The Bahamas is welcoming tourists again — with new coronavirus protocols
After lockdowns and a strict coronavirus quarantine requirement for visitors, the Bahamas is relaxing travel restrictions.
The island chain, which reopened to tourists on Sunday, announced that it will no longer require visitors to test for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, upon arrival. The country’s health ministry previously announced that it would replace its 14-days “Vacation in Place” quarantine requirement for incoming passengers, with a series of new testing using rapid antigen tests.
“As you can imagine, the logistics and complexities of rolling out any type of testing in a country with as many islands and, as a consequence, as many ports of entry as we have in the Bahamas, is no small undertaking,” Minister of Tourism & Aviation Dionisio D’Aguilar said during a press conference on Saturday, where he announced the changes ahead of the Nov. 1 reopening. “The use of rapid antigen tests as an effective screening tool at the border was not supported by the available research ... or, as some of us like to say ... was not supported by the science.”
D’Aguilar said travelers will still enter the Bahamas as they have always done since the outbreak of the global pandemic earlier this year, with their Bahamas Health Travel Visa and their accompanying negative COVID-19 RT Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test from a laboratory, taken no more than five days before arrival.
Upon arrival, visitors will have their temperatures checked at the airport. All visitors and returning citizens staying longer than four nights will be required to submit to a rapid antigen test five days later. Those who test positive will be required to take a RT-PCR swab test. If they test positive, they will be handed over to a medical provider contracted by the government.
The Bahamas is also requiring visitors to pay a fee for their travel health visa, and as of Nov. 14, all visitors will be required to purchase mandatory COVID-19 health insurance before they arrive.
“The inclusion of the travel health insurance is to ensure that any visitor who may test positive for the coronavirus while on vacation in the Bahamas or become ill from the virus while in the Bahamas will not suddenly become a burden on an already overburdened Bahamian public health system,” D’Aguilar said.
Also unlike previously, visitors will be able to move about and enjoy the amenities of their hotel, excursions and beaches, which have been reopened.
Last month American Airlines, the region’s primary air carrier, announced that it would soon be using a preflight coronavirus testing program with Jamaica and the Bahamas. The U.S.-based carrier, along with United Airlines, already has a similar program for passengers traveling to Costa Rica and Hawaii.
Laura Masvidal, a spokesperson with American Airlines, said the carrier is “continuing discussions with the Bahamas and Jamaica” about the program.
The Bahamas has registered 6,735 COVID-19 infections, according to the latest Bahamas Ministry of Health. There are currently 2,045 active cases and 146 COVID-19 related deaths. Most of the infections were registered after the country reopened its borders in July. Health Ministry officials blamed the surge mostly on residents who had traveled to Florida and contracted the disease.
Given its struggle to control the virus and keep its economy open — the travel requirement has changed several times and the country has experienced various lockdowns and curfews — it remains to be seen how the use of rapid antigen testing will work out. The Pan American Health Organization, which still opposes testing for travel, only supports the use of rapid antigen tests under certain conditions. The tests, while effective in detecting symptomatic persons with COVID-19, are not effective on individuals who are not experiencing symptoms. Asymptomatic COVID-19 infections have been a huge concern in the Bahamas and elsewhere in the Caribbean.
During the press conference, Bahamian authorities noted the shortcomings of the rapid antigen tests, but didn’t address concerns about the risk in spreading the disease if asymptomatic people go undetected.
“Travel restrictions are having a detrimental effect on global tourism,” said D’Aguilar, defending the decision to reopen to international tourists. “The Ministry of Tourism has been working with our airline, hotel and other tourism partners to strike a balance ... between heeding the advice of the health professionals to protect the health and well-being of the country ... and develop protocols that make The Bahamas a more desirable destination for travelers in the era of COVID.”
This story was originally published November 2, 2020 at 2:55 PM.
