuals have been paid by NIB in their unemployment assistance and in the regular government programme, about 7,000 plus have been paid out. So, what it suggests to me is that approximately 30 something thousand of Bahamians are not employed at this moment. “…I don’t have a dollar amount (on how much has been paid), but what we’ve projected is approximately $16 million a month more than what we normally pay.” Later yesterday, NIB released a statement saying the agency had paid 32,000 applicants unemployment benefits and assistance. NIB said $28.7 million has been paid out to 26,185 claimants for COVID-19
NIB has helped 30,000 people so far - Rolle related unemployment benefit (UEB) payments while $6.2 million has been paid to 6,105 recipients for the government unemployment assistance (UEA) programme. Mr Rolle’s comments come amid public concern about why some workers have already received the much-needed payments, while others have not. However, to this, the NIB minister said it’s been difficult for officials to finalise payments for all workers as some individuals have not been submitting the necessary information. “We’re running an additional 6,000 cheques, I think, this week for new individuals,” he said. “Let’s hope they’re in that group, but what the issue has been is persons have not been providing us with the appropriate information so we can speed up the process. “And we’re double checking things to make sure that these persons are engaged and employed.” Earlier this month, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said the country’s
unemployment rate “will likely exceed an unprecedented and extraordinary 30 percent” as a result of the economic uncertainty from the virus. Asked yesterday if NIB is prepared to conduct more payments in light of the prime minister’s recent statements, the Garden Hills MP said officials remained committed to fulfilling their duties to the Bahamian people. He said: “We’re doing our best. We’ve made a commitment to make payments to the Bahamian people and I can’t say specifically what the outer bands will be, but what I do know is more than 30,000 persons have been paid by NIB. “And as a consequence, I could clearly say that more than 30,000 persons are unemployed at this time in the Bahamas.” Mr Rolle said while the pandemic may put a strain on NIB’s resources, he does not foresee the board not being able to carry out its obligations to the Bahamians people “ at this time.” “We are in an
PUBLIC Service Minister Brensil Rolle
unprecedented time,” he said. “. . .And yes, it’s going to be a strain on the NIB board and I fully understand that but, I don’t see that we will not be able to make the payments at this time.” As it relates to those employers who have not kept up to date with their NIB payments, Mr Rolle said the matter will be handled by the relevant authorities. “There are some companies that owe NIB monies and we’ve taken the critical and legal position to pay their employees unemployment assistance and then, we will go after these companies to make sure that they provide us with the appropriate amount of funds that are owed,” he continued. “…I know a list has been prepared by NIB, the list is a work of progress. It’s a list that showed persons that owed NIB for years and have not made payments so what we’ve done in that process is we take them to a legal department and sometimes it goes to the courts, an internal court, for a decision to be made.”
I honestly don’t know why islands stay shut, says govt health chief
DEPUTY Chief Medical Officer Dr Delon Brennen from page one On Sunday, a representative from the Office of the Prime Minister said the government is being guided by medical professionals in making their guidelines. Yesterday Dr Brennen was asked why islands like the Berry Islands, with no COVID-19 cases, were not considered when restrictions for the other islands were lifted. “I honestly do not know,” Dr Brennen said. “I think that’s a Cabinet and Office of the Prime Minister level decision. That is not
a Ministry of Health level decision.” When reminded that the Prime Minister has often said he relies on the country’s COVID-19’s task force for advice on these matters, Dr Brennen said: “This decision is not on us. Well, from a health perspective I am not sure what those reasons are, but there are so many things that come into those decisions that are not health related so I think it would be better to ask those who make the decisions as to what went into the decision making as opposed to just health.” For his part, Mr Bowleg
hopes commercial activity can soon resume in the Berry Islands. “The Berry Islands are doing very well when it comes to adhering to the rules of curfew,” Mr Bowleg said yesterday. “On the other hand, I think it’s just an (oversight) and I am in talks with the prime minister and with the authorities and I am sure the necessary adjustment will be made. There is no reason, in my opinion, why an adjustment shouldn’t be made very soon because there are no cases there and the people are adhering to the authority’s rules.
“Basically for commercial purposes I don’t see any reason why those islands are not open, unless it has something to do with tourists and Coco Cay, and that is not online right now. I am doing what I can to speak on their behalf and make sure that was an oversight and it will be taken care of very surely.” Residents of cleared Family Islands can also travel to other approved islands without the need for a COVID-19 travel card. Messages left for Berry Islands Island Administrator Joseph Ferguson were
not returned up to press time. The Berry Islands has a population of roughly 900 people and it covers
about 30 square miles of the northwestern part of The Bahamas. Editorial View - Page 6
PAGE 4, Wednesday, May 20, 2020
THE TRIBUNE
CORONAVIRUS CRISIS
PHA issues protocols for patients By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT ts-cartwright @tribunemedia.net AFTER a doctor got into a row last month with a patient of PMH’s Dialysis Unit who would not remove his shoes, the Public Hospitals Authority has issued a statement laying out new COVID-19 prevention protocols for the area. According to the guidelines, a patient’s shoes must be removed once seated for treatment and placed on the floor beside them, PHA announced yesterday. “Shoes may be worn again after treatment and in preparation to leave the unit. Patients are asked to bring a pair of socks to be worn during treatment. Patients who prefer to leave their shoes on during treatment must place a shoe cover over shoes prior to commencing treatment,” PHA advised. “At no time should patients place the bottom of their shoes on the chair or footrest in the unit,” PHA added. Among other measures, patients are required to wash their hands upon entering the Dialysis Unit, before and after using the bathroom and after treatment; patients should
sanitise their hands in between treatment and as necessary; staff and patients are required to wear face masks at all times while in the Dialysis Unit and no more than three people will be allowed to be seated in the waiting area at any time. Patients will be allowed in the waiting area 30 minutes prior to treatment or unless otherwise advised, PHA said, adding that assembling in the corridor or inside the unit before and after treatment will not be permitted. No eating or drinking will be allowed while receiving treatment and there should be no sharing of food or other items while awaiting or receiving treatment. On April 24, Director of Nephrology Dr Frederick
DR FREDERICK SMITH
Smith and dialysis patient, Marvin Johnson, got into a spat after Dr Smith asked all dialysis patients to remove their shoes when on the machines and adhere to the COVID-19 prevention rules before receiving treatment. Mr Johnson, guided by his son, Giavano Bowe, wrote a letter of complaint to PHA saying he took “grave offence” to Dr Smith’s request and also felt “threatened” by it. Mr Johnson also copied the letter to the police. Dr Smith said he was just enforcing preventative measures to keep staff and patients, alike, safe from COVID-19. Mr Johnson and his son took issue with the request, saying that the “new rules” were not in writing. Yesterday, PHA said the Princess Margaret Hospital’s Dialysis Unit has implemented enhanced COVID-19 prevention protocols to ensure the safety and health of patients and healthcare staff. It also said that hospital management remains committed to providing quality service in an environment that is clean, while preventing and/or minimizing the spread of any illness or disease. The statement continued: “Persons experiencing
THE PRINCESS Margaret Hospital upper respiratory symptoms including fever, cough or difficulty breathing should call the COVID19 call centre at 411 or 511 before coming to hospital, to avoid unintentional exposure of the virus to other patients or hospital staff. “The COVID-19 virus is
known to affect certain categories of people including the elderly and patients with medical conditions such as hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, cancer and renal failure. “These patients are considered to be a ‘vulnerable population,’
meaning, patients with one or more of these conditions are more at risk of getting the virus and can develop severe complications and even death once infected.” Mr Johnson and his son Giavano Bowe were not available for comment at press time.
COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS ALLOW EXTENSION FOR DORIAN VICTIMS By EARYEL BOWLEG ebowleg@tribunemedia.net
DORIAN victims have been allowed to stay a little longer at Poinciana Inn, a transition home for many after leaving hurricane shelters, Social Services Minister Frankie Campbell said yesterday. Their stay at the inn was extended in light of COVID-19 restrictions. The minister said Cabinet had originally approved the facility, which is currently housing about 71 people, to keep storm victims for 90 days. That expired on May 15. “In light of the situation, Cabinet has agreed to extend it for the period of the COVID and the lockdowns. So we will revisit that on an ongoing basis but as I desired from day one to get them properly transitioned. We continue to work on that and some persons have transitioned from that time and the numbers have decreased,” he said. The Bahamas Academy Auditorium on Wulff Road is the only shelter that remains open in New Providence, which Mr Campbell estimated houses less than 100 people to date. Asked what will happen to those
SOCIAL Services Minister Frankie Campbell individuals’ transition, he replied: “It’s the same.” More than 2,000 people were accommodated by the ministry and its partners in shelters across the country after the passage of Hurricane Dorian in early September. Although there is a decreased shelter
population, there is the concern of maintaining social distancing. But the minister noted that people in the shelter were living together before the pandemic as he compared the living arrangements to “one household”.
UPGRADE TO MANAGEMENT SYSTEM By EARYEL BOWLEG ebowleg@tribunemedia.net
SOCIAL Services Minister Frankie Campbell said Cabinet has approved funding for a near $700,000 information management system to track all clients and thus reduce waiting time. Before Cabinet yesterday, the minister told the press the government has been beta testing the system and is hopeful the signing of a formal contract will happen soon. He said: “Cabinet has just approved the funding
so we’re hoping that in short order we will sign the formal contract and hopefully within another two to three weeks we will have the full use of this information management system which will allow us to track all of our clients from beginning to end which will allow us to reduce the waiting time for clients thus reducing frustration which will allow us to make better projects because we will have accurate real time data from this system.” During the COVID-19 pandemic, the ministry has
been working overtime providing assistance as Mr Campbell indicated there has been an increased demand and requests particularly for help with food. According to Mr Campbell, he was advised of lines in Grand Bahama. In an effort to cut down on lines, officials have been asked to relax some of the criteria for assistance. The minister reported there were no COVID-19 cases in any of the orphanages or senior citizens homes nor the juvenile facilities under the government’s purview.
