Last Updated on March 10, 2020, 6:47 AM AST by Anthony Morris
The Bahaman Health officials said that the threat of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) reaching the shores of The Bahamas is very high as the potentially deadly virus has spread globally like a pandemic.
Till Monday, there were no reported, suspected or confirmed cases of coronavirus in The Bahamas.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Pearl McMillan said that given that the residents of The Bahamas travel widely, and The Bahamas has many arrivals at the shores of the country from international destinations. With cases now being reported in the Caribbean region, the country must contemplate the reality that coronavirus COVID-19 may appear in The Bahamas’ community.
She said if a case or cases presents itself or themselves in The Bahamas, one of the critical public safety measures would be social distancing.
She added that social distancing was one of the main things that were highlighted as to why the outbreak of the virus could be contained in China.
The earlier the country does that, the less likely it is to have an outbreak of the virus.
She said that if the persons are sick, they are humbly requested to stay home and distance themselves from contact with others.
She said if anyone has a common cold and the flu, or other things that have similarities to COVID-19, they should practice those measures to decrease the likelihood of spreading the virus or flu not only the common cold or the flu.
If coronavirus (COVID-19) is introduced into The Bahamian community, it would be good to have those practices started already, so that the country is not putting itself at a greater risk.
On Thursday, the risk level for an outbreak in the Caribbean was raised to very high.
The virus reached the Caribbean region over a week ago when the first case of the virus Dominican Republic.
Since then, the total number of cases has risen to nine cases across the Caribbean region, though no deaths have been reported due to the virus in the region.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
