Bahamas Officially Closes Borders to Americans

The Bahamas on Sunday announced that, almost three weeks after the country reopened its borders to international visitors, it would again be closing to citizens of certain countries because of COVID-19 spread.

Citizens of the United States will no longer be able to travel to the Bahamas starting on Wednesday, while those from Canada, along with the U.K. and the EU, will still be able to as long as they provide a negative COVID-19 test 10 days prior to travel.

The announcement was made by Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Munnis in a national address on Sunday. Hubris said that the Bahamas’ “current situation demands decisive actions if we are to avoid being overrun and defeated by this virus.”

The announcement also includes the news that Bahamasair, the national carrier, will no longer be able to fly to the United States, and that commercial ocean ships will be not permitted to enter, either. Private yachts and other ships will still be allowed.

The Bahamas had reopened its borders on July 1st with the requirement that all travelers must present a negative COVID-19 swab test, with results no more than 10 days old. Since then, the country’s number of coronavirus cases has risen to 153 (up from 104 on July 1 according to Worldometers), with the majority of those cases coming in Grand Bahama.

Last week, Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas, which was scheduled to reopen on July 7, delayed its reopening date and Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line pushed back its restart date to August.