UPDATED: U.S. State Department advises against travel to The Bahamas

As of Thursday, August 6, 2020

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

On Thursday, the Bahamas became the only country in the English-speaking Caribbean to receive a level four travel advisory from the United States indicating that US residents should not travel here because of the “health and safety measures and COVID-19 related conditions”.

Most other countries in the region received a level three advisory which advises US residents to reconsider travelling to those places.

The Bahamas is joined by a list of regional countries that include Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Guyana and Cuba.

The country recorded ten confirmed cases of COVID-19 Thursday, including seven on New Providence, two on Bimini and one on Abaco. There was one additional hospitalised case for a total of 19. This pushed the nation’s total to 761.

The United States meanwhile has nearly six million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 150,000 deaths.

The US advisory came as both the United Kingdom and Switzerland added The Bahamas to lists of countries from where people must quarantine for 14-days upon arrival.

The latest US travel advisory came as the United States, in conjunction with the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, lifted the global level 4 health advisory that had been in place since March 19.

The US State Department announced that it has returned to its previous system of country-specific levels of travel advice as health and safety conditions improve in some countries while deteriorating in others.

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 3 Travel Health Notice for the Bahamas due to COVID-19,” the US advisory says. “Travelers to The Bahamas may experience travel prohibitions, stay at home orders, business closures, and other emergency conditions within The Bahamas due to COVID-19.

The advisory also maintained previous warnings about crime in The Bahamas - much of which is grossly out of date.

On Thursday, US Embassy Public Affairs Officer Daniel Durazo explained the rationale behind the advisory update.

“With conditions improving in some countries while potentially deteriorating in others, the department has returned to our previous system of country-specific levels of travel advice (with levels from 1-4 depending on country-specific conditions), in order to give travellers detailed and actionable information they need to make informed travel decisions,” he said in a statement to The Tribune. “We continue to recommend US citizens exercise caution when travelling abroad due to the unpredictable nature of the pandemic.

“Under this return to country-specific levels of travel advice, the travel advisory for The Bahamas is now Level 4 (do not travel), due to health and safety measures and COVID-related conditions; US citizens are advised to exercise increased caution in The Bahamas due to crime (the same as before the pandemic).”

Economist 4 years, 3 months ago

Now there is a joke. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

Must have been issued by Trump as he never does anything wrong and is always perfect.

tell_it_like_it_is 4 years, 3 months ago

This just proves that the US travel advisories are a load of crap!!!! It's strictly political. I wouldn't be surprised if they did this because The Bahamas gave them restrictions. Trump and his minions need a life.

Let's see USA... over 5 million cases. The Bahamas... over 700 cases.
USA... over 160 thousand deaths. The Bahamas... 14 deaths.

Anyone see something wrong with this picture?? Anyone, anyone, Bueller? SMH

newcitizen 4 years, 3 months ago

You are both not seeing the reasoning for this. This is because we are currently locked down. Notice the "due to health and safety measures", that's the lockdown.

moncurcool 4 years, 3 months ago

And yet the Bahamas decides to pull back on restricting travel from the covid-19 hotspot of the US. Hmmmm

proudloudandfnm 4 years, 3 months ago

Americans ... Smh.....

ThisIsOurs 4 years, 3 months ago

ROTFL you can't make this stuff up. waiting in anticipation for what DAguilar and Bethel have to say tomorrow.

rodentos 4 years, 3 months ago

Bahamas is a covid hot spot! What matters is not the absolute number of cases, what matters is the amount of infected people per 100.000. So while US might have plenty of cases they still have a 400m population, so the risk of contracting covid in the US might be lower than contracting it in the Bahamas! The cases are just dilluted in the 400m population :D

ThisIsOurs 4 years, 3 months ago

Yeah, the irony is in how Carl Bethel contorted himself to remove the restriction on visitors from the US then went into this long explanation about the Chicago convention, then rewrote the orders to make restrictions country neutral...now this. you literally can't make this up.

rodentos 4 years, 3 months ago

they should dice the lockdown days, that would be more efficient

TalRussell 4 years, 3 months ago

''Oh My Dear 35 House Elected Red Coats. What have you gone done?''
Has this Central Authority now gone and engaged The Colony in some serious USA, and Haiti retaliation payback?
Is travel restrictions out The Colony to be next on the USA's anger management list? Might be a good way to get the 35 House elected and the politically hired and connected to shelter, closer to home?
Just try to imagine had the full force of the United State Department have issued a ' do not travel' to The Colony advisory whilst Comrade Perry Gladstone held the reigns of government? These are getting be a never before traveled downhill times when the Americans remain free to travel to Haiti but not to The Colony? Thanks, MistersTheodore's Minnis, KP, Dioniso James, and Carl Wilshire. Nod Once for Yeah, Twice for No?

Wisdom4 4 years, 3 months ago

This announcement is not surprise because every country on the global is on alert. However, these countries understand more about this virus. They are moving forward to rebuild a strong economy and help working class families to get back to work during this crisis with COVID-19. Every person has a responsibility to themselves to take precaution and follow health guide-lines to prevent the spread.

TalRussell 4 years, 3 months ago

Truth. Seems the more the PopoulacesOrdinary at large POAL, and business owners work at conforming to Mr. Minnis's heavyhanded military enforced shutdowns and curfews the more they're badmouthed by his 34 butt kissers House elected redcoat MP's. Nod Once for Yeah, Twice for No?

zemilou 4 years, 3 months ago

The advisory is Level 4 because of Covid-19 AND crime. Before you spout off read the actual general travel advisory https://travel.state.gov/content/travel… and the actual Covid-19 advisory https://bs.usembassy.gov/covid-19-infor… (a lot of which is about restrictions when here).

Also, our country does not need visitors who might get sick here stressing already overburdened health care facilities.

tribanon 4 years, 3 months ago

Not the least bit unexpected. Dumb D'Aguilar and even dumber Minnis have been antagonizing the US government since May 2017, all the while cozying up to the Communist Chinese Party (CCP). It's as if D'Aguilar and Minnis no longer accept (or simply don't care) that the US is by far our most important tourist market. We can only wonder what deals they are now cutting with the very sinister and evil CCP.

longgone 4 years, 3 months ago

Bring back Perry & Brave---They'll make things right!

tribanon 4 years, 3 months ago

You sound as if you've bought into the foolish myth that it can only be a choice at the polls between the 'good for nothing' leaders of the two 'good for nothing' political parties, i.e. either Davis/PLP or Minnis/FNM. Christie and Ingraham milked that foolish myth with the voters for all it was worth, and look where that got us. Are you really now going to let Davis and Minnis do the same thing?

For facts about Chinese tourism from the globally recognized McKinsey see https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKins….

If this is too much to read, consider--and fact check--the reality that the Chinese are the world's top spenders in international tourism, accounting for 20+ percent of spending in recent years.

tribanon 4 years, 3 months ago

LOL. Hope you didn't pay much for that education of yours.

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