TORONTO — St. Vincent and the Grenadines has announced new entry requirements for travellers just in time for Air Canada Rouge flights starting in July.

Though the sun destination never officially shut its borders to tourists and remains open for business, it is poised to welcome back Canadians once they are permitted to travel again. Thanks to strict measures put in place early on, St. Vincent and the Grenadines has seen a relatively low number of cases.

In phase 1 of its entry plan, from July 1-30, 2020, the following entry requirements will apply to all travellers:

• All travellers to SVG will have a PCR COVID-19 test done on arrival, with the exception of travellers whose country of origin (present in country for at least 14 days) is in the CARICOM Bubble. The CARICOM bubble consists of Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, BVI, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago. Travellers from within the CARICOM Bubble will not be required to complete a COVID-19 laboratory test but they will need to complete a COVID-19 Questionnaire.
• All travellers arriving from outside of the CARICOM Bubble will be required to go immediately from the airport to their private accommodation or hotel site for a 24-hour quarantine and await the results of the PCR test.
• Once travellers have received a Negative Rapid Antibody Test or Negative PCR Test and have no signs and symptoms of COVID-19 after 24 hours following arrival, they will be contacted and discharged from quarantine.
• All travellers who entered with approved documentation of a negative (IgG & IgM) COVID-19 antibody test done within the past 5 days and a negative SVG COVID-19 PCR test, will not need to quarantine. Such a traveller would be required to monitor their temperatures for the next 14 days and report any elevations to the local health authority.
• Prior to arrival, all travellers will be required to complete an online VINCYCOVID application or fill in a VINCYCOVID questionnaire on the flight prior to arrival.
• Upon arrival, all passengers will be screened before entering the arrivals area. Screening may include probing for symptoms, temperature checks and laboratory specimen collection. The area for screening will be sanitized after each group is screened.

In phase 2, which begins on Aug. 1, 2020 and based on the data gained during phase 1 and the current epidemiology of the COVID-19 pandemic, travellers arriving will be subjected to PCR COVID-19 testing, depending on their country of origin.

For more details go to http://health.gov.vc/health/index.php/c and https://www.facebook.com/SVGHEALTH/.

For reopening updates from other destinations go to https://www.travelweek.ca/news/destinations-reopening-list/.