The Government of The Bahamas has been closely monitoring the progress of the Coronavirus, COVID-19, over the past few weeks. On the 11^th of March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) took the decision to declare COVID-19 a world health pandemic as there are now more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries and 4,291 people have lost their lives.

To date, international organizations such as the United Nations (UN) and World Bank have cancelled or postponements meetings with large gatherings and the numbers of such are increasing daily. In many capitals, large social gatherings have also been cancelled or postponed. The Government of the Bahamas takes seriously the wellbeing of our citizens and all people throughout The Bahamas.

At the 49^th Session of General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) held in Medellin, Colombia, from 26th to 28th June 2019, The Bahamas offered to host the 50^th General Assembly (GA) in 2020.  Currently, the global community is faced with a major international health concern. Therefore, having carefully considered all aspects of the matter, the Government of The Bahamas has taken the decision to withdraw from hosting the 50^th OAS General Assembly in Nassau.