Twenty-three more COVID deaths were confirmed in The Bahamas in the latest updates from the Ministry of Health, bringing the toll so far in the country since the start of the pandemic to 582.
Four of the deaths took place in October, 18 in September and one in August.
The victims ranged in age from 35 to 83. One of the victims was from Andros, one from Mayaguana, and the others from New Providence.
The latest deaths bring the total number for September 2021 to 116, and the total for August 2021 to 133 — by far the two deadliest months The Bahamas has seen so far.
So far, four people have been confirmed to have died of COVID in October.
As of Tuesday, 120 people have been confirmed so far to have died with COVID-19, but not because of it, while an additional 60 deaths were still under investigation.
Of the latest confirmed COVID deaths, only four had previously been under investigation.
While deaths have continued to be confirmed regularly, new COVID cases appeared to still be trending downward as of the latest updates, with 53 new cases recorded on Monday and 43 on Tuesday.
Of the new cases, 69 were on New Providence, 11 on Grand Bahama, eight on Abaco, four on Eleuthera, two on Cat Island, one on Exuma, and one on Long Island.
Test positivity rates for both Monday and Tuesday were over 16 percent – lower than many of the daily rates seen in recent weeks, but still more than three times higher than the World Health Organization’s recommended maximum of five percent.
As of Tuesday, 141 people were hospitalized with COVID, 16 of whom were in intensive care.
Fifteen people were hospitalized on Grand Bahama and the remainder on New Providence.
