The Bahamas begins a two-week national lockdown Tuesday due to a spike in coronavirus cases.
Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced the restriction in a national address Monday night, saying the decision was based on the advice of health experts.
Minnis said, officials will evaluate the impact of the lockdown after two weeks and the decision to relax or extend the lockdown will be made in part by the cooperation of the people living on the islands.
Minnis said, citizens who break their quarantine after testing positive for the coronavirus will be fined.
Travel for essentials such as food, water, medicines is restricted to Monday, Wednesday and Friday, from 7 am to 5 pm for the general public and essential workers have an additional day on Saturday from 7am to 1 pm.
Minnis said, the onus is on the Bahamians and residents to work together and control the spread of COVID-19.
The prime minister added that health care services and accommodations are being overwhelmed because of the rapid increase in coronavirus cases mostly among people 20 to 40 years old.
The Bahamas confirmed the vast majority of the 679 COVID-19 cases occurred in the past month. So far, there are 14 coronavirus deaths.