Just 3 weeks after having opened borders to international travelers, the Bahamas banned visitors from the United States due to spike in COVID cases.
In a national address made Sunday evening, July 19, Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said the new rule would go into effect on Wednesday, July 22, at midnight.
“Regrettably,” he said, the situation here at home has already deteriorated since we began the reopening of our domestic economy. It has deteriorated at an exponential rate since we reopened our international borders.”
“Commercial vessels carrying passengers will not be able to enter our borders,” the minister said.
Visitors from Canada and Europe will still be permitted to enter the Bahamas as long as they have tested negative for the virus within ten days before their arrival and have the appropriate paperwork to prove as much.
Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line had previously announced it intended to sail late July, a decision made possible by the fact they did not fall under the CDC’s purview. But citing “mounting pressure” given rising Coronavirus numbers in Florida, as well as restrictions in the Bahamas, the cruise line suspended sailings until August 28.