By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas recorded 185 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases and six additional virus deaths over the weekend, bringing the nation’s overall tally to 20,215 cases since the start of the pandemic.

According to data released by the Ministry of Health, 100 new cases were recorded on Saturday, eighty-five on Friday, 116 on Thursday, 119 on Wednesday, 105 on Tuesday, eighty-nine on Monday and eighty-six on Sunday for a total of 700 last week.

The previous week saw 662 infections confirmed.

In terms of virus deaths, Ministry of Health confirmed 47 COVID deaths last week.

This means 510 people have now died from the virus. A further 30 deaths still remain under investigation, however.

The latest deceased victims were four New Providence women, between the ages of 40-73. Health officials said their deaths occurred between September 4 to September 8.

On Friday, two deaths were recorded involving a 67-year-old man and 55-year-old woman from New Providence – who died on September 7 and September 10 respectively.

Meanwhile, 156 COVID-19 patients are still in hospital, 23 of whom are in the intensive care unit.

Last week, the Ministry of Health reported that there has been a “notable decrease” in newly confirmed COVID-19 cases.

“It is noteworthy to mention that for the next four weeks or four reporting cycles, there was a decrease in the number of cases,” the ministry said. “This result has been the effect of the aggressive vaccination campaign implemented by the government. It was previously predicted that once a reasonable percentage of citizens and residents become vaccinated, such a result would be experienced.

“Even though there is a decrease in COVID-19 cases, hospitalisations continue to increase. It is expected that as the COVID-19 cases continue to decrease, there will be a decline in the hospitalisations reported. The Bahamas experienced a peak of 40 deaths during the week of August 22. As the cases continue to decrease, it is also expected that the number of deaths will decrease,” the Ministry of Health added.

To contain the spread of COVID-19, residents are reminded of the following: if you have symptoms, contact your health provider; while home remedies may work for a period it is important to get tested and receive the proper care before symptoms become too difficult to manage; if you have been asked by the Surveillance Unit to get tested for COVID-19, please follow the advice and take the gold standard RT-PCR test.