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, May 20, 2020, PAGE 5
CORONAVIRUS CRISIS
‘GOVT SHOULD BE SUED IF CHURCHES NOT OPENED’ By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
GRAND Bahama civic leader Rev Glenroy Bethel says the 24-hour curfew and weekend lockdowns are “depriving” Bahamians of their constitutional rights to worship on Saturday and Sunday. He threatening to sue to the government if restrictions are not lifted by May 30 to allow people to worship at church. Rev Bethel, founder of Families for Justice civic organization, is accusing Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis of violating every citizens’ right to freedom of religion by imposing a 24-hour lockdown on the weekend that prevents them from going to church to worship. “The House of the Prayer on Saturday and Sunday is still shut down, there is no FNM, PLP, or DNA church. The from page one y’all home, that you should make the arrangements and we’ll bring you. They just ain making no sense.” Bahamasair has flights scheduled to leave from Fort Lauderdale on Thursday and Saturday, with one flight going directly to New Providence and the other stopping first in Grand Bahama to disembark some passengers before heading to New Providence with the remaining passengers. The cost of fare is $150, though customers can use an existing ticket if they have one. Tommy Turnquest, chairman of Bahamasair, confirmed yesterday that the “government paid for everyone to come home” during the first pair of repatriation exercises earlier this month. Most of the 183 people who returned to the country at the time had already been in Florida but Ms Moss’ son is among residents who have to take connecting flights to get to Fort Lauderdale, increasing his expenses. The government covered the cost of tests for returnees connected to the first two flights but it is not clear if that benefit will be provided again. “These are students,” said Ms Moss, who used an alias for this article. “Even if they were students with a little job or something, that job has been stopped now for months and they don’t have any entitlements in the States, no social security or otherwise to help them. They been over there for months now and everything shut down. The parents over here probably already lose their jobs and may not be able to send a ticket for them to come home. I’m a nurse, I have a job. I had to send basically last month my whole salary to my son because he has to pay rent, he has to find food and this is his graduation year, so basically the remainder of his fees had to be paid.” Her 24-year-old son, an electrical engineering
church must not be silent in Freeport, or nowhere else in the Bahamas. If the building is a problem, then individuals can attend meetings in the parking lot of the House of God in their cars,” he said. Rev Bethel has expressed his concerns and position to both the Bahamas Christian Council and the Grand Bahama Christian Council. The Bahamas Christian Council indicated last week that it does not endorse threats against the prime minister. President Bishop Delton Fernander made his position clear after a female pastor’s ultimatum on the opening of the church during the COVID-19 lockdown. Edison Nottage, and prophetess Mattie Nottage, the lead pastor at Believers Faith Outreach Ministries International, expressed being disrespected by the government and wanting churches to be open so people can get help.
Bishop Fernander made it clear the opening of churches for full services is strictly in the hands of Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis. In Grand Bahama, Rev Bethel stressed that the Constitution of the Bahamas is the supreme law of the land, adding that people have a right to worship, and worship on the days they choose freely in the House of Prayer without interference by the government, and his agents on the day that they choose which would be Sunday or Saturday. He said: “If the restrictions are not lifted after the May 30, the government will be sued under the Constitution of the Bahamas for violation of my constitutional rights on several grounds, my Sabbath Day.” Rev Bethel noted that Bahamians have been complying with the curfew and lockdown, and the measures implemented by the government such as
social distancing, wearing a face mask, and washing of hands. However, he believes that continuing to deprive persons of going to church to worship, is a breach of their constitutional rights. “If an individual decides to go to the house of prayer to pray and worship which 10 persons are allowed on the road to attend the house of prayer? The Christian church must know the Word of God and the Constitution of the Bahamas, which is the supreme law of the land. “The Prime Minister and his Cabinet are not supreme rulers over the rights of a Bahamian citizen. Do the Prime Minister and his Cabinet and the Attorney General and the Royal Bahamas Police Force have a legal right to take away my religious freedom or deprive me of that freedom as an individual on my Sabbath Day or my Day of Worship being on Saturday and
Sunday, according to the Constitution of the Bahamas?” “No, it is a clear violation of my constitutional rights or any Bahamian’s constitutional rights, especially if areas have been opened up generally and not deemed hot spots,” he noted. “Under article 2, it states that the Constitution is the supreme law of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and, subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the Constitution shall prevail and the other law shall to the extent of the inconsistency, be void. That means that the PM and his Cabinet legislations are null and void. The PM cannot deprive a Bahamian citizen of his or her rights under the constitution of the Bahamas.” To date, Grand Bahama has recorded eight confirmed cases of COVID-19. Two of those cases have died. There are 96 cases in the country. Forty-two persons have recovered and 11 have died.
Returning residents have to pay for their flights back home
BAHAMIANS arriving at LPIA earlier this month on a flight from Florida. student at the University of Arkansas, told The Tribune it will cost $348 for him to get a flight from that state to Atlanta and $213 to get from Atlanta to Florida. One reason he stayed in Arkansas, he said, is that 2020 is his graduation year and he had to remain in contact with a professor who will sponsor his graduate school education. “This a lot of money for him to be coming home and when he gets to Florida he shouldn’t have to pay to come on Bahamasair,” Ms Moss said. “They repatriate the illegal immigrants for
free so why can’t you bring your own people home, and not just people, but students for free?” Ms Moss said she tried to get her son on one the first two flights that left Fort Lauderdale earlier this month but had no luck because officials in consulate offices did not answer phones or respond to messages. “Initially we assumed the Bahamasair flight would be free because their first flight was free,” she said. “We just find out now he has to pay.” The Minnis administration has grappled before
with deciding to pay for people to return to the country because such decisions can create the impression people are entitled to a free trip. In March, before the borders were shut, Education Minister Jeff Lloyd told this newspaper the government chartered a plane to Jamaica to bring 61 students studying around the region. However, he said the students will have to reimburse the government for the flight and he warned that the policy of sending flights for students overseas would be reviewed because
it could not be a benefit citizens come to expect. Progressive Liberal Party chairman Fred Mitchell criticised the uneven policy yesterday. “On the face of it, it seems like a double standard,” he said. “The British, when it sent their flight in to pick up its citizens, they announced the charge would be five hundred pounds so people had to pay for their return home. Once you start by saying we are going to get you back home, that creates an expectation that you are going to do just that and
that there isn’t a cost associated with it. “If this is the case that they’re charging people for these flights, one simple mechanism might be to allow the commercial airlines from the United States which I understand are coming in to pick up US citizens, let them be allowed to bring Bahamian citizens by using the same procedures as Bahamasair because it may be cheaper for the people to use them than taking on all the additional charges that we are hearing about.” Editorial View - Page 6
LOCKDOWN VISIT TO PASTOR COSTS MAN $700 By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net
A MAN was fined $700 yesterday after claiming he violated the COVID-19 lockdown on Saturday to visit a pastor in search of food for his family. He was one of five people who appeared before Magistrate Sandradee Gardiner for curfew and lockdown infractions. All of those charged admitted they were aware of the emergency protocols, but did not call the COVID-19 hotline before they left their homes. Osmond Johnson, 55, was charged after officers found him on Meadow Street around 5.20pm on Saturday May 16. The country was under a weekend lockdown at the time. Prosecutor Claudette McKenzie told the court that officers on mobile patrol in the Meadow Street
area noticed a male walking in that vicinity. When officers approached the man, he identified himself as Osmond Johnson. Inspector McKenzie said when Johnson was asked why he was outdoors during the lockdown, he could not give a satisfactory answer. As a result, he was taken to the Nassau Street Police Station where he admitted to the offence in an interview with police. During the interview, Johnson also said he went to see Bishop C V Moss when he was approached by the officers, but the bishop wasn’t home. When given an opportunity to speak during the hearing, Johnson told the magistrate he had left home that afternoon to try and get some food for him and his children. He said his ride dropped him on Hutchinson Street near Bishop Moss’ church to see if he could get a food package,
but nobody was there so he decided to walk home. In response, Magistrate Gardiner asked the defendant why he didn’t purchase food before the weekend lockdown came into effect. She also said since he was an adult he should have been aware of the lockdown and ensured that he had sufficient food in his house. He pleaded guilty and was fined $700 or two months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services. Meanwhile, Edward Jones, 22, was charged after officers found him on Cordeaux Avenue around 11pm on May 13. He pleaded guilty to violating the national curfew and was fined $800 or two months in prison. Prosecutor McKenzie said that night, officers on mobile patrol observed a male clad in a blue shirt walking west. When they
approached and questioned him, the man, who identified himself as Edward Jones, said he was heading home from his girlfriend’s house. As a result, he was arrested and taken to the Wulff Road Police Station where he admitted to the offence in an interview with police. During the hearing, Jones told the magistrate that his girlfriend had called him to tell him she was not feeling well. He said he didn’t know whether she had contracted COVID-19 so he left his house to go and check on her. He insisted he only breached the curfew to see if his girlfriend was okay and wasn’t aware that he had to call 311 to get permission to leave his home. Still, Magistrate Gardiner told him the fact that he didn’t know about the hotline number meant that he chose to be ignorant, since information about
the emergency orders have been broadcasted all over the news. Officers found Gregory Taylor, 30, on the six-legged roundabout around 9.30pm on May 17. He pleaded guilty and was fined $700 or two month at BDCS. Prosecutor Mckenzie said that night, officers on mobile patrol in the John F Kennedy area observed a blue Suzuki Swift driving on the roundabout. Officers beckoned for the vehicle to stop and questioned the driver who identified himself as Gregory Taylor. He told the officers that he was staying with his sister after he got off from work two days ago and had decided to go home. Sgt McKenzie said a check to see whether Taylor had contacted the COVID19 hotline to get permission was made, but came back negative. As a result, Taylor was arrested and taken
to the Grove Police Station. During an interview with police the next day, he admitted to the offence and was subsequently charged. During the arraignment, Magistrate Gardiner told the defendant that the emergency orders were put in place to save lives. She also said that the lockdown was implemented in April, so Taylor should have been aware of the restrictions and insisted that people have to take the emergency protocols seriously because the COVID-19 pandemic is a “matter of life and death.” Dwain Butler, 43, and Allan Poitier, 42, were also charged after police found them on Minnie Street around 5.50pm on May 15. Both of the defendants denied the charge and the matter was adjourned to June 30. In the interim, the men were each granted $2,000 bail with one sureter.
PAGE 6, Wednesday, May 20, 2020
THE TRIBUNE
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Who does know the reasons for keeping islands closed? SINCE Sunday’s national address by Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, people in all parts of the country – including this column – have wondered why some islands have been allowed to resume commercial activity, yet others have not. It turns out that not even the deputy chief medical officer, Dr Delon Brennen, knows the reasons why. Full marks for honesty from Dr Brennen, who said yesterday “I honestly do not know”. He went on to say: “I think that’s a Cabinet and Office of the Prime Minister level decision. That is not a Ministry of Health level decision.” Could he be any clearer? Well, he went on to say “this decision is not on us”. Some might criticise but we applaud Dr Brennen for giving a straight answer. It very clearly sets the stage for Dr Minnis, who wears both the Prime Minister and Minister of Health hats right now, to clear the air with a simple explanation. Don’t shoot the messenger who pointed out who to ask, either. Why are the Berry Islands still unable to get back to business when there hasn’t been a single case of COVID19 diagnosed? The MP for the islands, Carlton Bowleg, added that the islands have been adhering to curfew very well. The same question applies for Exuma, Eleuthera and San Salvador. So let’s bring an end to the guessing game. Each citizen on those islands deserves to know why they aren’t back to normal yet – and what needs to be done to open their doors again. The early part of the government’s response was largely well received across The Bahamas – but its communication
with citizens has taken a stumble in recent weeks. Time to put that right, and let people know not just the decisions made, but the reasoning behind them. Many people have been cooped up at home for a long time now – letting them understand what still needs to happen before restrictions are eased would give everyone something to strive towards. Over to you, Dr Minnis. Meanwhile, there are some complaints over the next round of repatriations – with people complaining that passengers will have to pay their air fare. Well, why shouldn’t they? Many of these would have been planning to fly back anyway – though their timetable might have shifted. They would have likely been planning to pay for a flight anyway. Concerns over COVID-19 had been circulating for a long while before The Bahamas closed its borders, so it was always likely to be coming, and the first lot of students who flew back in March had to reimburse the government for the flight. The previous round of repatriations were free but government is not a bottomless pit of money – less so by the day with revenues down by almost half on last year’s amounts. Consulate staff in the US have been paying out cash to help support Bahamians – so we would hope that those unable to afford the flight might have some options for aid available. After all, it might well be cheaper to fly people home than financially support them in another country. That said, for those who can afford it? Buy your ticket. Come home. Be safe. Be healthy.
