In a one on one interview with TNN, former Premier and Shadow Minister of National Security the Honorable Michael Dunkley, JP, MP, voiced his extreme concern with the current testing regime and where Bermuda might be headed after the very recent resignation of Dr. Carika Weldon.
“ It was obvious before Christmas that we were facing a fifth surge, so I am very surprised that the Government has been virtually silent on restrictions, the direction that we are heading and what is next,” he said.
In his opinion, this current spike in positive cases took everyone in government by surprise and no one was prepared for it.
“ It appears that the government has been caught unprepared, failed to listen to advice from scientists and now they need to provide clarity on where we are going from here,” the Shadow Minister explained. “ In spite of the diligence and hard work 24/7 by lab staff, we are not getting it done [in a timely manner] due to the surge. We have already started 2022 and it is certainly unacceptable that they have allowed us to be in this position.”
Despite the government claiming that Bermuda is “open for business”, Mr. Dunkley does not believe that is true, partially due to how long it now takes for travelers to receive their negative or positive test result. He suggests that schoolchildren receive antigen testing at their school facility.
“ We have ample supplies of antigen testing, so allowing each school to conduct their own antigen testing would make it easier to flow,” he said. “ If [any] results are positive, we can test those antigens back through the PCR chain and ensure that our information is correct . . . The way things are going nowadays, we are set up for a real crunch period over the next couple of weeks in the middle of a fifth surge.”
Mr. Dunkley believes that if the OBA imposed restrictions and curfews upon Bermudians during the most festive time of year while leaving for a long holiday at the same time, what the PLP Government has done recently, there would be hundreds of people protesting in the streets.
“ People need to say enough is enough,” he said. “ They have certainly dropped the ball and now the people of Bermuda struggle, suffer and we are paying for their poor leadership. With all of this recent uncertainty and lack of results, it is not the testers but the Government who are to blame for not making sure that our system runs effectively. The OBA is happy to work with them if they do not currently have a plan [going forward].”
Any content which is considered unsuitable, unlawful, or offensive, includes personal details, advertises or promotes products, services or websites, or repeats previous comments will be removed.
User comments posted on this website are solely the views and opinions of the comment writer and are not a representation of or reflection of the opinions of TNN or its staff.
TNN reserves the right to remove, edit or censor any comments.
TNN accepts no liability and will not be held accountable for the comments made by users.