Eleven Cuban rafters were quarantined in the Bahamas as a preventive measure against the coronavirus pandemic after being detained on a key in the Atlantic archipelago by security forces earlier in the week.
Officers from the Royal Bahamas Defense Force and the U.S. Coast Guard joined in the operation to detain the group of Cubans at the beginning of the week, the Bahamian authorities reported this Saturday.
The RBDF was notified of the vessel the immigrants were traveling in by officials of Operation Bahamas Turks and Caicos (OPBAT), according to some local media.
The Cubans were detained in Anguila Keys, near Sal Bank Key, to the north of Cuba.
According to the Bahamas migration authorities, after the arrest of the Cubans, they were separated from the RBDF crew and later examined by Navy officers to determine if they had been infected with COVID-19.
The rafters were also examined by a medical team from the Bahamas Ministry of Health at Coral Harbor Base in Nassau, the capital of the Atlantic archipelago.
The Cuban migrants were later handed over to officials of the Bahamas Immigration Department, but will be quarantined until they are admitted to the Bahamian Detention Center.
Cuba reached 16 dead this Saturday from COVID-19 and accumulates 620 positives cases. Meanwhile, Johns Hopkins University records indicate that the Bahamas registered 42 cases and 8 deaths from the coronavirus.
The Bahamas, one of the places where Cuban rafters usually land, now has the challenge of the pandemic after facing another great crisis just six months ago due to the passage of Hurricane Dorian, which left at least 70 dead and 300 missing.
COVID-19 has caused the death of more than 100,000 people worldwide since its appearance in late 2019, as confirmed by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Global infections stand at over 1.7 million, after confirming around 90,000 new cases this Saturday, added the Geneva-based organization.
EFE/OnCuba
