Mandatory 4-day quarantine period will need to be revisited!
Acting Chief Medical Officer, Dr Ronald Georges has said the territory’s mandatory four-day quarantine period for arriving passengers might have to be revisited since a growing number of flaws were detected with this safety protocol, as seen in the most recent positive COVID-19 cases.
Health Minister Carvin Malone had revealed last Friday, January 8, that two positive cases were being investigated after two visitors who had previously tested negative on day zero and day four, tested positive during their exit screening to leave the territory.
While ruling out the likelihood the two cases were contracted locally, Dr Georges said the four-day quarantine period was always going to pose a risk but argued that the risk level has now begun to increase.
“Clearly the four-day quarantine has proven insufficient and has allowed a proportion of cases to evade detection and containment. This was a calculated risk between facilitating the economy and protection of the public from infection,” he told BVI News.
“At this point, the four-day quarantine will need to be revisited to determine how the guest experience can continue and be enhanced within a longer quarantine. However, on the other side of things, there must be strict adherence to measures and protocols already established,” Dr Georges added.
From four days to perhaps seven or longer
And while stating that the decision is ultimately up to the government, the Acting CMO said quarantine periods of seven days or more will be more effective than the present mandatory four-day period.
“Moving forward, we will be closely looking at how the time period may shift and how we can work with our stakeholders to ensure economic activity continues. This may involve tightening and extending the four-day bubble to perhaps seven days or longer depending on the country of disembarkation. However, these ideas are all for further discussion with stakeholders and subject to final approval by the government,” he stated.
The incubation period before the virus becomes detectable varies between zero and 14 days, and in unique cases, as long as 21 days.
Hence the need to adhere to COVID measures
Dr Georges also highlighted the importance of following all of the COVID-19 measures which can help to safeguard a person and their family from contracting the virus in cases where it finds its way into the general population.
“This is why continued adherence to protocols is of such importance and why the lapses over the holiday weekends are so vexatious. In the event a few cases do slip through the quarantine net [and] if there is widespread adoption and adherence to protocols, they will not lead to any significant infections outside of their close contacts,” he explained.
The BVI presently have 19 active COVID-19 cases, with 12 on Virgin Gorda, six on Tortola and one on a vessel which is out at sea.
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Take note of the virus’ incubation period. Tests are immaterial if the virus cannot be detected because it hasn’t incubated
“While ruling out the likelihood the two cases were contracted locally, ” How is it possible to rule out the likelihood of this? You can not possibly know that since you don’t know everyone they have been in contact with. This is not science; it’s just opinion.
Here we go baby. The most predictable, drama filled, and fear mongering soap opera ever!
@ Pandora, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!!!! Why haven’t they raised an alarm at the high rate of dialysis patients, YOUNG PATIENTS over the past 5 years at the hospital, among other lifestyle related diseases? They will continue to beat the COVID horse until it can’t even open its mouth!
19 cases to ruin your tourism ?
I think it’s for the best. Not everyone will like it but it’s necessary. Even if not 8 days we need at least 6.
350,000 dead in America alone. Similar numbers all across UK and Europe.That is not soap opera, that is reality show nuff.
The regular flu kills many people globally on an annual basis but ironically there’s no flu this year? What’s more contagious than the flu? Get the facts, not the emotionally driven nonsense!
“Up to 650 000 people die of respiratory diseases linked to seasonal flu each year”
https://www.who.int/news/item/13-12-2017-up-to-650-000-people-die-of-respiratory-diseases-linked-to-seasonal-flu-each-year
Ironically again, information from the same WHO that caused this international panic in the first place. Nobody is saying COVID is not to be taken serious, but we are wondering 10 months in, in the year 2021 if all we can do is lock people in rooms and breathe in our waste everyday?
1.99m have died from Covid so far?
In the US theyre counting all deaths as covid deaths. Flu deaths, try and find that number. Fear mongering – if it’s not this it will be something different.
Please make changes after Jan 30. Also are hotels sanitizing the rooms and not just cleaning them? Same for the yachts.
