NASSAU, Bahamas (CMC) — Deputy Prime Minister of The Bahamas K Peter Turnquest has gone into “voluntary quarantine” after he had been exposed to person who had tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19).
A brief government statement said that Turnquest, who is also the finance minister, had received a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test last weekend.
“Following the Ministry of Health’s protocols, Minister Turnquest took the test after learning he was exposed to a positive case earlier that day,” the statement said.
“Out of an abundance of caution and on advice, Minister Turnquest has voluntarily entered self-quarantine. He continues to perform his functions as Minister of Finance, working remotely from home,” the statement added.
The Bahamas has recorded 138 positive cases and 11 deaths from the virus that was first detected in China last December and linked to 14.7 million infections and 610,000 deaths worldwide.
Over the last weekend, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced a series of new measures to curb the spread of the virus after acknowledging the decision to reopen its borders on July 1 had led to a deterioration of the health situation on the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country.
Minnis said that his administration has “consulted heavily with health officials”, and was taking strong actions to save lives.
He said as of Wednesday, 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.
“Bahamasair will cease outgoing flights to the United States of America, effective immediately. To accommodate visitors scheduled to leave after Wednesday, 22 July 2020, outgoing commercial flights will be permitted.”
