The minister of health for the Bahamas has denied speculation that his government is covering up the true death toll of Hurricane Dorian, saying that counting bodies is “not the priority.” The death toll currently stands at just 44 but the scale of the devastation has led to some assumptions that the true number of dead is far higher. Health minister Duane Sands called the suggestion of a cover-up “false” and “unfortunate,” adding: “The priority is [to] find those people for their loved ones who are missing them; to take care, provide comfort to those people who are hurt, who are suffering, that’s the priority. To put food in people’s bellies, water in their throat.” Wendell G. Dean II, a funeral director brought in to help run a morgue at Marsh Harbour, said: “The fact of the matter is that we don’t know, and at the end of this process, I still think we will not know the extent of lives lost.”