I think what is more fruitful if you look at your testing procedures. I think testing is very flawed. You have to look at incubation. has something changed? The world knows the virus was designed to mutate over a period of time. Get a virologist to look at the structure of the virus and provide a better makeup of how it is built. The virus if Flu, Pneumonia, and others. The question is how does the incubation period work with. all those variables? If the virus sits in the blood then maybe we need to take samples also. The lab should be busy looking at all those options.
What about the great tracking apps???
We open up, we evaluate then adjust. That’s what they’re doing. So what’s the issue now?
This is just going overboard now. The supermarkets do not sanitize the carts so it’s a free for all. Wearing masks is just a feel good thing, it does nothing for anyone. Flu viruses run rampant during flu season, that is how it works. The fear mongering and destroying of economies over this is very disheartening. It is almost as if nothing else matters health wise anymore once it’s not COVID which has a 99% recovery rate.
Think about what it would mean for the Moorings to close shop in Road Town. Now consider the Moorings just announced the opening of a new base on St. Thomas. US flights — easy. USVI government — easy. They might still sail over to the BVI to throw some money at the dirt bars — but chasing away the flights and the dock is a huge loss for the BVI. Your government did that. Rock on!
did it mean to the imperialist, human trafficker and enslaver when that industry lost it lustre?
They all took their riches and moved back to their country to build and invest, hence the industrial revolution as an example..
So to it will be whan time requires., but the people
left behind, who are born survivers will continue to survive and trive.
Read more of the comments….
To the most part the people of the bvi had enough with charters, they had enough seeing rich people , mostly white from the US coming to their beautiful islands.
As such they don’t care,… they really don’t.
You would think a territory with 40k people, with 1m a year visitors would care and be tuned to tourism but that is imperialism thinking.
USVI will benefit
https://www.moorings.com/
Check out how many bases Moorings has All around the world. We seem to think they are only in the BVI. They are running a business and will go where they think they can make money. They are not leaving the BVI. Click the tab DESTINATIONS
Not sure if you really understand but it’s ok, in time you will have no choice but to understand!
The boaters are coming to the BVI, NOT to the Moorings. That is because the product (the sailing vacation) IS in the BVI.
That should be easy enough to understand, yea?
Actually, the sailors aren’t coming to the BVI, anymore. After rescheduling my vacation twice, I’m going to St. Lucia, where I won’t be heckled as a colonizer or locked on my boat for most of the vacation.
The product is the bvi and that product is Is dying.
The mornings moving is just a signal and … yes, they are making other sites and locations more attractive by opening their base their.
Sailing is one reason , and probably the main one, why people put up with all the crap that traveling to BVI entails.
Putting the base in USVI makes traveling 100% easier, cheaper and quicker. And you can still sail into BVI waters if you want to and are willing to put up with extra charges, administrative hassle and attitude.
Which base do you think will grow fastest in the future?
Does the 4 day quarantine apply to private islands and high end visitors, or is there a different rule for them?
And how are staff on those islands allowed to go home every night after serving new arrivals in the day?
Seems like a pretend quarantine for the billionaires – which puts us all at risk, no?
Having just sailed there for 11 days, I can tell you the 4-day quarantine wasn’t the issue. In Road Town and on Anegada, we saw lots of locals not wearing a mask. Our taxi from the airport had a plastic divider between the passengers and the drive, but it had all but completely fallen down. Many who were wearing their masks, weren’t wearing them correctly and had their nose hanging out. Including our taxi driver. We felt safer on the boat, so maybe a longer period wouldn’t be bad, BUT you need a system for replenishing in that case. Water, fuel, ice, and probably food all need to be able to be delivered to the fuel dock or to the yacht directly. And the trash needs to get picked up. I sure missed the mooring ball kids this year. 5 days’ worth of the trash was starting to make the boat stink. I wouldn’t mind staying on the boat the whole time in that case. Very relaxing. Just expand the anchorages and allow snorkeling further than 30 feet from the boat. Also, you must come up with a way of showing who has been cleared and who hasn’t. Otherwise, those inclined to break the rules are free to do so.
