NASSAU, The Bahamas – The Minister of Health and Wellness the Hon. Dr. Michael Darville has announced that due to the milder nature of the Omicron Variant, the country will remove travel restrictions imposed on certain African countries.

And, he also announced that the Ministry of Health and Wellness has started the first phase of the COVID-19 vaccine booster rollout on Tuesday Dec 7.

He made these statements while giving an update on the COVID-19 pandemic, in the House of Assembly on Wednesday, December 8, 2021.

“The new Omicron Variant labeled by the World Health Organization as being more transmissible than the Delta Variant has already spread to some 40 countries around the world and is moving closer and closer to our shores,” the minister said.

He noted however, that given the pervasiveness of the Omicron Variant, The Bahamas through the Ministry of Health and Wellness would remove those travel restrictions recently imposed on African countries.

The Bahamas, like the rest of the world has been fighting the COVID-19 pandemic for almost two years. And according to Dr. Darville, “It is therefore very important that each of us does our part in stopping the spread of the virus by strictly following all health protocols.”

He added, “As we ramp up our vaccination efforts we remain hopeful that we will reach our projected target of 200,000 vaccinated Bahamians and residents by the end of the year. The increased vaccination of our citizens and residents will certainly reduce the severity of the impact of the virus and make it easier for us to keep our economy open and enable us to continue our lives with some degree of normalcy.”

In this vein, Dr. Darville explained that the Ministry of Health and Wellness has started on Tuesday, December 7, the first phase of the booster shot roll-out for individuals 60 years and older, who are fully vaccinated, and the second phase will include healthcare providers, front line workers and uniformed branch personnel, followed by all eligible citizens and residents over the age of 18 years.

“This is great news and we encourage Bahamians everywhere to capitalize on this vaccine opportunity,” he said.

Last week, there were 3,300 vaccine doses administered at the vaccination centres. These numbers reflect a slowing trend of individuals seeking to be vaccinated for the first time.

“We are happy to advise that beginning today (December 8), Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson COVID 19 vaccines will be offered as booster doses. The booster dose will be administered to those who received Pfizer or AstraZeneca, 6 months after the second dose, and Johnson and Johnson 2 months after the initial dose.

Having said that, he cautioned that the ministry cannot let its guard down and is actively discussing with its partners from the Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation meaningful ways to strengthen travel requirements for entry into our country.

Dr. Darville also disclosed that meetings are being held between the ministry and technical advisors to finalize the new testing protocols aimed at mitigating the importation of the SARS-CoV-2 also known as the coronavirus, which is the virus that causes COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), the respiratory illness responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

He encouraged all Bahamians to consult reliable sources such as the websites of the Ministry of Health and Wellness, the Office of the Prime Minister and the respective Facebook pages for accurate information about the vaccines, and to be reliably informed about what we are doing to manage the COVID 19 virus in the country.