Fully vaccinated local day-trippers won’t be required to quarantine
Come mid-May, day-trippers travelling from the BVI to select neighbouring jurisdictions will no longer be required to quarantine when they return from their travels.
This is part of recent decisions Cabinet approved. But Health Minister Carin Malone said these relaxed policies are conditional and only apply to fully vaccinated persons.
“Effective 15th May 2021, fully vaccinated persons who have been present in the Virgin Islands for a period of more than 14 consecutive days and travel to the USVI, St Martin, or Puerto Rico for a period not longer than 24 hours are exempted from quarantine and the COVID-19 test upon re-entering the territory. However, day-trippers to these neighbouring jurisdictions would be required to take a PCR test seven days after returning to the territory,” Malone stated.
Malone further said that effective May 15, fully vaccinated persons travelling from overseas would require a PCR test within five days of travel, provide satisfactory evidence of being fully vaccinated, and will be subject to a PCR test immediately upon arrival.
Fully vaccinated persons will be quarantined until a negative test result is received from the BVI Health Services Authority.
“In other words, if the test administered on arrival returns a negative result, the fully vaccinated traveler will be immediately released from quarantine, unless they have been in close contact with a positive case,” Malone explained.
And as the BVI prepares to welcome an increasing number of travellers in the coming weeks and month, Cabinet has also decided gatherings among vulnerable persons are not to exceed five persons.
Malone said all other gatherings are limited to one person per 64 square feet and shall not exceed 200 persons, except for faith-based services, graduations, weddings, or funerals, which shall not exceed 250 persons. This took effect Friday, April 23.
“In relaxing the travel requirements for persons who have been fully vaccinated, and permitting larger gatherings, there will be an increased risk of exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19 among the resident population. Prevention measures such as mask-wearing, hand washing, and physical distancing will remain in effect, and vaccines continue to be widely distributed while they remain in stock,” Malone said.
“I emphasise that vaccination is the best defence against the risk of severe COVID-19 symptoms and death. As a caring and responsible government, we have taken extensive measures and made significant investments to safeguard the health and well-being of the people of the Virgin Islands against the threat of this deadly virus,” he added.
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So you need to quarantined or not if fully vaccinated????
No you need to be fully vaccinated with all available vaccines available to the world. You then have to take as many tests as possible. The third result of the second and fifth test will be used on the portal. The rest may or may not be used in person when arriving or departing. Once you come back to the BVI you will have to quarantine in a government facility and your home. You must take a taxi to your personal vehicle and the driver will drive you in your own car. The fee for that will be $100. Upon landing in the US, You will take a Covid test, a spelling test, and you must be able to touch your toes. If you fail any of these, you must return to the BVI for 48 hours pending reapproval of both the US and BVI portal. Another test in BVI is required and you must quarantine pending results.
All of this should be very clear and easy to understand. If not please go to your nearest pharmacy for 500mg of Fukitol.
This is too funny but very accurate.
Sooo the Foy opening a little cause he already made arrangements for the cruise ships to unload 3,000 people and they don’t have to have any testing. The man needs to take his head out of his a** and wake up. Stop putting restrictions on people but allow others to come where the government coffers get filled. Poor, poor non existent leadership. Who voted for this clown.
Ok, all my friends who took vaccine are fine, no problem.
I want to travel and do my part so i need to vaccinate.
It is time now, waited long enough.
Since taking the vaccine I am stronger, more virile and walk with a bounce in my step. I now get netflix beamed directly into my head and my 5G reception is flawless.
Ok that’s cool. So I should be incentivized to give myself blood cloths? Cause my blood rare so I KNOW IT WILL BE PROBLEMATIC for me but hey wow I can go on a day trip.
For heavens sake these DEMONS and the FDA tell Johnson & Johnson just slap a beware of potential fatal blood cloths on the label for vax. The demons care bout us and humanity? LOL
People with sense done PLANT OUR FLAG! Discriminate away we can take it.
The risk of blood clots with J&J and AZ vaccines is very rare. If, like me, you are predisposed to having blood clots then your doctor, like mine, will advise you against taking the vaccine. We need the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine instead, but I have no idea how we will get that option here in the BVI.
You should be incentivized to back to school, educate yourself about math and statistics and then be ashamed and embarrassed due to your ignorance. You Sir, are the reason why scammers and confidence men can still make money.
