Following the quarantine of Haiti by the Bahamas https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33041-haiti-flashthe-bahamas-put-haiti-in-quarantine.html of 21 days of all flights commercial and boats from Haiti on its territory since Monday, February 15, 2021, the Minister of Tourism of the Bahamas, Dionisio D'Aguilar, declared that the blocking of trips from Haiti had been extended by 30 days following concerns of healthcare professionals regarding a number of COVID-19 cases originating in this country.

In the latest emergency orders, the competent authority extended the travel ban on travelers from Haiti for an additional 30 days, effective March 13.

The 21-day ban, which began on February 15 following the carnival in Haiti, ended on March 8.

Addressing the extension of the ban, D'Aguilar said "The competent authority has seen fit to extend it further [...] It seems the health professionals were of the view that the additional cases were somehow related to travel to and from Haiti. [...] The government is of the view that travel between Haiti and The Bahamas is contributing to an increase of COVID cases in The Bahamas and therefore is minded to shut down all travel between the two countries for the next 30 days."

Let's recall that since February 9, the Ministry of Tourism of Haiti has announced that all travelers will have to present a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test carried out no more than 72 hours before boarding to enter the country - a first since the start of the pandemic a year ago. This requirement came into effect a few days before the carnival celebration. Also Haiti is one of the few countries in the Caribbean region not to have imposed strict testing requirements on travelers during the pic of the pandemic, although there has been an ongoing debate on the issue among the leaders of the country.

HL/ HaitiLibre