The Bahamas Travel Alert Withdrawn 

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Travel Health Notice website has removed the Commonwealth of The Bahamas Level 3 Alert.

This is good news for the health status of the residents of The Bahamas who are recovering from the devastating impact of Hurricane Dorian during September 2019.

The CDC had previously issued a Level 3 Alert, “Avoid Nonessential Travel’ for The Bahamas on January 4, 2020.

The CDC continues to publish travel vaccine suggestions for people visiting The Bahamas, which is a chain of 700 islands, cays, and islets in the Atlantic Ocean, just east of the State of Florida.

On August 2, 2019. the CDC suggested various preventive vaccines, such as measles, Hepatitis A, and Typhoid vaccinations prior to visiting The Bahamas.

And, The Bahamas is included in the CDC’s updated worldwide Measles Alert, reissued on January 3, 2020.

Both the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the CDC published Dengue Outbreak updates for countries in the Americas.

This health prevention information is important since, by the end of 2018, foreign air and sea arrivals in The Bahamas totaled over 6.6 million visitors, an increase from the 6.1 million recorded in 2017. 

Separately, the US Department of State’s Level 2 Travel Advisory for The Bahamas remains in effect, as of January 6th.

The State Department updated it’s Advisory on November 26, 2019, to include the statement ‘Although the family islands are not crime-free, the vast majority of crime occurs on New Providence and Grand Bahama islands.’ 

And, visitors to The Bahamas should ‘Exercise caution in the area known as "Over the Hill" (south of Shirley Street) and the Fish Fry at Arawak Cay in Nassau, especially at night.’

Additionally, the Canadian and UK governments have issued similar travel advisories for The Bahamas.

The UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office advised on December 30, 2019, against all, but essential travel, to Grand Bahama and the Abaco Islands. However, travel to other islands of The Bahamas is unaffected.

Separately, the Government of Canada Travel Advice and Advisories for The Bahamas was last updated on January 6, 2020, which says ‘Exercise a high degree of caution in The Bahamas due to high rates of crime, especially in Freeport and Nassau.’ Canada removed the avoid nonessential travel alert late January 6.

Furthermore, the Canadian government’s Advisory says 'sexual assault occurs frequently in The Bahamas, particularly near hotels, in hotel rooms, in casinos, on cruise ships, and on the beach.

The Bahamas travel news published by Vax-Before-Travel