Bahamas govt begins free COVID testing in New Providence

The Bahamas government has commenced free COVID-19 testing in New Providence from Saturday, January 8, 2022. The administration is planning to expand the free testing drive to the rest of the island within the time period of the upcoming weeks. 

The free COVID-19 testing is the Bahamian governments’ effort to curb the impact of the new contagious variants of the COVID-19 virus. Initially, the government started free testing pilot programmes in Eleuthera, Inagua, Bimini and the Berry Islands.   

Prime Minister Philip Davis asserted on Saturday, “We are very glad to make good on our promise to provide free testing to our citizens. I’d like to personally thank Minister Darville and his Ministry of Health team who have worked tirelessly to make free testing possible”. 

“I will also like to thank the labs that have partnered with my government on this initiative to date. By working together against COVID-19, we are better able to protect our citizens while keeping our economy open,” he added. 

During the initial weekend of free testing in New Providence, the health authorities ate expected to facilitate around 400 free rapid antigen COVID-19 tests at the Kendal G. L. Isaacs Gymnasium. Meanwhile, up to 300 tests and up to 100 tests at the Melia Hotel for registered users. 

The South Beach Clinic is equipped to deliver free RT-PCR tests for symptomatic individuals, where no registration is required to get a test done. No more than one test per individual may be taken per week to make sure that the COVID-19 free test is accessible to every individual. 

Other than this, the government is disseminating medical-grade masks, enhancing the COVID-19 vaccination drive and booster shots, imposing more stringent health protocols and guidelines such as – shrinking the number of people at public gatherings, wearing masks, measures at the business offices, maintaining social distancing and numerous others, so that it can reduce the impact of coronavirus.