Parents angered after passengers from Florida, Grand Bahama placed in quarantine

Parents angered after passengers from Florida, Grand Bahama placed in quarantine
Passengers from Grand Bahama were boarded on a police bus hours after arriving in New Providence. (Photo by Royston Jones Jr.

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Confused and frustrated parents waited hours outside of Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) for their children and other loved ones to arrive from Grand Bahama, only to be told last night the group had to quarantine in a government facility.

When Eyewitness News arrived at the airport, police officers were escorting waves of passengers onto several police buses that drove off in intervals with police escort.

Danesha Lewis, 32, said she had not seen or heard from her 11-year-old son since he was checked in as an unaccompanied minor on a Bahamasair flight from Grand Bahama to New Providence around 3pm.

She spoke to Eyewitness News outside the international arrivals terminal after 9pm.

Lewis, who claimed her son possessed the relevant travel documents and health visa, said she was not advised by the airline or any other official that her son would be required to quarantine upon arrival.

“I am a concerned mother, especially if he is going to go where other people are who already have this to do, and he has not been traveling,” she said.

“So, how does this work? He is a child. They don’t inform you. I am here to pick up my minor and they tell me he is going to be quarantined. I am just waiting to see what is going on.”

She continued: “I don’t even know if they fed my son. My 11-year-old been in the airport from Freeport from after 3pm for a 4pm flight. It’s almost 10pm.

“Curfew is almost going on. I am getting a ticket because it’s almost 10pm and I am going to be on the road following one of these bus. I don’t know if my son ate yet. I don’t know if he has water. I don’t know if he is okay. What is going on?

“They ain’t bringing him out yet. What’s happening? From 7pm, they left Grand Bahama. It’s almost 10pm and they ain’t saying nothing to the parents.”

Up to press time, attempts to reach authorities on the matter were unsuccessful.

Another mother, who said she was waiting for her 17-year-old son, claims she purchased a ticket on Monday for him to return from Fort Lauderdale to New Providence ahead of the border shutdown to commercial carriers from the US, which took effect at midnight.

“Now, I understood the flight went to Freeport,” she said.

“How the flight could go to Freeport and I never paid for that.

“How they could carry him on a flight to Freeport when I paid for a flight to come straight from Fort Lauderdale straight here.

“And now, he is on this quarantine.”

Asked whether her son had a negative COVID-19 test as required by the government to enter The Bahamas, the mother took out a copy of the document confirming the negative test.

Another woman, who did not wish to be named, said her 10-year-old daughter had traveled to New Providence to celebrate her brother’s second birthday on Sunday.

She told Eyewitness News she had been waiting in the area from 4.45pm.

“I want to know about my minor,” she said.

“I have the right to ask about my child who is supposed to be in the back there. And, the inspector said they have to be quarantine and we have to follow the bus down to Breezes, and they didn’t say nothing else.

“I don’t know when I get down to Breezes what it’s going to be. It’s curfew at 10pm. This is really bad. She was just coming from Freeport to Nassau.”

Meanwhile, Durrel Gray said he had not heard from his wife and two children — aged five and 12-year-old — who were vacationing in Grand Bahama.

After speaking with several officers inside the terminal, Gray claimed he was advised that everyone who arrives from Grand Bahama will be quarantined, processed.

He said he was told some people may be released today to self-quarantine at home.

Gray said he was told the quarantine was necessary because of the high rate of cases in Grand Bahama.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced a ban on all international commercial flights and vessels, with the exception of carriers from Canada, the United Kingdom and the European Union.

Private international flights and charters, as well as private pleasure craft and yachts from all countries may still to enter The Bahamas.

Yesterday, the prime minister announced Grand Bahama will be placed on a two-week lockdown beginning Thursday, July 23 at 7pm through August 7 at 5am.

Minnis said Grand Bahama will be closed to all domestic flights at 6pm yesterday.

About Royston Jones Jr.

Royston Jones Jr. is a senior digital reporter and occasional TV news anchor at Eyewitness News. Since joining Eyewitness News as a digital reporter in 2018, he has done both digital and broadcast reporting, notably providing the electoral analysis for Eyewitness News’ inaugural election night coverage, “Decision Now 2021”.

17 comments

Many do not seem to be self quaretining. Bahamian sent home to quarentine in Eleuthera has been seen out and it hasnt been 14days.

