The Bahamas hits 5,000 COVID cases over holiday weekend

Death toll at 108

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Health officials confirmed 85 additional COVID-19 cases in the country yesterday, taking the number of cases in The Bahamas to 5,163.

Of the new cases, 76 were in New Providence, four in Grand Bahama, three in Abaco, and two in Eleuthera.

The Ministry of Health also confirmed the death of an 86 year-old man of New Providence on October 11 and two non-COVID related deaths.

The number of COVID deaths now stands at 108 with another 14 deaths under investigation.

The Bahamas officially breached 5,000 cases over the weekend.

On Saturday, there were 68 confirmed COVID cases. Of those cases, 64 were in New Providence, two in Eleuthera, one in Bimini and one in Andros.

An additional 55 cases were confirmed on New Providence on Sunday, as well as the death of a 63-year-old man of New Providence.

Over the past week, the number of new cases has continued to steadily increase, with New Providence cases rising by 541.

The capital and Abaco remain on a 24-hour lockdown until Tuesday at 5 am.

Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced reintroduced restrictive measures on the islands, including “full, 24-hour weekend curfew”.

The nightly curfew on Mondays through Fridays will be in effect between 7pm and 5am beginning starting today.

Minnis said the increasing number of COVID-19 in the country, particularly in New Providence, has created an immense strain and risks a collapse of the healthcare system.

The number of active cases to date now stands at 2,043.

Hospitalized cases stand at 104.

The ministry reported another 503 recovered cases over the past week, taking COVID recoveries to 2,978.