Yes, we have been sold down the river EDITOR, The Tribune Tribune Business May 18, 2020, Cruise Port Enjoys 130 Million … THE late E. Dawson Roberts would frequently quote the unattributed maxim that “Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Freedom”. While I would otherwise glory in Mr. Maura’s successes at raising the necessary cash for the initial phase of this project, the story line gives away what I and perhaps many had missed in the fine print of the project offering. And that is the “reclamation of THE call by one retailer to ease shopping restrictions sparked this reaction from John: “The curb side service also helps protect staff as well as other customers. People will go into a store and try on items of clothing or shoes and not buy anything. Or even if they purchase they leave the clothes and shoes they have already tried on for others to buy. Bahamians are familiar with online shopping where they are not allowed to try on anything. “Yes they may return but not fit. And the curbside services also help with customers who just want to hangout in stores rather than shop in earnest. If a customer knows exactly what they want like a fan
LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net land that will be the site for the cruise ports food and beverage, retail and entertainment attraction”. My thoughts went immediately to Mr. Toby Smith and his Lighthouse Point Project, seemingly now ceded to a cruise line. Or about to be. So what Mr. Maura is saying is that the Cruise Port will now have a monopoly on tourist off ship spending, and to hell with Bay Street, Woods Rodgers Wharf and
or plumbing part, they can drive up, purchase it and be on their way rather than having to wait whilst most of the people in the store may be browsing.” And Clamshell had this to say: “The entire nation would be better off if Thomas Sands were prime minister instead of Hubert Minnis. Educated in Britain and the U.S., successful businessman, son of a founding member of the PLP, but never lets party loyalty outweigh what’s best for the people. Run, Tommy, run!”
downtown Nassau, which was the very Mother that gave birth to Tourism and Cruise Ships in the Bahamas. Even airships if one counts Pan Am flying into Malcolm’s Park back in the day. Yes, my fellow Bahamians and residents, we have been sold down the river I think. Perhaps this is the coup de grâce, the final cut, for Bay Street and downtown Nassau. Ask not for whom the Bell Tolls. It tolls for all of us. BRUCE G. RAINE Nassau, May 19. 2020 Happyfly was keen to talk about the government’s decision to keep some islands closed, writing “Dont worry. Elections will come around sooner or later and these socalled “Public Servants” are going to have to crawl into a deep hole and lick their wounds once the people have had a chance to realize how abusive they have been. Add a ruined economy to that and the PLP could run a drunk three-leg donkey and it would win.” And longgone was impressed by golfer Justin Rose’s $100,000 donation to charity. He wrote: “Mr Rose is a gentleman and a credit to the game of golf We need more people like him in the Bahamas!”
How scientific work is being eroded by virus FOR the first time in 50 years, ornithologists at the Manomet nature observatory in Plymouth, Massachusetts are not opening their mist nets every weekday at dawn to catch, measure and band migrating songbirds. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the centre has essentially cancelled its spring field season and will be doing only very limited sampling. Going forward, its longterm banding data will contain only a fraction of the usual information on songbird migrations during the spring of 2020. Across the world, field stations, nature centers and universities have shut down long-term research to protect scientists, staff, students and volunteers from COVID-19. There’s good reason for this step, but it comes at a cost. Collecting data over many years allows scientists to detect gradual trends and short-term anomalies in the health of forests, bays and other ecosystems and biological communities. Long-term research has been crucial in detecting how climate change is affecting the abundance and distribution of species and the timing of spring events, such as bird migrations and plant flowering. Multi-year data has been vital to understanding how ecosystems bounce back after major disturbances like hurricanes and wildfires. Long-term research has informed policies addressing air and water pollution and wildlife conservationin ways that would have been impossible through short-term studies alone. Since 1980, the US National Science Foundation has supported a network of Long Term Ecological Research sites that now spans 28 locations, from northern Alaska to Antarctica and across North America. These sites are leaders in detecting effects of air pollution, land use and urbanisation on ecosystems. The data they produce is available to
the public and the scientific community. Many long-term studies also take place in national parks, where researchers track subjects like water quality, wetland health and endangered species. In a normal year, armies of researchers and students would be at work in national parks and LongTerm Ecological Research sites. Now, however, just small groups are collecting data, aided by automated equipment. Some small-scale projects are managing to continue. Over the past 18 years, my students and I have recorded wildflower flowering and the first appearance of spring leaves in Concord, Massachusetts, repeating observations made by Henry David Thoreau in the 1850s. We’re doing this to study the ecological effects of climate change. Our studies have shown that plants are flowering about 10 days earlier in the spring than they did in Thoreau’s time. We have also found that cold-loving northern wildflower species are becoming less abundant, and nonnative species are increasing. Now I wear a mask, go out early in the mornings when few people are on the trails and work without students. None of this is how we typically work, but it allows me to continue this research and capture anomalies that might occur this year. But maintaining a few long-term studies won’t make up for irreplaceable losses to science that will occur this year, especially for two-year experimental studies that were supposed to start or end this year. My colleagues and I hope that this pandemic ends soon, so that scientists can get back to analyzing the long-term workings of ecosystems – and the ecological impacts of coronavirus. Ecologists like us often measure a field season by the numbers: 40 birds captured, 85 nest plots searched, three times when the truck got stuck. This year we’re thinking about
Colorado’s coronavirus case count. My field site sits at an elevation of about 8,500 feet in northern Colorado’s Jackson County. The landscape and lifestyles here have remained largely unchanged over the last century. Jackson is also one of the few counties in Colorado without a positive case of COVID-19. I’m conducting field work that will inform my dissertation on waterfowl breeding in flood-irrigated agricultural systems, as well as a long-term waterfowl monitoring project run by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Answering my proposed questions requires capturing 40 female mallards and gadwall, two common duck species. We mark them with GPS transmitters, conduct biweekly samples in the flooded fields for invertebrates – small crustaceans that ducks eat – and carry out daily nest searches within a 250-square-mile area. The 2020 field season is the second of three field seasons that I will conduct for my Ph.D., and I had plans to hit the ground running. Instead, we have whittled our six-person crew down to three and are living in trailers without running water, rather than in U.S. Forest Service housing that normally would be available. Our daily routine of cold mornings counting ducks, checking traps and searching for nests feels familiar and comforting. But every task is tinged with worry and guilt. What if we introduce COVID-19 to Jackson County? How are we going to attach GPS transmitters to ducks – a process that usually takes at least two people – while maintaining proper social distancing measures? Scientists are used to estimating uncertainty, but almost everything this year is a question mark. By Richard B Primack, Boston University and Casey Setash, Colorado State University. theconversation.com
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, May 20, 2020, PAGE 7
COMMODORE HANDED NEW ROLE AT MINISTRY from page one
have him there. They have a lot of work for him to do there and we’re quite certain that he will bring a tremendous amount of knowledge and expertise to the job that we have for him. “He will have a senior level position and it will fit right into his skill set.” This comes after officials announced on Monday that Acting RBDF Commander Raymond King will formally take over the command of the defence force tomorrow. Last October, the commodore was placed on
vacation leave along with several senior law enforcement officers as a part of a move by the Minnis administration to prevent officers from accumulating so much vacation leave that they have to be paid substantial sums of money when they retire. Some of those officers have since retired, while three others have returned from vacation leave but have been transferred to other government agencies. Asked yesterday what took officials so long to reveal their plans for the commodore’s future, the minister replied: “…When you’re dealing with persons retiring or demitting office,
I’m of the view that that is not something that you conduct in the press. You can’t conduct the affairs of another in the press. “I don’t think that that’s a responsible thing to do and I don’t think that that’s the right thing to do so the question about why it has taken so long — I don’t understand. How long is it supposed to take? That would be my question.” Noting that he’s had several conversations with the commodore over the matter, Mr Dames added: “The fact that we’re welcoming him now into the Ministry of National Security is a clear demonstration that we do have a
relationship and he’s agreed and has accepted to move over.” Mr Dames said he was grateful for the commodore’s services during his time in command and was confident that he will serve well in his new role. He also insisted that the new appointment was not a demotion. “It’s not a demotion,” he said. “This is how organisations grow. Leaders come in and they empower those under them, and they prepare those under them to lead and when they would’ve reached that point, they move on and handle the reigns. “…I mean no one is in
TELLIS BETHEL a position for a lifetime. You know, any successful organisation must take on succession planning, career development.” He continued: “… (And) to suggest that there is something sinister at play is wrong. It’s not correct. You know we have a
responsibility to ensure that you know, we prepare the next generation of leaders to take over so that they can move these agencies and organisations to the next level.” The change of command ceremony is expected to take place tomorrow, where Commodore Bethel will formally bid farewell to the men and women who served under his command. Asked when Mr Bethel will be transferred to his new post, Mr Dames replied: “Almost immediately.” Attempts were made to contact Commodore Bethel but were unsuccessful up to press time.
‘Nygard staff told to destroy documents before FBI raid’ from page one
SOME 46 women have accused Nygard of raping them
computer storage devices, and requested ‘immediate measures taken to cease the destruction, explain what measures you took to prevent the destruction of documents, and ensure the full preservation of evidence moving forward.’ “On February 26, 2020, defendants’ counsel responded, indicating they were ‘making appropriate inquiries,’ but failing to identify the steps they were taking to ensure the preservation of evidence. In response, plaintiffs again requested that defendants identify the steps taken to investigate and prevent the continued destruction of evidence. Plaintiffs also sent an addendum preservation letter identifying additional categories of evidence defendants were obligated to preserve. Again, defendants’ counsel responded ensuring they had taken appropriate steps to preserve evidence, but refusing to identify what steps were taken. “Plaintiffs then requested that defendants’ counsel advise as to what date the litigation hold in this case was issued. Plaintiffs later learned why defendants counsel concealed the truth and evaded plaintiffs’ repeated inquiries regarding the
litigation hold. On March 11, 2020, the Winnipeg Free Press published an article stating that defendants did not take appropriate measures, but rather, only issued a litigation hold on February 26, 2020—over a year after they ‘predicted’ plaintiffs’ lawsuit, 13 days after the complaint was filed, one day after a Grand Jury subpoena was issued by the federal government, and one day after plaintiffs notified defendants that they were aware of their destruction of evidence. “It is clear from the timing of the litigation hold alone that defendants and their counsel did not comply with their good faith obligation to ensure the preservation of evidence, despite their representations to the contrary. It is also clear that defendants’ counsel took extreme measures to conceal the truth, thus necessitating this motion.” On March 18, the Richter Advisory Group was appointed as receiver of Mr Nygard’s company. On April 27, Richter, in its first supplementary report as receiver, concluded that 10,488 files were deleted after the litigation hold was issued. Court documents say: “Two of the users were IT accounts—the very group of
individuals plaintiffs previously identified as being instructed to destroy evidence. The third user was Greg Fenske —identified in plaintiffs’ first amended complaint as one of the main co-conspirators who has knowingly enabled and facilitated Nygard’s crimes—who deleted a total of 1,059 files on March 18, 2020, the exact date that the receiver was appointed and defendants lost control over their computer systems; and nearly a month after defence counsel took appropriate steps to preserve evidence.’ Richter explicitly notes the suspicious nature of Fenske’s conduct, stating that in the three weeks prior to the appointment of Richter as receiver, he had very little deletion activity. Richter is continuing to investigate the appropriateness of the data/document deletions in light of the litigation hold and the Grand Jury Subpoena. Defendants’ counsel, to this day, has concealed this from Plaintiffs’ counsel. Any notion that the deletion of this evidence was somehow routine or benign is undermined by the Richter Report itself as well as Defendants’ well-documented history of litigation misconduct and disrespect of the judicial system.” Nygard has denied the rape accusations and claim they are part of a conspiracy against him.
