Passengers from different ships may not be allowed to mingle when cruise ships return to Antigua

1

Cabinet Notes: There were discussions held on the return of cruise tourism, likely to restart in a few months.

 

The protocols that are to control entry into Antigua have already been articulated and submitted.

 

While the Ministry’s focus has been concerned with the entry of the visitors, the cruise liners are also carefully examining the systems in place in the destination to forestall the infection of their passengers while on-shore.

 

The training and vaccination of taxi drivers, tour operators, store owners and their sales staff, and the restaurant operators that are likely to interact with the disembarking cruise passengers were examined and approaches proposed.

 

There also was a discussion about a fixed contractual arrangement between the vessels and the Mount St. John Medical Center, in the event a passenger falls ill and requires hospitalization that is beyond the capacity of the ship’s sick bay.

 

That discussion also focused on a fixed contractual arrangement between the vessels and a receiving hotel, should a spouse or partner of a sick passenger should wish to remain in Antigua for the duration of the party’s hospital stay. A proposal was put forward to make voluntary an insurance program to which a passenger may subscribe when purchasing his/her/their travel package.

 

The vessels are also interested in keeping the passengers disembarking Ship A, from mixing with passengers arriving on Ship B, when several vessels have moored on the same day in the St. John’s harbour.

 

The systems which would be instituted are likely to include safe taxis and buses; passengers occupying separate parts of the public beach; and, ensuring that beach vendors, lounge chair renters, and sea sports operators on the beaches do not act as vectors. All may have to be vaccinated and to practice the safety protocols.

 

The USA Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also sought to ensure that crew members do not disembark their vessels. The Cabinet has asked that this proposal be studied.

 

The passengers getting on board cruise vessels leaving the USA will all require vaccination as a condition of boarding; however, the cruise passengers will also require a Covid-19 PCR Test before setting off if Antigua is a destination stop.

 

Advertise with the mоѕt vіѕіtеd nеwѕ ѕіtе іn Antigua!
We offer fully customizable and flexible digital marketing packages.
Contact us at [email protected]

1 COMMENT

  1. in light of current global shortage & delay of vaccines and ‘expected’ not promised arrival dates, please do NOT vaccinate these folks with existing AstraZeneca stocks but WAIT until the PM promised Sinopharm & Sputnik arrive
    (‘imminiently’ if memory serves correctly).

    Note CDC announced international departures from USA ports will not begin until November 1sr EARLIEST.

Comments are closed.