The Bahamas opened up its borders for international arrivals from July 1 and required passengers to provide a negative Covid-19 PCR test done within ten days of the entry.
The country, however, has seen a recent spike in Covid-19 infections and has decided to ban arrivals from the United States effective this coming Wednesday (July 22, 2020). Visitors from Canada and the European Union are not affected.
You can access the Island of the Bahamas official website here.
Here’s the update from the Bahamian government:
International commercial flights and commercial vessels carrying passengers will not be permitted to enter our borders, except for commercial flights from Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union. This will come into effect as of Wednesday the 22nd of July 2020 at midnight.
Private International flights and charters for Bahamians, residents and visitors will be permitted. Pleasure craft and yachts will also be permitted.
The Bahamas has reopened our borders and is welcoming international travelers back to our beautiful island nation. The health & wellbeing of our residents and visitors is our number one priority, and we are putting even greater emphasis on making sure The Bahamas is safe and clean for all to enjoy. Here you will find information on important forms and links related to traveling throughout The Bahamas.
Here’s an excerpt from the Miami Herald:
Less than three weeks after reopening its borders to international visitors, the Bahamas on Sunday announced that it is closing all of its airports and seaports to tourists from the United States, effective Wednesday.
“Regrettably, the situation here at home has already deteriorated since we began the reopening of our domestic economy,” said Minnis, who has been serving as the island nation’s acting health minister since May. “It has deteriorated at an exponential rate since we reopened our international borders.”
“Our current situation demands decisive action, if we are to avoid being overrun and defeated by this virus,” Minnis said. “We cannot allow our hospitals to be overrun. Many priorities must be balanced, be they health, social and economic.”
Conclusion
No country would take tourism dollars over their constituency’s health, and we will see other states closing their borders at short notice if there are Covid-19 spikes.
It is challenging to make any advance plans for international trips. I would say that this situation will persist at least until the second half of 2021 or until there is a functional vaccine or useful therapies available to prevent unnecessary deaths.