FINED FOR REFUSING TO GIVE NAME
Family call for body to be released By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net THE family of deceased Dorian victim Astrid Stratton is calling on the government to release her body, after they claim to have been told by an official this week the missing woman’s remains had been found. Liann Key-Kaighin, speaking to The Tribune yesterday, said the family received the news Monday morning after a representative from the Central Detective Unit called, saying her aunt’s body, which had been missing since Dorian, had been “miraculously” found. After receiving this information, Ms Key-Kaighin said she and the representative agreed to meet on Monday to finalise details on the matter. But what was supposed to be a productive meeting that would allow the family to finally have access to Ms Stratton’s body turned out
to be the complete opposite, the Abaco native said. “(After) I gave her directions to my house, maybe 15 minutes later, she rolls up in an unmarked vehicle and a person gets out – no uniform, no badge, no second officer – and comes up to the door,” she said. “She’s got a book with a sheet on top and shoves it into my face with a pen and just says ‘here just sign this for us and we’ll be all set.’ I’m like ‘no, no, slow down. I’d like to read the paper please because I don’t sign things that I haven’t read.’ “So, I take the paper, look at it and it says at the top, it’s a release form for bodies to be released to the family for burial… and then there’s a box to the left that says, where she’s pointing to me to sign and it says above that – ‘I have positively identified the person.’ “…I said ‘Miss I can’t sign this form because I haven’t seen my aunt’s body and I haven’t seen any DNA
By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net
DECEASED Dorian victim Astrid Stratton reports. I haven’t seen any pictures,’ so I said ‘Come back to me with a picture or something so I could sign this form’.” Ms Key-Kaighin said she was told by the CDU representative that she would receive a picture within an hour the same day. “I ain’t got the text, I ain’t got the picture. I’ve been back and forth all day (Monday) and then (the officer) told me on a call she was not authorised to send me the picture and that (someone) had to authorise her to release a picture to me,” she said. However, when The Tribune contacted police press liaison, ASP Audley Peters, he said the information was not true. “I’ve communicated with CDU who has carriage of this matter, the information you received is not factual,” he said.
However, Ms KeyKaighin claimed she was told by officials her aunt’s body was found. The situation, she said, has left the family frustrated as to why officials are not being forthcoming and cannot just release her aunt’s remains to them. Ms Key-Kaighin and her family have been searching for answers concerning the whereabouts of her aunt’s body since last year. Ms Stratton lost her life to Hurricane Dorian along with three others who sought shelter in her home during the passage of the storm. “It’s been a daily heartache,” Ms Key- Kaighin told The Tribune last week. “… My mother, in her mind, she’s resigned that there will be no body to bury and, in her mind, she actually hoped she floated away in the sea and for her, it’s better to know that she’s
not in the state that she’s in in that container.” But, now officials have seemingly finally found her remains, Ms Key-Kaighin said the family just wants her body to be released to them so they can carry out a proper burial and move on with their lives. A service of remembrance for unidentified Dorian victims is expected to be held in Abaco on Friday, the Disaster Reconstruction Authority said in a statement on Monday. However, Ms KeyKaighin said residents on the island feel the ceremony is being “rushed”. “They don’t even have the plots prepared and ain’t no 49 caskets on Abaco. It’s ridiculous. It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard and how are we going to have it with the COVID distancing (guidelines),” she said. “They’re supposed to be giving me my aunty back.”
A 22-YEAR-OLD man was fined $100 yesterday after refusing to give his name and address to an officer when he was stopped for a traffic violation last week. Brent Taylor appeared before Magistrate Sandradee Gardiner charged with failing to give his name and address to Constable 3959 Rahming on May 12. Prosecutor Claudette McKenzie told the court around 2.20pm that day, officers on mobile patrol observed a grey Honda Accord driving on Baillou Hill Road with no licence plate on the front of the vehicle. When the officers stopped the vehicle, they questioned the driver who refused to answer. As a result, he was taken to a nearby station where he finally identified himself as Brent Taylor. During an interview with police, he admitted to the offence but said he only “went quiet” because when the officers stopped him he was scared. During the arraignment, Magistrate Gardiner told the accused he should understand that when he is approached by the police, they have a job to do. She also said Taylor has a responsibility to be respectful and said he should seek to build a good relationship with officers and try to be cooperative. After sentencing Taylor, Magistrate Gardiner warned him if he failed to pay the fine he would spend three days at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services. She also told them she hoped this would be his “only brush with the law”.
PAGE 8, Wednesday, May 20, 2020
THE TRIBUNE
Nothing personal, but sitting in the assembly is not the way to get the job done IT IS not unusual to be asked whether or not I have political aspirations or, more directly, told that I need to run in the next general election. This is sometimes an unfriendly challenge. “You have so much to say, go run.” More often, it is an opening in the attempt to persuade me to go where people think I can have more impact. “You could only make change from the inside.” Though I have come to expect it, the experience is frustrating in multiple ways. There is the assumption that I am interested in frontline politics, the belief that anyone consistently providing critique of government should be prepared to be in frontline politics and the
The
Alicia Wallace column common, unfortunate perception that the only way to affect change is to be in parliament. I reject all of these ideas. We are the government I, as a citizen of The Bahamas, am already a part of the government. All citizens are a part of the government. We have representatives in parliament. If the system worked, and even better if our
representatives worked, we would not all be pushing each other toward candidacy. If we had more active civic participation, we would know and demonstrate that we have a voice, we hold the power and bring change. Instead, we push our best and brightest to be a whisper in a throng of approximately 39 voices — instead of joining our hundreds of thousands of voices — expecting those
THE PRIME Minister - Hubert Minnis - now only delivers addresses, having moved away from the press conference format individuals to bring us change on a plate. Some of us try to silence the people outside that space who discuss national issues, challenge the status quo and demand not just different, but better. This is generally because we do not want the critique or do not want their critique in particular. There is a danger in pushing the intelligent, the charismatic, the popular, the technically skilled into the system that has been failing us for decades. It is a mistake to suggests members of civil society abandon their advocacy to become the people who make the decisions. In the case of the former, we leave ourselves without allies. What is to happen when the people who used to be on our side realise there is little they can do when the party whip is on, they are stripped of their positions for not playing nicely and the only thing they can really accomplish is personal wins by playing by the dirty rules of what has become a game? Think of all the people who entered frontline politics with good intentions and either sat there muzzled or left with dirty hands. In the case of the latter, we admit we have given up on exercising our power, refuse to engage in collective action and expect advocates and practitioners to become politicians so they can do it for us. We say we do not want to be involved in our own governance. Is that the case? Have we given up? Are we no longer interested in self-governance? Are we content to allow a small group of people to make decisions for us because we can’t all sit in Parliament? The power is in the people, but do the people know it? My frustration with the occasional question about my interest in frontline politics is not personal. I do not find it insulting, whether it arises because people think I would serve well and need to be “higher” or an idiot who can be challenged into silence. It is that so many people are uncomfortable with critique, whether it is an opposing point of view or not. It is unfortunate so many people do not believe in their own power and have learned to depend on other people to speak for them. It is most disappointing so many people are comfortable with the idea that only 39 people hold all the power in this country, relinquished by us when we vote for them (or against the others). We need to change the way we think about politics, elections, power and collective action. We need to pay attention to consultation processes, committee appointments and outputs and responses to civil society. We cannot be bystanders and expect change. We have to participate and that requires paying attention, providing feedback and demanding to be heard.
Importantly, government officials depend on the people to call for specific actions, laws and policy. This is why political parties have operatives who flood radio talk show lines with very specific lines of rhetoric every day — creating demand. We have to know by now that no one is coming to save us. We have to reject the cult of personality. We have to break allegiance to party. There are too many issues that need our attention. We have to make it clear we need to know candidates’ positions on these pressing issues and their plans to address them. No one believes we should remain dependent on tourism, but who has presented a plan to diversify the economy? Climate change is not only a threat, but a reality that forces us to pay attention at least once per year. Where is our climate action plan? Where is the post-Hurricane Dorian report including lessons learned, identified experts, changes to existing policies including prioritised fields of study for scholarships and disaster recovery protocol? These are just a few of the demands we must make of candidates. Explicit positions and concrete plans have to be prerequisites not only for our votes, but for our time and attention during the election season. Representation requires communication In her 2012 Voter’s Manifesto, Dr Nicolette Bethel said: “I believe that it is the obligation of a government to seek out and hear the needs of the people whom it represents.” I share this belief. The current relationship is the inverse of what it should be. We should not be chasing any administration, begging it to listen to us, communicate with us, or involve us. We should not have to say the Economic Recovery Committee is a joke and the idea of 10,000 subcommittees does not solve the problem. It should have recognised the expertise in a diverse group of people and it could have easily requested and received nominations from the public. The government ought to invite our participation. It ought to ask questions, present opportunities and welcome critique. Dr Bethel also said: “I believe that Bahamian innovation, creativity, and adaptability carved this nation out of these scattered rocks in the sea, and that innovation, creativity, and adaptability will make us flourish in the 21st century.” We have what it takes. We can reshape this country without squeezing ourselves into Parliament. (Let’s not forget that some among us cannot get in there anyway because the building is inaccessible.) We have representatives and they work for us. We advocate for ourselves and they ought to create mechanisms
— including regular constituency meetings, town halls, and online platforms — for consistent communication. If we have to be in Parliament to be heard, to make change, it is useless to have representatives. We have to remind ourselves that we are the government, we are the employers and perhaps, we need to withhold pay. Press please Communication from the government on the COVID-19 crisis, emergency order and relevant decision-making has deteriorated. At the beginning of this situation, we received regular updates from both the Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Health. There were informative press conferences and the participation of the press has been critical to getting a deeper understanding of what is and will be taking place. Since the resignation of former Minister of Health Dr Duane Sands, there is a marked difference. There is no minister at the Ministry of Health briefings. The team of experts is doing well with keeping us up to date and answering questions from the press on issues specific to health operations, but no one there is able to answer questions about policy. Is this by design? The Prime Minister now only delivers addresses, having moved away from the press conference format. This means he gives us information he deems appropriate and the live feed ends. There is no opportunity for the press to ask questions for clarification, request further information, or raise issues that are ignored in the speeches. This, coupled with the lack of an actual Minister of Health or the attendance of the Prime Minister at the Ministry of Health updates means there is no opportunity to engage them on issues related to policies and movement through the phases of reopening. In the last address from the Prime Minister there were many questions we should have had answered. Why the punitive approach to reopening the Family Islands? When will a new Minister of Health be appointed? What protocols are being considered for the reopening of commercial travel? What metrics are being used to determine how and when we move through the phases of reopening? We are the government. We need to do our jobs. We need to be able to ask questions and receive clear, accurate answers. Getting into parliament in two years isn’t going to help us now. We need to activate our power as a people. The time for depending on others is long gone. Members of Parliament represent us in the House and the press represents us wherever it has access and it should always have access. We should always have access.
