20 new cases

Shortly before midnight, health officials said that there were an additional 20 cases of COVID-19 in The Bahamas.

Ten of the cases are on Grand Bahama, six on New Providence, two on Bimini and two on Cat Island.

This brings the total number of cases in The Bahamas to 194.

Officials did not provide further details only saying, “Investigations are ongoing, and a complete update of details will be published at a later date.”

It was unclear why it took officials so long to release the document.

Cat Island Administrator Neil Campbell told The Guardian yesterday that the two confirmed cases on that island were flown to New Providence.

“Those persons expressed symptoms in Cat Island,” he said.

“They were then sent into New Providence by the health professionals. And then they said to use this morning that it is indeed COVID.

“We are presently in our protocol regimen and we have compiled a comprehensive list in reference to persons in and out of Cat Island, where persons may have visited. And now we have created the list for contact tracing.”

The Royal Bahamas Defence Force also released a statement yesterday stating that one of its members tested positive.

“The individual has been admitted for medical care and the force’s medical team is currently conducting intensive contact tracing to confirm other members who may have been exposed and recommended for self-quarantine,” the RBDF said.

Regarding the cases on Cat Island, Campbell said a private company, which sanitized public places on the island before borders reopened, yesterday sanitized the Cat Island airport, which the two patients traveled through.

“They have just given me their directives to engage the company again for them to sanitize the areas which those persons may have visited, all the public areas,” he said.

“…They will engage or have conversations with those businesses through the contact tracing listing to see if those persons could privately have those businesses sanitized. But all of the areas in Cat Island that we believe persons may have had some contact through, I can say right now the airport, because those persons went out, they indeed have already sanitized the airport today.”

When The Bahamas began recording its first cases of COVID-19, the government moved quickly to shut down the borders and implement a nationwide curfew.

Interisland travel was also banned in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus to Family Islands, where healthcare resources are limited and residents rely on air ambulances to access emergency services.

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source https://thenassauguardian.com/2020/07/22/20-new-cases/