CONFIDENT men not confidence yuh dumb broad. What yuh modda saying anyways?
– confident man : you in your ignorance
– confidence men : scammers and tricksters.
English your first language?
Don’t forget day trippers you need a negative Covid test to enter US territories even for the day. Those vaccinated and entering the Territory are they going to have to still go through the portal? Pay $170? Take an approved taxi when entering? Quarantine 24 hours or so? How? Bracelet? How about for once you all get your s**t together before making announcements and how about BVINews ask the pertinent questions.
Preach brother
“Fully vaccinated” means nothing, it seems in the BVI. We still have to quarantine. We still have to pay and take tests. The CDC says all of this is unnecessary. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated.html
Vaccinated persons can still spread COVID. I suggest closing schools when you all decide to allow persons to quarantine for that short time.
Sure and send our children into the abyss just like our leaders. They didn’t graduate second grade…
“Fully vaccinated” means nothing, in the BVI. Visitors still have to quarantine. Visitors still have to pay and take tests. These are not the recommendations of the CDC, which base their guidelines on the best available science. What is the BVI basing this anti-tourism policy on? Just say no to tourism. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated.html
It’s certainly a step in the right direction, but the policies still feel quite a bit outdated. The 24-48 hour quarantine in the hotel room is a deal breaker. No traveller wants to spend a percentage of their trip in their hotel room.
There is an interesting article about being a tourist in the BVI during this time: https://www.bvibeacon.com/tourism-in-the-quarantine-era/
But cheers to progress!
“Fully vaccinated” in the BVI means that visitors still need to quarantine for 5 days and take and pay for test. Fully vaccinated tourists will not come if they have to quarantine. They will go elsewhere. This policy is not the advice of the CDC which bases its guidelines on science. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated.html
How about just taking the test, and if it negative from where they came from and the test is ad mistered in the BVI at the ports and comes out negative …they can spend the 24 hours.
The vaccine should not be mandatory because man do not have that authority ..
Only if you pray about it Gods still answers prayers.
Pray and God will heal the land and its people,
But its like most people don’t want to hear Jesus name, so we will pay for the consequences of ignoring their higher power, Stop taking things in our own hand! We have a Savior who we can take all our troubles too, and no regrets comes with it,
Be Bless
lots of open questions on how this will work and how those policies applies to families with kids under 16.
Many scheduled their time in the BVI for the early summer period due to schools.
If they dont solve that problem .. I wont say they didnt anything but it wont be enough.
I can see a scenario where adults come to the BVI and families going to the USVI..
suspect the ratio on spending $ on land between adults and families is significant (in favor of families) but have no data
100%. I’m planning to come end of May with my 3 kids, but this news doesn’t tell me whether that’s possible.
Congratulation Mr. Fahie – at last some brave leadership. This thing is not going to go away so we have to learn how to live with it and and manage the fallout. Your government has done everything you could to protect but the time is now to move responsibility from the government and move it to individuals. Don’t want the vaccine – fine, you don’t have to, but don’t complain if you get covid, you had your chance.
Now please MR Fahie – Please don’t mess up the implementation with non sensical protocols. I’m talking specifics here – how do you handle kids, costs, etc.
Vaccinated adults can come to the BVI with their non vaccinated children but every BVI islander must show these amazing cruiseship tourists, out vaccination papers?? What do we have to paste them to our foreheads?? Oh wait, we can get vaccine tattoos on our forehead, so we can buy, sell, travel and serve the all mighty cruise ship tourists and their unvaccinated children. So the majority of the folks on summer ships are CHILDREN, lots of Covid19 coming to the BVI.
This whole plan is upside down. The BVI was Covid19 free till tourists and returners brought it here.
“Feo”, if you can come to the US Virgin Islands after May, do so and get the Pfizer, Moderna, or even the Johnson ones!
I believe one can call the vaccinated hotline located on the Department of Health website here to sign up!
Good Luck!
Leave other people things alone!
ffgvs
Hoping this anti tourist policy will evolve again by end of june when my family of 18 are coming to USVI. all will have negative test or antibody test before coming. Sure would like to spend a S–T load of money in the BVI with boat charters, food and bar tabs lol… but if not We’ll just have to spend it in USVI.. plus side is I wont’ have to clear customs so more boat time. come on BVI.. OPEN UP!!