Travellers From CARICOM Countries Exempt From Covid-19 Test As Government Establishes Travel Bubble

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(CABINET NOTES)

The Cabinet has agreed to establish what is known as “a travel bubble” that will allow citizens from identified states to travel to Antigua without the necessity to have Covid-19 tests undertaken and certificates presented upon entry.

The citizens of the O.E.C.S. and Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Jamaica will be accorded the privilege of being included in this “bubble”. Reciprocity is also deemed to be a requirement. The number of infected persons in these jurisdictions is deemed sufficiently low so as not to cause a threat, although the citizens of these CARICOM countries, upon entry, will be made to undergo non-invasive temperature tests. Only two of the states have opened their borders since the Covid-19 epidemic.

All other persons of every citizenship who intend to travel to Antigua, after yesterday, July 7, 2020, are required to undertake a Covid-19 test that is no more than 7 days old prior to travel, and to have a certificate showing that they have tested negative.

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10 COMMENTS

  1. If this goes forward, you must establish that traveller is really from that country and has not traveled to other unapproved countries. People coming in from Miami, for instance, can travel from numerous countries to catch flight to Antigua. They are not just folks from Florida.

  2. While the intended purpose of this policy remains unclear, I do not understand why we would want to relax our stance. Does the virus distinguish between OECS residents and residents further afield?

    Just to safeguard the health of the residents of A&B, I would feel more comfortable with a single requirement for all persons entering the country

    • DadliMan: The Virus does distinguish the differences between OECS residents and all others.They smell differently. LOL

  3. This is what happens when politicians make decisions outside of their field.

    Does the virus check your passport ?
    How do you know if someone who had it decides to get up and travel tomorrow ?
    Aren’t we learning from the other locations who open up prematurely and their getting a second wave ?
    What happen to our Testing Lab sooooooooo long ?
    Also, what airline are all these people “in the bubble” going to travel on ? LoL

  4. No virus in Montserrat for almost three months,so why do we have to have the test to pass through the
    Antigua airport?

  6. Wake me up!! Wait So Covid-19 skip the Caricom Member States. This Idea about
    ” Travel Bubble” the feel free to travel to Antigua , No test required this dumb and stupid idea should find it’s way into a Rubbish bin then off to cooks Dump.

  7. Like me coming from Tortola with kids where theirs no case here I still have to get a approved of testing?

  8. This is an act of desperation. The Government knows that the new protocols introduced for traditional tourists markets, for example a certificate verifying negative COVID19 test 7 days prior to travel will lead to significantly reduced number of tourist visitors. So, they may be trying to find an alternative.

    But, have we ever got real tourists from CARICOM? Traditionally we have received immigrants from CARICOM, not tourists. Besides, it’s the wrong time to open up to further immigration, because we have no surplus jobs here. Infact, we could end up seeing the wrong kind of elements coming in: murderers, robbers, kidnappers and other undesirables.

    A spike in immigration at this time will also put further stress on on our ability to meet the anticipated increased demands on social services: for example, job placements, additional school places for immigrant children, medical and hospitalisation costs etc.

    It is possible that the Government has its eyes on the next General Elections and think that a new influx of immigrants could be a smart way to pad voters list in the belief that such a banal scheme could translate into even one more term in office for the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) that has already demonstrated it’s inability to cope with the COVID19 crisis, unable to provide basic needs to residents, and have already lost the confidence and trust of the e!ectorate.

    An initiative such as this one should be coming out of the CARICOM Secretariat and not from a single territory. Our Government is obviously overwhelmed and don’t know what to do next. At least continue to fight your LIAT battle, and fight one battle at a time. Let CARICOM step up to the plate on LIAT and show us how much goodwill there is in CARICOM for Antigua and Barbuda, before we stretch out necks out again to them on another issue that will impact us seriously.

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