Isaias hits the Bahamas; virus-battered Florida braces

Storm ups burden on communities already hard-hit by sickness.

Hurricane Isaias snapped trees and knocked out power as it blew through the Bahamas on Saturday and churned toward the Florida coast, where it is threatening to complicate efforts to contain the coronavirus in a hot spot.

The storm is piling another burden on communities already hardhit by other storms and sickness.

Florida authorities closed beaches, parks and virus testing sites. Though officials do not expect to have to evacuate people, they wrestled with how to prepare shelters where people can seek refuge from the storm if necessary while safely social distancing to prevent the spread of the virus.

“The most important thing we want people to do now is remain vigilant,” said Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Authorities in North Carolina ordered the evacuation of Ocracoke Island, which was slammed by last year’s Hurricane Dorian. Meanwhile, officials in the Bahamas opened shelters for people on Great Abaco Island to help those who have been living in temporary structures since Dorian devastated the area, killing at least 70 people.

Isaias — pronounced ees-ah-EEahs — had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph at 2 p.m. Saturday,

a decline from earlier in the day, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. It is expected to regain strength as it heads over warm water toward Florida.

The center of the storm is forecast to travel along the state’s east coast today. It is expected to remain a hurricane through Monday then slowly weaken.

Despite the approaching storm, NASA says the return of two astronauts aboard a SpaceX capsule is still on track for this afternoon. Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken are preparing to make the first splashdown return in 45 years, after two months docked at the International Space Station. They are aiming for the Gulf of Mexico just off the Florida Panhandle, and flight controllers are keeping close watch on the storm.

Concerns about the coronavirus and the vulnerability of people in the Caribbean who are still recovering from Dorian were adding to worries about the Category 1 storm.

Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Minnis relaxed a coronavirus lockdown as a result of the storm but imposed a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew. He said supermarkets, pharmacies, gas stations and hardware stores would be open as long as weather permitted.

“The center of COVID-19 now is in Grand Bahama,” the island’s minister, Sen. Kwasi Thompson, told government-run ZNS Bahamas. “No one wanted to see a situation where we are now facing a hurricane.”

ERIC HASERT / TCPALM.COM Steve Legge, a sailboat live-aboard at the Vero Beach City Marina, ties down his mainsail on his Gulfstar sailboat Saturday in Fort Pierce, Florida. Hurricane Isaias is headed toward the Florida coast, where officials have closed beaches, parks and coronavirus testing sites.