COVID-19 surge forces two-week lockdown in Bahamas

Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis announced Monday a complete lockdown of the country for the next two weeks, saying bed capacity and human resources were being “increasingly stretched” amid a sharp rise in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations.

“Our ICU beds are at capacity and non-critical care beds are approaching capacity,” Minnis said during a national address.

On Monday, the Bahamas, whose population is about 385,000, confirmed 31 new infections — 9 on the island of New Providence and 22 on Grand Bahama.

The new infections, Minnis said, gave a tally of 679 confirmed cases, the country’s highest since it confirmed its first case in March and forced the closure of all of its airports and seaports to outside visitors.

Since the Bahamas fully reopened its borders on July 1 to international visitors, cases have increased exponentially as health officials traced the rise to gatherings and Bahamians traveling to hot spots such as Florida.

The country’s travel policy remains unchanged. Anyone arriving in the Bahamas must quarantine for 14 days at their own expense at a government facility and have a negative COVID-19 test before they can leave.

The new lockdown was to take effect at 10 p.m. Tuesday. Among the new measures, funerals will be limited to graveside services with only five attendees, excluding the official and funeral home personnel, and most businesses will have to close. Food stores, water depots, pharmacies with curbside and take-away window service and gas stations will be allowed to operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays with restricted hours. Commercial and international banks will also be open on those days but only until 1 p.m.

“There will be no curbside and takeaway dining or retail,” Minnis said.