The Bahamas announced on Tuesday the temporary suspension of all commercial flights and boat services in Haiti as a precaution against the risk of contagion by covid-19 when the country enters the carnival season.
The suspension of all connections in Haiti is included in the executive orders due to the covid-19 emergency.
The executive order, which provides for the suspension of connections for a period of 21 days, prohibits the entry into the Bahamas of any person who has left Haiti, either on direct transport routes or in transit from another jurisdiction, and who arrives by air or big.
Bahamian Foreign Minister Darren Henfield said the decision was made because of concerns about the activities of the Haitian carnival, which was widely publicized.
The Haiti Carnival, which began on Monday, is one of the country’s biggest cultural events each year and was canceled in 2020 after several violent protests disrupted the first day of festivities.
However, this year’s events will take place despite ongoing political unrest and COVID-19 concerns.
“The reason for the ban or what we call the embargo on flights and boats with Haiti at this time is that the country has entered the carnival season,” Henfield said.
“The Bahamas did not celebrate its Junkanoo season – the carnival – as we normally do. Trinidad did not do the carnival as it normally does, so we are cautious. This is just a precautionary step taken by the government to avoid possible risks, “he added.
The move has drawn criticism from those questioning the government’s justification for implementing a liaison ban only against Haiti and not against other countries, especially if COVID-19 cases are on the rise.
He insisted that the carnival atmosphere could favor a possible spread of the virus and that is why Junkanoo was abandoned in the Bahamas.
“Our health officials continue to monitor the spread of covid-19 and its variants in different countries,” he said.
The minister said there were currently no plans to suspend flights or maritime links to the Bahamas from other countries.
He said he had no news of repatriation flights of Bahamian citizens from Haiti, although he did not rule out the possibility that there might be citizens of the Atlantic archipelago in the Caribbean.
In March 2020, the country’s borders were closed to all travelers, including citizens of the Bahamas, in an attempt to prevent the spread of Covid-19.