Two more travelers now have COVID-19

Three more COVID-19 cases were reported on New Providence yesterday, bringing to five the number of cases confirmed on the island in the last week, and increasing to 119 the total number of cases confirmed in The Bahamas since March.

The new cases include a 57-year-old woman with a history of travel. She is the only case in hospital, health officials said.

Another case, a 51-year-old woman, has no history of travel. She is in isolation at home.

The third new case is a

29-year-old woman with a history of travel. She, too, is in isolation at home.

Between June 15 and July 7, no new cases were confirmed in The Bahamas.

In addition to the five new New Providence cases in the last week, there have also been 10 confirmed Grand Bahama cases.

Prior to July 8, there had not been a confirmed COVID-19 case on Grand Bahama since May 5.

According to information from the Ministry of Health, five of the 15 cases confirmed in the last week had a history of travel. This does not include a 20-year-old undocumented migrant, who was confirmed to have COVID-19 on Grand Bahama on July 8.

Health officials did not say yesterday where the two New Providence women with a history of travel had traveled to.

Bahamasair, meanwhile, said in a statement that one of its flight attendants tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday. It said the woman had not been at work since July 6.

As no one with a history of travel was reported by the Ministry of Health on Tuesday, the flight attendant may be included in yesterday’s count.

The other cases with a history of travel include two Grand Bahama females (a 16-year-old and a 39-year-old) who were confirmed to have COVID-19 on Saturday.

The other case with a history of travel is a 40-year-old New Providence woman, who was reported to have COVID-19 on Friday.

In the last week, Sunday was the only day when no new case was reported.

Of the 119 cases, 87 have been reported on New Providence, 18 on Grand Bahama, 13 on Bimini and one on Cat Cay.

The Bahamas fully reopened its borders on July 1, more than three months after they were closed. However, officials did not specify when all of the Bahamian travelers who are now confirmed to have COVID-19, traveled.

On Tuesday, Dr. Frank Bartlett, who heads Grand Bahama’s COVID-19 task force, reported that the two Grand Bahama females confirmed to have COVID-19 on July 11, had traveled to The Bahamas on a repatriation flight on June 30. Both women are asymptomatic, Bartlett reported.

As of yesterday, there were 15 active cases, 91 recovered cases, 11 COVID-19 deaths and two non-COVID-related deaths.

Health officials reported that a total of 2,552 tests have been completed.

The current emergency order, which empowers Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis as the competent authority to suspend civil liberties to fight the pandemic, expires at the end of the month, but Parliament could provide extensions for up to five additional months.

Minnis has urged Bahamians not to travel outside of The Bahamas, if there is not an emergency that requires them to do so.

Nearby Florida, a popular destination for Bahamian travelers, has surpassed 300,000 cases of COVID-19. The state reported 10,181 new cases yesterday and 112 new resident deaths.

The prime minister is scheduled to make another national address this weekend in which he is expected to reiterate that call and signal whether any restrictions will be put back in place as a result of the recent surge.

While a night-time curfew remains in place, most of the restrictions that had been put in place were eased by early July.

The post Two more travelers now have COVID-19 appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.

source https://thenassauguardian.com/2020/07/16/two-more-travelers-now-have-covid-19/