The Office of the Prime Minister has advised that a Weekend Lockdown will take effect tonight at 10pm until Monday 27 July at 5am.
This will apply to all islands of The Bahamas, excluding Grand Bahama where a lockdown is currently in place.
Grocery stores, pharmacies and gas stations will be permitted to operate during this period, from 7am to 5pm for all members of the public.
The Prime Minister will provide additional details at the Ministry of Health’s Press Conference scheduled for 6pm today.
Government insiders told the Gallery that Minnis will order the closure of fast food restaurants and retail stores while grocery stores, pharmacies and gas stations will be allowed to operate during certain hours.
New Providence residents lined up outside food stores and retail stores this afternoon in anticipation of the competent authority’s announcement of new restrictive measures.
The National Insurance Board’s services may also be impacted, according to sources.
The country set a daily record high yesterday with an astounding 55 people testing positive for covid-19. That number is expected to skyrocket again today as the virus spreads to the other islands.
This comes as the government backtracked on its travel ban.
Attorney General Carl Bethel said today that the provisions governing the admission of foreign visitors to The Bahamas were changed in order to create a uniform standard of treatment for all Visitors to The Bahamas during this Pandemic Emergency.
“The creation of a uniform framework means that there is no longer any need to create any list of countries from which The Bahamas would accept commercial flights; which list thereby excluded other countries. Further it eliminates the need to continuously add or delete countries, as their circumstances might change,” Bethel said in a statement today.
“Importantly, it allows for the protection of the Bahamian people from the possible dangers or travel-related contagion in a manner which is consistent with our Treaty obligations, and also with the provisions of the Chicago Convention, which regulates international Air Transport,” he continued.