On March 15, Acting Minister of Health Jeffrey Lloyd announced the first confirmed case, a 61-year-old female.[1]
On March 20, Prime MinisterHubert Minnis announced a 9pm to 5am curfew, restrictions on private gatherings, and closure of most in-person businesses, with limited hours for food stores and farmers' markets, pharmacies, gas stations, laundromats, banks, construction, and restaurants (limited to take-out only). Essential workers for the government, utilities, and media were exempted, as were health care providers and suppliers. The airport remained open, but only essential travel was allowed on public buses.[11]
April 2020edit
On 5 April, the Queen of the Bahamas addressed the Commonwealth in a televised broadcast, in which she asked people to "take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return". She added, "we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again".[12]
On April 19, the prime minister announced that wearing a mask or covering one's face with clothing is mandatory in public. Employers must provide their employees who are serving the general public with masks.[13]
May 2020edit
On May 21, authorities are maintaining various restrictions across the islands in order to slow the spread of COVID-19. A daily 24-hour curfew on weekdays and weekend lockdowns are from 2100 on Fridays to 0500 on Mondays. The island of Bimini is under complete lockdown at least through May 30. Under the 24 hour curfew, the residents can only leave their homes for essential purposes or for an emergency.[14]
^"WHO | Novel Coronavirus – China". World Health Organization. 12 January 2020. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020.
^"Statement on the second meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)". World Health Organization. 30 January 2020. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020.
^"WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 – 11 March 2020". World Health Organization. 11 March 2020.
^"Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) - Symptoms and causes". Mayo Clinic. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
^"Crunching the numbers for coronavirus". Imperial News. 13 March 2020. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
^"World Federation Of Societies of Anaesthesiologists – Coronavirus". World Federation of Societies of Anesthesiologists. Archived from the original on 12 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
^"News and Press Release". GOVERNMENT OF THE BAHAMAS. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
^Updated: Pm Puts Nation In Lockdown, Confirmed Covid-19 Cases Now Stand At Four
^"Coronavirus: The Queen's broadcast in full". BBC News. 5 April 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
^"Bahamas PM's National Press Conference: Update on COVID-19 Response". Eleutheran Newspaper. 19 April 2020.
^"COVID-19 Alert: Bahamas Maintains Curfew & Port Closures as of May 21". WorldAware. 21 May 2020. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
^"Home - Ministry of Health". www.bahamas.gov.bs. Archived from the original on 19 July 2020.
^"Bahamas News Ma Bey". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
^"Ten (10) Additional Confirmed COVID-19 Cases Update #121 - Government - News". www.bahamas.gov.bs. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
^COVID-19 Report: Update #636: Confirmed Cases of Covid-19 (PDF) (Report). Government of the Bahamas. 22 December 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2024. {{cite report}}: Unknown parameter |agency= ignored (help)