PAGE 10, Wednesday, May 20, 2020
THE TRIBUNE
US seeks to change the rules for mining the Moon
By SCOTT SHACKELFORD Associate Professor of Business Law and Ethics, Indiana University PRIVATE industries have helped drop the cost of launching rockets, satellites and other equipment into space to historic lows. That has boosted interest in developing space – both for mining raw materials such as silicon for solar panels and oxygen for rocket fuel, as well as potentially relocating polluting industries off the Earth. But the rules are not clear about who would profit if, for instance, a US company like SpaceX colonized Mars or established a Moon base. At the moment, no company – or nation – is yet ready to claim or take advantage of private property in space. But the $350 billion space industry could change quickly. Several companies are already planning to explore the Moon
to find raw materials like water; Helium-3, which is potentially useful in fusion nuclear reactors; and rare earth elements, which are invaluable for manufacturing electronics. What they might find and how easy the material is to bring back to Earth, remains to be seen. Anticipating additional commercial interest, the Trump administration has created new rules through an executive order following a 2015 law change for how those companies might profit from operations on the Moon, asteroids and other planets. Those rules conflict with a longstanding international treaty the US has generally followed but never formally joined. The administration also is planning to encourage other nations to adopt this new US perspective on space mining. As a scholar of space law and policy – and a proud sci-fi nerd – I believe the international community could find new ways to peacefully govern
space from examples here on our planet, including deep seabed mining and Antarctica. Who owns space? In general, regions of Earth beyond any one nation’s control – like the high seas, the atmosphere and Antarctica – have been viewed by the international community as globally shared resources. That principle applied to space, too, until President Trump’s executive order specifically rejected the idea that space was any sort of “global commons” shared among all nations and peoples of the Earth. This step is the latest in a series of decisions by US presidents over the last 40 years that have signalled the country’s decreasing willingness to share these types of resources, especially through an international body like the United Nations. That is one reason why
the US has not ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, for example, which was agreed to in 1982 and took effect in 1994. A similar story played out regarding the Moon. Moon Treaty and international space law Over the decades, the US has sought to use its space policy in various ways. President John F. Kennedy, for example, considered turning the Apollo Moonlanding programme into a joint US-Soviet mission to promote peace between the superpowers. Lyndon Johnson’s administration similarly saw space as a shared region and, in 1967 signed the Outer Space Treaty, which proclaimed that space was the “province of all mankind”. However, that treaty didn’t say anything about mining on the Moon – so when the US landed there in 1969, the international community called for regulations.
The UN‘s eventual Moon Treaty declared the Moon the “common heritage of mankind,” and sought shared international control over resources found there. However, that plan wasn’t very popular among advocates for a more commercial final frontier. In the US, a non-profit group in favour of space colonization opposed the treaty, fearing it would discourage private investment. The treaty failed ratification in the US Senate. Only 18 nations have, in fact, ratified the Moon Treaty among them Mexico and Australia, none of them major spacefaring powers. But even though many countries seem to agree the Moon Treaty isn’t the right way to handle lunar property rights, that doesn’t mean they agree on what they actually should do. Finding profit in space As space launches got cheaper, the US SPACE Act, passed in 2015, gave US companies the right to mine materials from asteroids for profit. That conflicts with the sharedresources view of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. Since then, there have been further political efforts to remove perceived legal hurtles to space mining. In 2017, a Republican congressman sought to formalize the US rejection of space as any sort of common property, proposing a bill that said, “outer space shall not be considered a global commons”. That bill died, but it was reintroduced in 2019 and is currently awaiting action in the House. A new space race? Allowing private control of space resources could launch a new space race, in which wealthy companies, likely from developed countries, could take control of crucial resources – like ice on the Moon, which could supply water for people or to fuel rockets – and profit handsomely. That, in turn, would increase the likelihood of a military arms race, with the US, Russia and China developing weapons to defend their citizens’ space assets. In finding common ground, and charting a path forward, it is useful to consider lessons from other frontiers. The Moon Treaty tried to set up a system for sharing the benefits of Moon mining similar to how an existing system handled mining the deep sea. The International Seabed Authority is a U.N. body that lets nations and private firms develop resources from the deep seabed so
long as they share the proceeds, particularly with landlocked developing nations. It is recognized by more than 160 nations, though the US is a notable holdout. Environmental groups have criticised the Authority for not doing enough to safeguard fragile marine environments, but the overall model of sharing the wealth from a collective resource could still be useful. For instance, the Authority’s participants are working on a new code of ethics for deepsea mining that would emphasise environmental sustainability. Those provisions could be mirrored on other worlds. Similarly, the global management of Antarctica has useful parallels with the Moon. The entire continent is governed by a treaty that has avoided conflict since 1959 by freezing national territorial claims and barring military and commercial activities. Instead, the continent is reserved for “peaceful purposes” and “scientific investigation”. A similar approach could become the core of a second attempt at a Moon Treaty, and could even accommodate a provision for commercial activity along the lines of the deep-sea mining rules. In so doing, we must also learn what has not worked in the past, such as ignoring the interests of the private sector and the developing world. Advocates are correct that defining property rights is an important precursor, but it is not a binary choice between a “global commons” or private property, rather there are a universe of rights that deserve consideration and that could provide a proper foundation for sustainable development. But coming to an international agreement would take time, energy and a widespread willingness to view resources as common assets that should be collectively governed. All those ingredients are in short supply in a world where many countries are becoming more isolationist. For the immediate future, other countries may or may not follow the US lead, and its influence, toward privatizing space. Japan seems interested, as does Luxembourg, but China and Russia are concerned about their national security, and the European Space Agency is more inclined toward working collectively. Without better coordination, it seems likely that eventually peaceful, sustainable development of off-world resources will give way to competing claims, despite readily available examples of how to avoid conflict.
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, May 20, 2020, PAGE 11
EUROPE MULLS OVER HOW TO GET ITS TOURISTS BACK CYPRUS Associated Press
THE Mediterranean resort town of Ayia Napa is known for its boisterous parties. Each summer, thousands of young foreign tourists pack the dance floors of its nightlife district after a day at the beach. But the pandemic silenced the exuberant Napa Strip district as the island nation of Cyprus went into a lockdown to halt the spread of the coronavirus. Now nightclub owners wonder when social distancing rules will be eased enough for the party to resume — and what those new parties will look
like. “We know at nightclubs, young people will go to dance and have a good time. But then you have to tell them that they have to keep 2 meters apart from each other?” asked Charalambos Alexandrou, the spokesman for a group representing local clubs, bars and restaurants. Across southern Europe, in places where tourism drives much of the economy, officials are weighing how to entice travelers to come back, even while the pandemic remains a threat. Juggling the sometimes-competing needs of health and business, authorities are introducing measures to reassure visitors that taking a holiday
is safe again. Social distancing rules may work in restaurants, but that’s not likely to solve the quandary facing Ayia Napa’s nightclubs. Alexandrou said this will be “a season of trying to survive,” not seeking a profit. One idea being considered is asking holidaymakers to take a COVID-19 test prior to their arrival. Cyprus has officially reported 916 cases of COVID-19 and 17 deaths. The country’s deputy minister for tourism, Savvas Perdios, said Cyprus will initially look to bring tourists from nearby countries that have managed to contain the virus — Greece, Israel, the United
Arab Emirates and some central European and Nordic nations. Authorities will take more time to assess the course of the pandemic in the United Kingdom and Russia, the island’s primary tourism markets, before rolling out the red carpet for those countries. Tourists in the near future will have to navigate a different set of expectations, routines and rules to counter the virus. Christos Angelides, president of the Cyprus Hotel Managers’ Association, said new rules being announced soon will mean that from the moment tourists step out of their bus or taxi from the airport, their luggage will be
disinfected and taken straight to their rooms. Reception procedures will be done electronically, with employees behind a plexiglass screen and cleaning staff in full protective gear. Guests eyeing a vacation in Portugal, another major southern European holiday destination, will probably look beyond a hotel’s online reviews to see if it has the “Clean&Safe” seal now being awarded by local tourism officials. The seal indicates that the establishment, be it a hotel, restaurant or other venue, has enacted recommended hygiene and safety procedures to protect against the virus.
PRESIDENT DEFENDS HIS USE OF DRUG WASHINGTON Associated Press
LEFT: Healthcare workers at New Orleans dance to a jazz serenade as a tribute for their care for COVID-19 patients; above: Daiana Goldberger grooms a dog in Mississauga, Ontario; below: Exercise machines are wiped down in Orlando, Florida
Standoff between US and China traps WHO GENEVA Associated Press FACING the most disruptive pandemic in generations, the technocratic halls of the World Health Organization are now the scene of pitched battles in an increasingly bitter proxy war between the China and the United States. At the UN health agency’s annual assembly this week, Chinese President Xi Jinping joined by video conference to offer more money and support. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump railed against the WHO in a letter accusing it of covering up the coronavirus outbreak with China — and threatening to permanently halt US funding that has been its main financial lifeblood for years. It marked the latest showdown between the world’s last superpower and the rising Asian giant vying to supplant it on the global
stage — this time against the backdrop of a disease that has killed over 300,000 people, left hundreds of millions jobless and ground the world economy to a halt. For America’s allies in the West and beyond — who have counted on the postwar stability and prosperity that the United States has fostered — the standoff was another gut-check moment about the “America First” leader, now heading into a tough reelection contest. Lawrence Gostin, director of the WHO Collaborating Center on Health and Human Rights at Georgetown University, said the withdrawal of the US from the global health world would mark a seismic political shift. “What the US is doing is acting like a bully, making an existential threat to the WHO, and my worry is if the US ever made good on that pledge, the world would splinter,”
he said. “This is giving an enormous political prize to China because China has long been looking for a chance to shine on the global stage.” A US exit would likely weaken the global health agency and leave the US and China to each fund their own projects, Gostin said. At the assembly that ended yesterday, European Union leaders tried to strike a middle ground between the two rivals, and the agency’s director-general simply tried to keep the focus on fighting the disease — not each other. The assembly’s opening day on Monday was book-ended by two very different messages. On one side, Xi, serene beside the Chinese flag and a landscape mural, called in to say that China would offer $2 billion over two years to help with the COVID-19 response and economic fallout. He vowed that any vaccine against the disease developed in his
STATES ACCUSED OF FUDGING OR BUNGLING COVID-19 TESTING DATA
KNIGHTHOOD FOR ARMY VETERAN AND HERO FUNDRAISER
Associated Press
LONDON Associated Press A BRITISH army veteran who shuffled the length of his garden 100 times to raise funds for the National Health Service is to be honoured with a knighthood. Tom Moore received a special nomination for the honor from Prime Minister Boris Johnson, just weeks after he raised $40m for completing the challenge to mark his 100th birthday. His simple determination and promise that “tomorrow will be a good day!’’ cheered a nation in lockdown amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “Col. Tom’s fantastic fundraising broke records, inspired the whole country and provided us all with a beacon of light through the fog of coronavirus,’’ Johnson said. “On behalf
country would be made a “global public good.” On the other, Trump threatened to cut US funding to the WHO for good unless the agency commits to “substantive improvements” in the next 30 days, in a letter to agency Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. It’s not clear what those improvements are. “I cannot allow American taxpayer dollars to continue to finance an organization that, in its present state, is so clearly not serving America’s interests,” Trump wrote. The US is the biggest WHO donor, providing about $450 million a year. Europeans looked on aghast. “Watching the World Health Assembly today was observing the post-American world,” tweeted former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt, co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations.
