From 4 to 19 August, the country was in total lockdown due to a surge in Covid-19 cases following the reopening of borders. Tensions at the facility have reportedly been increasing as Covid-19 slowed deportation and repatriation procedures.

In early June, a protest broke out in the centre following a hunger strike, with some detainees attempting to escape. The Bahamas operates one dedicated immigration detention centre, the Carmichael Road Detention Centre, which has been repeatedly criticised for having appalling conditions. Hamilton, 'Protest at Office of Bahamas PM Rejecting Plan to Detain Illegal Haitians on Ragged Island,' Magnetic Media, 24 July 2020, ) Islanders Staged a Protest at the Office of the Prime Minister in Nassau, Confirming their Outrage with the Decision to Detain Intercepted Haitian Migrants at the Royal Bahamas Defence Force Base on the Island, (D.