This type of treatment for minors is very bad. It paints us in bad way. No one does anything with children and not communicate with their parents. To detain people and not explain to them what is going on and not feed them worse. Their needs to be an explanation. There also needs to be an apology to the parents. This is another blunder by the comptent authority and his administration. The buck stops with him good or bad

Children or no children all needs to be quarantine especially if they are coming from a infected hight risk area do you think I want my children to be infected if yours refuse to go into quarantine what is 14 days please we all want to live and enjoy the rest of wat is call life ask me minnis if you can stay in the hotel with your kids ok now have a bless afternoon

Shut ya ass hole. Taking a child without a parents consent from one location to another is called kidnapping. We get a pandemic virus every couple years. The flu still killing hundreds of thousands every year, almost 2 million still dying from AIDS every year in the US ALONE!!! YALL worrying bout the wrong thing and thinking it’s ok to take a minor somewhere and a mother the last one to know is OK… these government and news got yall ready to accept and justify any thing. It couldnt fucking be me or mine… Cause the everyone woulda forget about Corona if I my child aint come off that plane. That would be the least a Minis worry.

YOU CAN SAY THAT AGAIN!!! IF IT WERE MINE I WOULD HAVE BEEN QUARANTINED IN PRISON BECAUSE I WOULD HAVE TORE THAT PLACE UP ABOUT MY BABIES HELL NO!!!! THEY CAN STOP WITH ALL THE FEAR TACTICS!!!!

Amen! I cant agree with you more. I am.glad this isn’t a situation I would be in because they would have to put me in jail or just give me my child. Yes KIDNAPPING!!!!! Heads would be rolling.

Honestly I don’t understand the mentality of Bahamians. We are all aware of what going on in Bahamas in relation to covid19, protocols and emergency orders. Grand Bahama is the hotspot in The Bahamas right now so it’s obvious that any person (children included) coming From GB into any island will have to be quarantined. It’s just common sense. NO ONE is exempt from this virus. We always boast about being a Christian nation but many sure don’t act like it. Parents should set examples for the children and abide by rules, law and order. If parents are disobedient and lawless that’s exactly what they breed in their children. I believe parents should be held accountable for what their children do. Right now we should all just obey and do what’s necessary to survive this deadly virus (considering that our actions will infect others) not just us.

Now is the time to stop the incessant complaining (like the Israelites) and obey and teach our children to obey the law, rules and protocols.

Or do the next best thing, if we don’t want to be quarantined nor our children then don’t travel domestically or internationally! It’s that simple!

Gwen Rahmaning,, you just missed it all together,, I can see you are not a parent.. the parent’s just want to know what’s going on,, so they are asking questions looking for answers,, they came to the airport to pick up their love ones,, and come to find out the passengers were told to go on a bus, to where!!!?,, it’s so sad how we treat our own children/people,, that’s why the outside world treats us no different.. if foreigner’s was on that flight I WONDER ?? if everybody would have been treated the SAME. And the authorities probably found out who all was on the plane before they did what they did..That’s why it was done in such a non caring manner..

The only thing going on with covid is political posturing, pretending, make belief, and people like you repeating political jargon like parrots. After all you haven’t check any of these political claims of covid, none. So stop your assaults, insults and insinuations and postulate instead.

Well people may God help us,we have to find away to live with covid19 and change our way of living.we are praying people .let continue to pray.

We should all be patient, as everyone is learning as we go. What ever information they were given is probably all they had at the moment. Times are changing, situations are changing. When the busss arrives at the hotel’s ( quarantine ) there will be other protocols to follow. Let us all exercise a little patience and come out healthy and more knowledgeable on the other side. Thanks.

I don’t care who you are carry your ass in quarantine please stop the spread I don’t want to die because you refuse to go into quarantine think about others that is a high risk of dieing because you don’t want to go into quarantine

Amazing what people are willing to accept for a just the possibility of a little security. It’s amazing that people accept kidnapping by the government as an excuse to keep people safe. At this point how far is to far for you people? There is obviously a massive issue with communication to the public about Bahamas COVID policies and that is the main issue here. Such a small percentage of the population is actually high risk and the numbers are so skewed. I just can’t believe people in this comment section find this acceptable and defend it. What a bunch of disgusting cowards. Anyway, if only 7% of people are actually high risk why aren’t we quarantineing them? Why are we destroying the country and everyone elses lives that have mild systom and especially when most people are asymptomatic. People are committing suicide because of mental and emotional conditions, kids are being beaten at home, people are losing their way in life when they have been working all their life to obtain it. All because of a few people. I’m sorry but the reason the world is so fucked up today and people whine and cry over the dumbest shit is because we protect people way to much. Shit happens in life. It’s a dog eat dog world by nature and nothing will ever change that. It’s survival of the fittest baby and that’s what has made the human race and all other species the kings and queens of their environments. This whole thing is unacceptable to me and I believe that people should just be responsible for themselves. THE END.

It was the airlines RESPONSIBILITY to contact the parents of ALL children under the age of 18 to l Let them know what was happening and give them the option to quarantine with her child what if there’s a child molester on that bus you don’t know who the child would be paired with in the hotel. Or asked to share a room with an unknown adult. What if the child has an unknown condition asthma seizures who’s taking responsibility for that child? This is absolutely unacceptable. Covid or not notify the parent that is kidnapping. Imagine how scared those kids must be.

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