PRESIDENT Donald Trump yesterday defended himself against criticism from medical experts that his announced use of a malaria drug against the coronavirus could spark wide misuse by Americans of the unproven treatment with potentially fatal side effects. Trump’s revelation a day earlier that he was taking hydroxychloroquine caught many in his administration by surprise and set off an urgent effort by officials to justify his action. But their attempt to address the concerns of health professionals was undercut by the president himself. He asserted without evidence that a study of veterans raising alarm about the drug was “false” and an “enemy statement,” even as his own government warned that the drug should be administered for COVID-19 only in a hospital or research setting. “If you look at the one survey, the only bad survey, they were giving it to people that were in very bad shape,” Trump said. That was an apparent reference to a study of hundreds of patients treated by the Department of Veterans Affairs in which more of those in a group who were administered hydroxychloroquine died than among those who weren’t. “They were very old. Almost dead,” Trump said. “It was a Trump enemy statement.” During a Cabinet meeting, he elicited a defense of his practice from other officials, including VA Secretary David Wilkie who noted that the study in question was not conducted by his agency. But the drug has not been shown to combat the virus in a multitude of other studies as well. Two large observational studies, each involving around 1,400 patients in New York, recently found no COVID benefit from hydroxychloroquine.
CAPTAIN Tom Moore celebrating his 100th birthday last month of everyone who has been who took care of him when moved by his incredible he broke his hip. When he story, I want to say a huge first started, he was a mere thank you.’’ retired Captain with a goal Queen Elizabeth II of raising 1,000 pounds. approved the honour. It But, as he walked, the was not immediately clear public became captivated how it will be bestowed, as by the veteran with the the ongoing lockdown man- walker and a cause. When dates social distancing. his birthday arrived in Moore’s family used April, he was promoted, social media to seek dona- becoming the first Honortions to support health care ary Colonel of the Army workers as a mark of grati- Foundation College, tude to doctors and nurses Harrogate.
PUBLIC health officials in some US states are accused of bungling coronavirus infection statistics or even using a little sleight of hand to deliberately make things look better than they are. The risk is that politicians, business owners and ordinary Americans who are making decisions about lockdowns, reopenings and other day-to-day matters could be left with the impression that the virus is under more control than it actually is. In Virginia, Texas and Vermont, for example, officials said they have been combining the results of viral tests, which show an active infection, with antibody tests, which show a past infection. Public health experts say that can make for impressive-looking testing totals but does not give a true picture of how the virus is spreading. In Florida, the data scientist who developed the state’s coronavirus dashboard, Rebekah Jones, said this week that she was fired
for refusing to manipulate data “to drum up support for the plan to reopen.” In Georgia, one of the earliest states to ease up on lockdowns and assure the public it was safe to go out again, the Department of Public Health published a graph around May 11 that showed new COVID-19 cases declining over time in the most severely affected counties. The daily entries, however, were not arranged in chronological order but in descending order. For example, the May 7 totals came right before April 26, which was followed by May 3. A quick look at the graph made it appear as if the decline was smoother than it really was. The graph was taken down within about a day. Georgia state Rep. Jasmine Clark, a Democrat with a doctorate in microbiology, said the graph was a “prime example of malfeasance.” “Sadly it feels like there’s been an attempt to make the data fit the narrative, and that’s not how data works,” she said.
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s office denied there was any attempt to deceive the public. Guidelines from the Trump administration say that before states begin reopening, they should see a 14-day downward trend in infections. However, some states have reopened when infections were still climbing or had plateaued. States have also been instructed to expand testing and contact tracing. Vermont and Virginia said they stopped combining the two types of tests in the past few days. Still, health officials in Virginia, where Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam has eased up on restrictions, said that combining the numbers caused “no difference in overall trends.” In Texas, where health officials said last week that they were including some antibody results in their testing totals and case counts, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said that the numbers were not being commingled.
SPORTS SECTION E
WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2020
Top javelin thrower Otabor aims for FIU By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
R
hema Otabor, already established as one of the top junior female javelin throwers in the region, is heading to Florida International University in Miami, Florida, in August. Otabor, 18, signed her commitment form on May 12 and she intends to pursue a degree in mathematics with a concentration in statistics. She decided to transfer from the University of the Bahamas to FIU. “When I visited the school, I liked the energy from the team and the fact that the school is a very small one,” Otabor said. “I prefer the small schools. Plus their javelin programme has had some positive outcomes and I believe that I can go there and excel as well.” Otabor, who sat out one year after she graduated from Nassau Christian Academy because she was a bit too young to compete for college, is the two-time under-18 girls’ javelin champion and current record holder at the CARIFTA Games, the top junior regional competition. She had qualified for this year’s CARIFTA Games in Hamilton, Bermuda, which was called off because of the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. She still has one more year of eligibility, but will have to wait to see when she reports to FIU whether or not she gets her release for next year’s team. Otabor is also the Bahamas junior national record holder with a lifetime best of 47.95 metres or 157-feet, 3-inches, a feat she achieved on January 11 to place her at No. 30 on the World
RHEMA OTABOR, of the Bahamas, is heading to Florida International University in August. Athletics’ top performance list for 2020. She was looking to improve on her performance this year, but the coronavirus put a dent into her plans as the remainder of the track and field season was cancelled because of the coronavirus that surfaced around the world in March. “It was hard to train because you could get distracted being at home,” Otabor said. “I’ve been doing some small workouts and ensuring that I stay in shape with my javelin drills. “I was able to put my books down from the University of the Bahamas, but I’ve been watching some videos from some of the top javelin throwers so that I can stay on top of my game.”
As she prepares for FIU, Otabor said she hopes that she can gel with her team-mates and she can achieve some of the goals on her bucket list. “When I go to college, I hope that I can break the school record and I can win the NCAA outdoor title for my event,” she stated. Her coach Corrington Maycock, head coach of the Blue Chips Throwers Club, has been working with Otabor for the past three years and he has been quite impressed with her progression. “She was ranked fifth in the world as a junior female competitor in the javelin before the coronavirus stopped everything,” Maycock said. “She was going to
go to CARIFTA and win the title, but she still has one more year left, so hopefully they will release her next year so she can come back and break the under-20 CARIFTA record and win the gold.” Maycock said Otabor is eyeing Lavern Eve’s national record in the javelin of 63.73m (209-1) that she established on April 22, 2000 in Nashville, Tennessee, but he admits that it’s a long shot. Otabor thanked Maycock, as well as Letetia Dean and Tiffany Bullard, who both helped to take care of her and grow her up after her mother passed away. She is sister of Michaelangelo Bullard, also a member of the CARIFTA team, along with Aleah Otabor.
NO UNIVERSAL PLAYBOOK FOR VIRUS TESTING IN PRO SPORTS By MARK LONG AP Sports Writer JACKSONVILLE, Florida (AP) — There is no universal playbook for coronavirus testing in professional sports. Protocols and procedures, guidelines and handbooks -- they could be as different as rulebooks. There’s plenty of common ground, though, which explains why executives and doctors from various leagues have consulted with each other while moving closer to at least a partial return to competition amid a pandemic. League officials essentially are choosing the best option from a list of bad choices, and it comes down to how much risk are they willing to take. “When you look at the people that run these other sports, these are all really smart guys,” UFC President Dana White said. “And nobody knows their business better than they do. “They have to literally sit down and break through item by item on what they need to do and how they need to make it as safe as they possibly can. And they’ll figure it out.” There already have been several approaches in the United States: — UFC took blood (antibody test) or swabbed nostrils (viral test) for roughly 1,200 people during its weeklong stay in Jacksonville, Florida, this month — part of the mixed martial arts behemoth’s health and safety protocols. It took minutes for antibody results and
as little as a few hours for viral test results. — NASCAR logged temperatures of about 900 people Sunday at its return race in Darlington, South Carolina. — Major League Baseball delivered a 67-page proposal of a 2020 operations manual last week, still subject to negotiation with the players’ association. Proposed details include temperature checks twice a day and multiple fluid swabs weekly. Blood samples to detect COVID-19 antibodies will be collected less frequently. — The NBA hasn’t implemented a full-scale testing programme for its 30 teams; a little more than half have reopened practice facilities for voluntary workouts. The NFL, NHL, tennis, golf and other sports are working on their procedures. Options differ internationally, too: — South Korea’s top soccer league, the K-League, tested 1,100 players and staff at the end of April, and all came back negative, clearing the way to begin its season. South Korean baseball, the KBO, screens players and coaches for fevers. — Australia’s National Rugby League will mandate vaccines -- not for the coronavirus, but for the seasonal flu. It’s part of Queenland’s contentious “no-jab, no-play” policy that means players who skip an annual flu shot won’t be permitted to play north of the QueenslandNew South Wales border. — The English Premier League conducted its first
A SIGN directs people to a screening station outside Darlington Raceway on Sunday. NASCAR, which has been idle since March 8 because of the coronavirus pandemic, made its return with the Real Heroes 400 Nascar Cup Series auto race Sunday. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) wave of COVID-19 testing this week and found six of 748 people infected. Those six have to self-isolate for a week. UFC tested each of its employees before reopening its headquarters Monday. White said UFC will again test everyone before its next fights, May 30 in either Las Vegas or Arizona. The UFC spent, on average, $125 per test; that added up to around $150,000 in Jacksonville. White was tested three times partly because he walked around without a mask and was in close contact with fighters. That price tag is peanuts for a multi-billion-dollar business that reportedly notched more than 700,000 pay-per-view buys for UFC 249 — generating as much as $45 million in revenue for the first major sporting event in the United States during the pandemic.