You cannot run from a virus! When will people understand that? The laughable part is that the focus is on masks when most germs are transmitted by hands through touch. SMFH!
That is absolutely false. It is actually the reverse.
How do you assume the 2 cases that were positive on the exit test were not contracted locally?
Thank you! And what will they do next when or tests negative after an 8 day quarantine then tests positive before leaving? Are they going to extend the quarantine period again?
I don’t understand on what facts the statement is based that local infection is ruled out. The only way to say for sure that no one on island has the virus is to test everyone on island.
Have they addressed the issue of people coming in illegally? That was identified as a source previously. Unless all backdoor entry points are sealed off and everyone on island tested, there’s absolutely no way to say for sure that someone who has travelled in, tested negative 3 times! – (don’t forget they have to be tested before arrival), that those persons did not get infected after leaving quarantine.
Can’t just go increasing quarantine period each time someone who quarantined later gets infected. That’s the worse way of managing this thing I have every heard of.
We’ve been through stringent lockdowns 24/7 lockdowns. The virus doesn’t pop out of thin air. This is one of the safest places. well before the tourists and this four day quarantine.
From the lack of noise of boats on the water at night the smuggling problem is no more.
People say usvi is the next best thing. Do tourist want to go to a place known to be filled with corona virus or a place with no known corona virus.
If I took my family to vacation the choice is clear.
The 2 people are still here that tested positive. They went to C*** M*** on New Years Eve after going through the 4 day quarantine. Why don’t you TALK TO THEM (before talking out of your a**?)
It is a family of 7 here for the holidays – they are residents (own a home and father has a Non-Belonger Land Holder license).
If you are going to change all the rules and screw up all existing tourist visits this season. PLEASE base the change on some facts!
If you extend the quarantine any further tourism will halt. 4 days is already too much.
Most won’t come, as most visitors are from the USA and 1 week vacation is all they take. At least that is my experience as a home owner who rents their place.
Maybe that’s what the BVI wants, but then just close the borders and move on. Save the money that is being invested on screening tourist and put it into buying vaccines for residents.
There’s very little chance someone is coming down to the BVI and sitting in a hotel, boat or villa even with beach access and a pool, for 7 days with no ability to enjoy the local restaurants, activities, etc. They’d go to Hawaii, USVI, St. Lucia, etc.
Discovered the hard way the brutal truth…. they don’t want it open. Ideally Should block all white visitors…
First of all! People are allow to get tested within 5 days of coming into the territory. Their test could say negative, but they still have few days before travel to interact with others. who knows if they are catching it while traveling. It takes at least day 3 or 4 days to result a positive test or experience symptoms. If they indeed test positive on day 4 then they do the 14 day quarantine simple or 10 days! Why does it need to be revisit? It’s that simple, stay in quarantine until neg.
Yay! Now we are going to shoot ourselves in the other foot too.
Facts!!
Many people are getting vaccinated now. Will those that have been vaccinated be allowed entry without all these restrictions?
Quite a few people will be sad when COVID is played out and over with because it’s the only reason they’re relevant right now. Time alone..
I know of three false positives just in my little city in Florida. Those false positives are now part of the “positive statistics”. Multiple retesting on the same day have all come back negative. Who & what to believe any more!
This guy is dangerous.
So 3 negative tests are of no relevance, just the outgoing one is considered? And no way it was picked up here?
So just incite panic?
No actual confirmation.
Hospitals overrun or even busy?
Vaccine will rid us of more than just one problem we hope.
You really wanna kill your economy because of 19 cases ?
I see why Scrubisland shut back down from opening 2 weeks before
Go to Jamaica, no long quarantine, they are managing cases and tourism is back on stream. Most of their guests are from the USA but it isn’t stopping the economy.
What kind of doctor you is that’s misleading the people.The whole of y’all need to disappear
WE MISS YOU AT BVIHSA!!!
COME BACK PLEASE!!!!!!!!
AGREE
You people need to get it together. Open the country to tourism before its too late.The BVI brand is being ruined on the world stage.