Minister of Tourism Dionisio D’Aguilar is hoping that the United States will see the country’s improvement in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and raise the travel advisory for the Bahamas.
Why it matters
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Level 4 Travel Health Notice, warning that travelers should avoid all travel to the Bahamas. The general advisory is Level 3, meaning that travelers should reconsider travel to the Bahamas.
- The warning can affect the country’s economy as the Bahamas mostly depends on tourism for its revenue. The country is seeking to reopen to international travelers, to stimulate the economy in midst of the pandemic.
Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar wants U.S to reassess the COVID-19 situation in the Bahamas
“This is no change from what was said from the US government from July.
“This situation has been in effect from July. It’s all about timing. When they release the travel order at the end of July, it was very unfortunate because up to the end June, we were doing so remarkably well in terms of our management of the covid pandemic.
“Once again this is a question of timing. At the end of October, we were not doing terribly well. Here we are a month later, we’re much better.
“So we’re hoping that Americans see fit to do reassessment as they see our numbers improve and see fit to change that rating,” he said.
D’Aguilar’s advice for Bahamians
“Please don’t congregate, please don’t party. Because if you contribute to a spike in numbers, this rating or this warning will persist and we are heading in the right direction. Our numbers are coming down and this will then lead to a change in that travel advisory.”
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