UFC has far fewer competitors than other leagues, which means more manageable testing and contact tracing and easier social-distancing. NASCAR would have to spend more than $2 million to test everyone it deems essential before each of its 20 races over the next month, but decided it didn’t need to because drivers are isolated and pit crews already wear protective equipment. Other sports have difficult decisions to make. Tennis and golf tournaments often involve more than 100 entrants from around the globe. NFL teams head to training camp with 90 players, plus about 20 coaches and dozens more support personnel. MLB suggested 50-man rosters for its season. Leagues seem hesitant to adopt constant testing measures outside
of temperature checks, especially if it creates the perception they are taking supplies that could be earmarked for healthcare workers or the general public. Still, television revenue -- no one is expecting full stands anytime soon -- is the driving force to return to competition. And most agree that some level of testing is key. “The overall picture is that there’s a lot to be desired from testing to use it as a definitive indicator that everybody’s safe,” said Stuart Miller, the senior executive director of the International Tennis Federation, who is overseeing its COVID-19 advisory group and return-to-tennis efforts. “There’s a number of risks from just the testing side,” Miller added. In UFC, fighter Jacaré Souza and two of his cornermen tested positive for COVID-19 a day before a bout. They were sent home. The UFC, which said the trio were the only ones who tested positive, barely blinked. And the show went on. How sports leagues respond to a positive test is a key component to resuming competition. Will they continue play if a superstar tests positive? What if several teammates are infected? Will there be a threshold that prompts another league-wide shutdown? “You just have to be willing to work hard enough, spend some money and come up with solutions,” White said.
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DICKINSON STATE HALL OF FAME: RAMON MILLER TO BE INDUCTED BAHAMIAN quartermiler turned policeman Ramon Miller heads the list of persons who will be inducted into the Dickinson State University’s Hall of Fame class for 2020. Miller will be in the class of six athletes, several teams and two coaches from the past. Miller, a gold medallist in the Olympics, and Nancy Nyongesa, a four-time volleyball all-American and participant in the Olympics, along with the first baseball teams, were to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. “With this class, they are certainly some of the best teams and players in the history of this school,” said Dickinson State athletic director Pete Stanton. “In some cases, they are some of the best teams or players in the history of the NAIA, in both men’s and women’s athletics.” Miller won multiple national titles in 200 and 400 metre dashes while at Dickinson State in the late 2000s. He was also the NAIA’s most outstanding track and field athlete in 2009. His shining moment came though in the 2012 Olympics in London, England. He anchored the Bahamas 4x400 team and brought home the gold for them. Joining him on the team were Eleuthera’s Chris ‘Fireman’ Brown and Grand Bahamians Michael Mathieu and Demetrius Pinder. While he has not officially retired, Miller is now a member of the Royal Bahamas Police Force. Since joining the force, he represented the Bahamas at the Law Enforcement Games in track and field a year ago.
BELMONT SET FOR JUNE 20 WITHOUT FANS By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Sports Writer HORSE racing’s Triple Crown will look different this year from start to finish. The Belmont Stakes will be run before the Kentucky Derby and Preakness for the first time and take place at a shorter distance. It will lead off the Triple Crown on June 20 in New York with no fans in attendance and at a distance of 1 1/8 miles instead of the 1 1/2-mile “test of the champion” that has been the race’s trademark for nearly a century. “The way it fits in the calendar, it’s a completely different race than the traditional Belmont would be,” New York Racing Association president and CEO Dave O’Rourke said yesterday. “I think we’re going to have a big field. I think it’ll be a really competitive field. I think the dynamics of the race are different.” The three Triple Crown races will be run out of their traditional order for the first time since 1931. The Kentucky Derby was moved from May 2 to September 5 and the Preakness from May 16 to October 3 amid the coronavirus pandemic that has upended the sports calendar. “I’m just happy we get to run,” two-time Triple Crown-winning trainer Bob Baffert said.
PAGE 14, Wednesday, May 20, 2020
THE TRIBUNE
Old Trafford cricket ground plans for social-distancing fans By ROB HARRIS AP Sports Writer MANCHESTER, England (AP) — The Old Trafford cricket ground is spearheading plans in England to try to bring fans back into a sports venue during the coronavirus pandemic. Lancashire Cricket Club chief executive Daniel Gidney believes social distancing can be applied in their 26,000-seat ground to allow in at least 2,000 fans. Not only are mass gatherings still banned by the government, but sports teams aren’t allowed to play or train together. A cricket season that was due to start in April won’t begin until July at the earliest. “I’m hopeful that we can get some domestic cricket away in the back end of August and September, at least behind closed doors, but possibly even with some small crowds,” Gidney told The Associated Press. “Sometimes you can get into this negative box. And when I’m being
positive, I’m not being reckless or saying things that can’t happen from a safety perspective.” Gidney’s plan for the northwest England cricket ground could form a template that facilitates the return of much-needed revenue from fans attending sports venues. Taiwan is hoping up to 1,000 spectators will be allowed to attend baseball games from July. “We could have domestic cricket with 2,000-3,000 people in with seats separated out in the stadium, Perspex barriers on counters,” Gidney said in an interview by video link. “There are ways that we can make a sanitised, smaller crowd, domestic cricket environment possible at the back end of the year based on the current trajectories that we’re looking at from the science and the infection rate keeping down. “As long as the infection rate continues to drop, then I believe that we should be able to get some form of domestic cricket back and
A VIEW of the stadium during a nets session before the 4th Ashes Test cricket match between England and Australia at Old Trafford cricket ground in Manchester, England, on September 3, 2019. The Old Trafford cricket ground is spearheading plans in England to try to bring fans back into a sports venue during the coronavirus pandemic. Lancashire Cricket Club chief executive Daniel Gidney believes social distancing can be applied in their 26,000seat ground to allow in at least 1,000 fans. (AP) hopefully with some small crowds.” Financial successes last year for Lancashire help to ease the financial burden caused by the shutdown of sport, and the conference and event business in the
hotel adjacent to the cricket ground. Lancashire reported a record turnover of 34 million pounds ($42 million) and net profit of 2 million pounds in 2019, with half generated from
staging Cricket World Cup matches, and a test in England’s Ashes series against Australia. Cash reserves are at 1.7 million pounds, while liabilities have dropped below 500,000 pounds. Lancashire is hoping the presence of a 150-bed Hilton Garden Inn on site will also facilitate the return of international cricket this summer by creating a bubble the players don’t leave once they have been tested for the coronavirus. “If you’re negative, you go into the bubble,” Gidney said. “Then, in theory, it’s a bit like going to lockdown with your family and over a period of time, as long as you don’t step outside of the bubble, then that’s possibly as safe as you can be.” The club is still waiting to learn whether it will receive England tests this year against the West Indies and Pakistan. The England and Wales Cricket Board want them to be hosted in “bio-secure” environments, without elaborating so far. Pakistan captain Babar Azam is still keen to play
matches in England in July and August. “The environment needs to be safe and secure as no event or match is bigger than life,” Azam said on a media call. “My family will be more worried than me but if the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) tells me that it’s safe to go, I will definitely travel.” Britain has Europe’s highest known virus death toll — around 35,000 — as well as the most confirmed cases. “If people are scared and worried about COVID19, they will naturally be nervous travelling into a territory that has one of the highest reported cases and casualties,” Azam said. “But, on the other side of the coin, I completely understand and accept normal services also need to resume. “The difficult decision for the administrators is what is the right time to resume sport activities. Also, we still need to know what guidelines the UK government will provide in terms of foreigners’ travel and quarantine.”
CRISTIANO RONALDO REPORTS TO JUVENTUS, GIVES THUMBS UP By ANDREW DAMPF AP Sports Writer CRISTIANO Ronaldo reported to Juventus’ training centre for medical tests yesterday after a 10-week absence and gave the media a thumbs up when he left three hours later. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner observed a two-week isolation period at his home in Turin after spending the lockdown in his native Portugal. He has not been alongside his teammates since helping the Serie A leaders beat Inter Milan 2-0 on
March 8, after which he flew to his home island of Madeira, Portugal. Serie A was suspended a day later when the Italian government ordered a nationwide lockdown. The league is hoping to resume on June 13 if it can reach an agreement with the government, which has banned sports events until June 14. Outside the training centre in Turin, journalists and photographers plus some fans were on hand when Ronaldo arrived alone driving a Jeep. He was the first of several Juventus players who left Italy
during the lockdown to report back to the team. When he left the facility, Ronaldo rolled his window down, smiled for reporters and photographers and gave a thumbs up. Like all Serie A players, Ronaldo was tested for the coronavirus and underwent other physical exams. While Juventus did not release the results of the tests, the club posted images on its website of Ronaldo training individually. Three Juventus players — Daniele Rugani, Blaise Matuidi and Paulo Dybala — tested positive
for COVID-19 during the lockdown. All three recovered. Ronaldo was in top form before the lockdown, scoring 21 times in 22 Serie A matches. In his penultimate game before the suspension, Ronaldo marked his 1,000th official match by scoring in his 11th straight Serie A game. That matched the Serie A record set by Gabriel Batistuta in 1994 and equalled by Fabio Quagliarella last season. In his second season at Juventus, Ronaldo is on course to win a second straight Serie A title.
The Bianconeri lead Lazio by one point. In the Champions League, Juventus needs to overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit to Lyon in the round of 16. In the Italian Cup semi-finals, Juventus drew with AC Milan 1-1 in the first leg courtesy of an injury-time penalty from Ronaldo. Ronaldo shared details of his home workouts on social media during the lockdown. Six days ago, he posted a video on Instagram of him kicking a ball back and forth with his son at home.
THE TRIBUNE
Wednesday, May 20, 2020, PAGE 15
NFL TEAMS CAN REOPEN TRAINING FACILITIES WITH GOVERNMENT OK By BARRY WILNER AP Pro Football Writer SEVERAL NFL teams were reopening their training facilities yesterday, while many are prohibited by government restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic. Commissioner Roger Goodell gave the 32 clubs the go-ahead for limited reopenings as long as state and local municipalities allow them. Coaching staffs and all players except those undergoing injury rehabilitation are barred from the facilities in the first phase of the league’s plan. With such states as California, New York, New Jersey, Washington, Michigan, Massachusetts and Virginia still under heavy restrictions, that immediately leaves 11 franchises unable to use their facilities. The Raiders, headed for Las Vegas for the upcoming season, still have their training complex in Alameda, California.
The Ravens, Vikings, Titans, Buccaneers, Browns, Panthers, Eagles and Packers chose not to reopen Tuesday. The Jaguars have set May 26 for their reopening. Among the teams taking advantage of using their buildings on the first day they are allowed are the Falcons, Texans, Cardinals and Colts. “We’ve spent the entire quarantine period preparing to reopen,” the Colts said in a statement, “... but it will be very gradual and deliberate. And of course we’re taking steps to make sure we’re in compliance with state and local regulations, and NFL and CDC guidelines.” That means primarily employees that must be in the office to do their jobs: people who need to access files that are only at the office; maintenance workers; trainers; and technology workers. Those people will have their temperature taken when entering
the building and must wear personal protective equipment. The Colts have set up one-way hallways with arrows on the carpet pointing to the proper direction, and there will be limits on how many people can be in rooms at the same time. Coach Frank Reich was realistic about a full return to the training complex. “The guys who have been hurt, who have been coming into the building, keep coming in and rehabbing and doing their thing,” he said. “Our trainers have done a great job of keeping up with everybody. I feel good about the progress that each one of our injured guys is making. Other than that, as soon as we can get more players in the building — we want that to make up for a little bit of lost time. The sooner we can get together and get out there working, the better it will be.”
