The following statement was released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday, March 5th, 2020, announcing the most recent changes in Border Control policy, in reference to the global COVID-19 virus threat:
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to advise that recent reports from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicate that the COVID-19 virus has now spread to more than seventy-five (75) countries. At least, forty-seven (47) of these countries have ten (10) cases or less. Some are reporting their first cases. Significantly, however, there is a prevalence of cases emerging in a few selected countries. According to the Director-General’s 4th March 2020 Briefing, almost 90% of those cases are from three countries: Iran, South Korea and Italy.
The data is compelling and out of an abundance of caution, the Government of The Bahamas has decided to implement border control and quarantine measures for persons coming from those countries. Effective immediately any non-resident who has visited South Korea, Iran or Italy in the last twenty (20) days will be denied entry into The Bahamas. These countries will be added to China, for which, we implemented such measures on January 30th, 2020. As such, Bahamian citizens and Residents returning from all four (4) jurisdictions will now be subjected to quarantine measures for a maximum of fourteen (14) days. Non-residents currently en route to The Bahamas from these jurisdictions will be subjected to the same protocol for returning citizens and residents.
While there remains no reported or confirmed cases of COVID-19 in The Bahamas, at this time, the Government of The Bahamas is taking extra precaution to protect the safety and health of our residents and visitors. This new advisory is part of the government’s enhanced effort to address this public health threat.”
5th March, 2020
