The Bahamas recorded 580 new cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) over a three-day period, including 330 cases on Christmas Day, the most for any single day since the start of the pandemic in March last year. This new development comes only a few days after the CDC lowered the country’s COVID-19 Travel Risk Advisory Rating.
Health authorities said that the country now has 23,960 confirmed cases, of which 1,294 are active with the Ministry of Health and wellness issuing a statement warning about mass gathering and the need to follow the health protocols including social distancing and wearing masks.
“Gatherings with more than 30 people outdoor(s) and 20 people indoor(s) will not be permitted until further notice,” the statement said, adding “according to the rules, persons should provide a negative COVID-19 test or proof of vaccination.”
The authorities have warned about the possible transmission of the Omicron variant of the pandemic with the statement noting “the Omicron variant is the most highly transmissible COVID variant yet, causing soaring case numbers across the world.
“Many countries are seeing exponential growth, and their highest case counts yet since the start of the pandemic. We should expect the same here.
“The Omicron variant can infect those who have previously tested positive for the virus as well as those who have been vaccinated, which means the Omicron virus is finding little resistance as it spreads throughout our communities,” the statement said, adding “thankfully, most of the people who are vaccinated will experience no symptoms or mild symptoms. Unvaccinated persons have a higher risk of getting COVID, being hospitalised and dying from COVID”
The ministry said that there are no easy answers for dealing with the coming surge in cases and care must be taken to strike the right balance between the country’s health crisis and economic well-being. “Many Bahamians are earning their family’s first regular pay-cheques since COVID began nearly two years ago. The impact of the economic crisis on our families has been as severe, and in many cases, more severe, than the impact of the health crisis. We’re simply not going to shut down all economic activity.”
Director of the National HIV/AIDS and Infectious Diseases Programme, Dr. Nikkiah Forbes, said the spike seen in the past week has been alarming, and the country is officially seeing its fourth wave of COVID-19.
“What is telling is the weekly average for that week, week 51, was a very high spike — about 889 cases, which is a record for that week.
“We do recognize that this is outside of what has been seen thus far and that it would imply that Omicron is here, given what we understand about the doubling of cases and what we see in Omicron,”: he added.
Last week, the government announced the testing window for people entering the country will change from five days to three days in view of rising cases. Beginning January 7, a negative PCR test will be the only test accepted for all travellers entering the country, regardless of vaccination status.
Since the virus was first recorded here last year, the Bahamas has registered 713 deaths and 23, 539 infections.
/CMC
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