The Steelers were doing a soft reopening yesterday mainly for medical personnel and rehabbing players. They expect to ramp up use of their facility next week under league guidelines. As the Cardinals reopen, only essential staffers will be involved, far fewer than the 75 allowed at the facility. The Falcons have done a soft opening, too, with only about 15 people at their complex on Tuesday. Those numbers will increase over the next week. “The fact that some teams can get in today with limited staff in non-football functions, we didn’t think in any way, shape or form that created a competitive balance issue,” said Falcons President Rich McKay, who also is co-chairman of the league’s powerful competition committee. The Falcons train in Flowery Branch, Georgia, about 45 miles from their downtown Atlanta
stadium. “There’s one entrance to come in and out of. There’s all the social distancing to be complied with,” McKay added. “Everyone’s temperature is checked at the door and you’re asked a series of questions. Everyone must put gloves on and wear a mask the whole time unless they’re alone in a closed office. We don’t have the cafeteria open. We don’t have the team meeting rooms open. “As we move around building, we’ll see if there are areas that give us a challenge and go from there.” Goodell has extended virtual workouts for teams through most of June. All of the clubs normally would be having organised team activities (OTAs), which are voluntarily, at this time. According to the Tampa Times, though, new Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady worked out with teammates at a local high school Tuesday morning.
VIRUS HAS NFL PROSPECTS PONDERING THREAT OF A LOST SEASON By MITCH STACY AP Sports Writer COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Joe Burrow was a competent if unspectacular quarterback as a backup at Ohio State and during his first post-transfer season at LSU. In 2019, he transformed into Super Joe. Imagine if a pandemic had shortened or wiped out that last, golden season for Burrow, who won the Heisman Trophy and led LSU to the national championship. Would he still have emerged as the first overall NFL draft pick who is now being hailed as the savior of the woeful Cincinnati Bengals? These times have brought an extra level of anxiety for current college players hoping for a Burrow-like season or at least one that will raise their profile with NFL scouts. The virus threat did away with spring football and inperson workouts on campus. And nobody can say yet what the 2020 season will look like, or if there will be one at all. “It’s a nightmare, to be honest with you,” said Ohio State’s Josh
Myers, a second-team All-Big Ten centre last year and an NFL prospect. “That’s time we can never get back.” “It’s a critical (year) for development, getting that much more experience and elevating our games to an even higher level,” said Myers, a fourth-year junior. “So even the thought of not playing this season is terrifying and absolute worst-case scenario.” There are examples all over the NFL of how important one college season can be. Dwayne Haskins Jr — who beat out Burrow as the starter at Ohio State, leading Burrow to transfer — went from backup to one-year superstar in 2018. He threw for 50 touchdowns and led the Buckeyes to a 13-1 record and Rose Bowl victory. The 15th overall pick in the 2019 draft, he is now the presumptive starter for the Washington Redskins. For Burrow’s part, he acknowledged becoming a different and far better player in one year. “I wasn’t very good my junior year,” he said. “You know, it’s pretty simple. I worked really hard to get better.”
LSU quarterback Joe Burrow holds the trophy as safety Grant Delpit looks on after LSU defeated Clemson 42-25 in the NCAA College Football Playoff national championship game, in New Orleans on January 13. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Burrow didn’t have the challenge of being sheltered at home for a long stretch, missing spring practice and being left to his own devices to work out, eat right and study film in preparation for a season that might not happen. Penn State tackle Will Fries announced in December he would return for a fifth year, long before the pandemic changed everything. He insisted he doesn’t regret the decision. “I mean, there’s nothing I can do about it,” said Fries, who was All-Big Ten honourable mention in 2019. “At the end of the day, I can’t worry about it. All I can do is just get myself better every day.” Myers and fellow Ohio State lineman Wyatt Davis, an AllAmerican who passed up the draft to come back for a fourth year, are unequivocal about their need for a 2020 season, whether it involves playing in empty stadiums, extreme quarantining and even signing a waiver of liability. “I was looking so forward to this season, because I felt like last season I was just barely breaching the surface,” said Davis, the
grandson of late Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end Willie Davis of the Green Bay Packers. “I know this is a very big year for me.” Since shutdowns interrupted spring football practices in March, coaches around the country are trying to stay on top of their squads with video meetings and calls. Still, it’s mostly left to players who are 18, 19 and 20 years old to keep themselves in game shape and act right. That thought worries Mickey Marotti, the Ohio State strength and conditioning guru who usually oversees offseason workouts. “When you lay in bed (at night), you’re just like, oh I hope everyone is doing what they’re supposed to do,” he said. College football teams typically start preseason workouts in early August. Some Power Five schools, including LSU, are making plans to reopen their on-campus facilities to players next month without a firm plan in place to bring students back to campus this fall. The NCAA says campuses will have to be open before fall sports can commence.
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LeBron: ‘Definitely not giving up on the season’ By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer LEBRON James reiterated Monday that he is hopeful the NBA season can resume, with the caveat that the health and wellbeing of players won’t be jeopardised by a return to play. The Los Angeles Lakers star, speaking on the Uninterrupted platform’s “WRTS: After Party” show that was released Monday, said it remains his wish that the season comes back “sooner than later.” The NBA suspended the season on March 11 because of the coronavirus pandemic, and two unidentified members of the Lakers were among the league’s players who
subsequently tested positive for the virus. “Definitely not giving up on the season,” James said. “Not only myself and my teammates, the Lakers organisation, we want to play. There’s a lot of players that I know personally that want to play. And obviously, we don’t ever want to jeopardise the health of any of our players or any of the players’ families and so on and so on. “This is a pandemic that we have no idea (about). We can’t control it,” James added. James was among a group of some of the league’s highest-paid players, National Basketball Players Association president Chris Paul of the Oklahoma City
Thunder also part of the group, who met last week to talk about the season. Those players affirmed to one another on that call that they would like to see the season resume. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told players’ union members on May 8 that he was hoping to make some sort of decision about the future of the season within no more than a four-week window. By that timeframe — barring any adjustments based on what’s happening with the pandemic — Silver and the NBA would be hoping to decide upon some course of action by June 5. That said, there has been no definitive timetable from the NBA on when a
decision would be made. The league is prepping for many options. As of Monday, just over half of the league’s 30 franchises had reopened their practice facilities for voluntary workouts. But other sports are showing promising signs, with NASCAR restarting its season this past weekend, baseball working through some plans that could lead to a summer opening day, and live golf returning to television Sunday with a skins game in South Florida. “We’re seeing a lot of sporting events, UFC, soccer, we’re hearing baseball’s about to get going in a little bit,” James said. “You know, I want to get back to playing. I love to play the
game of basketball. I know how inspiring the game of basketball is. I know how inspiring sport is, itself. As soon as possible, when we can get back out there, we’d love to bring the game of basketball back to our fans.” James and the Lakers were atop the Western
Conference standings when the NBA suspended play. At 49-14, the NBA’s second-best record behind Milwaukee, the Lakers had already clinched what would be their first playoff spot since 2013. “I know we all miss it,” James said. “I’d be sitting here lying if I said we don’t.”
NETWORKS HAVE STRONG SHOWING DURING BUSY WEEKEND OF SPORTS By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer FANS who had been starving for live sporting events had their appetites somewhat sated last weekend. Network executives knew the first weekend with multiple live events would draw good numbers but for the most part they exceeded expectations. The Bundesliga’s return drew record numbers on Fox Sports 1, Saturday night’s UFC card on ESPN was one of the top shows on cable television and Sunday’s NASCAR race on Fox was the mostviewed non-Daytona race in three years. “It was fun being able to watch everything and not knowing what was going to happen. The good thing is people can see a little bit of the pieces of the sports
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world being able to restart,” said NBC’s Mike Tirico, who called Sunday’s TaylorMade Driving Relief exhibition match. ESPN dominated the weekend. According to Nielsen, the network won Sunday night’s cable ratings with the final two episodes of “The Last Dance,” while Saturday’s UFC Fight Night card was the third-most viewed programme on cable, averaging 1.20 million. Saturday’s card was the eighth-most viewed UFC telecast on an ESPN network since the network started airing bouts last January. It was also the secondmost viewed ESPN Fight Night. The record remains 1.5 million for the first card aired last February. Bundesliga games on Fox Sports 1 posted their best numbers on the network
since it began airing the German professional soccer league in 2015. The Bundesliga is the first of Europe’s first-division soccer leagues to resume play. Saturday’s matches averaged 365,000 viewers while Sunday’s games, which featured seven-time champion Bayern Munich, averaged 361,000. Fox Sports Senior Vice President Michael Mulvihill said that is a 725 per cent increase over the last Bundesliga match on FS1 prior to the shutdown. It is also only the second weekend this season that Bundesliga matches were viewed by over 100,000 fans on Fox Sports 1. “What we’ve seen over the last six weeks is that any time a fan has been given the opportunity to show how much they miss live sports, they have.
The appetite is extremely strong,” Mulvihill said. Fox’s strong weekend continued with the NASCAR race at Darlington, South Carolina, averaging 6.32 million. It was the most-watched race outside of the Daytona 500 since the March 2017 race in Atlanta. Having a late afternoon East Coast window and shelter-in-place measures still in place led to audience increases over 100 per cent in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Philadelphia. NASCAR could continue to see big audiences over the next two weeks. The race tonight at Darlington will be on FS1 and Sunday’s race at Charlotte will be the first big sporting event to take place on its regularly scheduled date in over two months.
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“We’re optimistic to see what the numbers will be over the next couple weeks. It might be six or more weeks where NASCAR has the stage to itself,” Mulvihill said. What encourages Mulvihill even more is that Fox’s NASCAR ratings are down only two per cent from last year. NBC Sports Group said TaylorMade Driving Relief on Sunday averaged 2.35 million viewers across all platforms, which included NBC, Golf Channel and NBCSN as well as the network and PGA Tour’s streaming apps. The network said the broadcast was on par with final-round events on CBS (2.32M) and NBC (2.35M) aired last spring. Tirico said the highlight for him was seeing the golfers in shorts and carrying
their own clubs as the team of Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson defeated Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff. The golf and NASCAR broadcasts also showed what challenges could lie ahead for network crews over the next couple of months. Tirico anchored the golf coverage from his home in Michigan, while Mike Joy and Jeff Gordon called the NASCAR race from Charlotte. NBC had a pair of on-course reporters while Fox had only one pit reporter at Darlington. With announcers spread out over the country, the first hour of broadcasts can be challenging. “The TV viewer is going to understand delays and glitches. We learned a lot, though, which should help over the next couple months,” Tirico said.
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