NASSAU, The Bahamas -- Dr. Pearl McMillan, Chief Medical Officer said the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country is 316.

During a COVID-19 Update Press Conference at the Ministry of Health, Friday, July 24, 2020, Dr. McMillan explained that of that number:

• 124 are in New Providence,
• 155 in Grand Bahama,
• 21 in Bimini,
• 6 in the Berry Islands,
• 4 in Cat Cay,
• 2 in Cat Island,
• 3 in Moore’s Island and
• 1 in Great Guana Cay

She said there are 42 new confirmed COVID-19 cases today; deaths remain at 11; hospitalized cases are at 11 and a total of 3,907 tests have been completed.

Dr. McMillan stated that Grand Bahama has become the hotspot or epicentre for COVID-19 in The Bahamas. After having no new cases for some 64 days, Grand Bahama has now exceeded New Providence in the number of confirmed cases.

She explained that from the end of May 2020 to the first week in July 2020, less than four new cases were reported, clearly indicating that community transmission had been suppressed, and reliably demonstrating that, collectively, the nation had ridden out the first wave of COVID-19.

Dr. McMillan said, “In the first wave, The Bahamas recorded a total of 108 cases. These cases occurred across four islands – New Providence, Grand Bahama, Bimini and Cat Cay.”

She then noted that July 8^th, 2020 marked the beginning of the country’s second wave and in just the last three weeks,

• New Providence has seen a 45% increase in cases, from 82 to 119
• Grand Bahama has seen a 119% increase in cases, from 10 to 120
• Bimini, including Cat Cay, has seen a 50% increase in cases, from 14 to 21

“In just three weeks, COVID-19 has been introduced into virgin communities such as Cat Island, the Berry Islands, Moore’s Island and Great Guana Cay.

Dr. McMillan explained that during the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak, the number of new cases doubled every week for the first two weeks.

“By the third doubling, The Bahamas was up to 20 cases per week, but this did not occur until the seventh week of the outbreak. The number of new cases steadily decreased after the seventh week of the first wave, ultimately reaching zero new cases during the 16^th week.”

She added, “In comparison, during the second wave the number of new cases tripled every week for the first three weeks. The number of new cases in the third week is expected to increase as there remains two reporting days in this third week of the second wave.”