Two new COVID-19 cases in Grand Bahama

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Health officials have confirmed two additional cases of COVID-19 in Grand Bahama, taking the total number of cases to 113.

A 33-year-old woman and a 52-year-old man have tested positive for the virus, and both cases are reportedly in isolation at home with no history of travel.

This follows an announcement from Pizza Hut Freeport, which advised today that a team member from its Mall location has tested positive for COVID-19.

Grand Bahama has seen a spike in new cases with eight cases in six days.

On Wednesday, health officials confirmed two new cases of COVID-19 on Grand Bahama after there had been no cases on the island for more than 60 days.

The pair confirmed on Wednesday were the first cases for the country in more than three weeks.

The Pizza Hut employee is currently in quarantine and receiving treatment as needed, the company said in a statement.

“All employees exposed to the team member have been identified by the Ministry of Health and are in self-isolation,” the statement read.

“The health and well being of our team members and customers is our number one priority, especially in these uncertain times.”

The restaurant was temporarily closed for sanitization and is expected to reopen on Wednesday.

There have been 16 confirmed cases in Grand Bahama, 83 in New Providence, one in Cat Cay, and 13 on Bimini.

In a statement, the Ministry of Health also advised that its dashboard has been updated to include a tab for “non-COVID related deaths”.

“There were two individuals who were previously confirmed to have COVID-19 who passed away,” the statement read.

“A review was completed with local and international personnel who confirmed that the deaths were not due to COVID-19.

“Therefore, the dashboard will now feature the tab ‘Non-COVID Related Deaths’ to classify a patient that was diagnosed with COVID-19, but the cause of death was not due to COVID-19.”

 

About Sloan Smith

Sloan Smith is a senior digital reporter at Eyewitness News, covering a diverse range of beats, from politics and crime to environment and human interest. In 2018, Sloan received a nomination for the “Leslie Higgs Feature Writer of The Year Award” from The Bahamas Press Club for her work with Eyewitness News.