ANTIGUA — Antigua and Barbuda has updated its entry requirements for travellers to include a negative COVID-19 test result within seven days of their flight.
The island destination, one of the first in the Caribbean to reopen its borders to international visitors on June 4, is working on a combination of screening, testing, monitoring and other measures to mitigate the risk of importing any new cases of COVID-19.
The updated travel advisory now states that all arriving passengers by air, including transiting passengers, must have a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR (real time polymerase chain reaction) taken within seven days of their flight.
The travel advisory, which replaces all previous travel advisories issued by the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, also includes the following:
- Passengers arriving by sea (private yachts/ferry services) are subject to quarantine according to guidelines issued by Port Health
- All arriving passengers must wear a face mask on disembarkation and in all public areas; the wearing of a face mask in public spaces is mandatory throughout Antigua and Barbuda and social distancing protocols must be adhered to
- All arriving passengers must complete a Health Declaration Form and will be subjected to screening and temperature checks by Port Health Authorities upon arrival
- All arriving passengers will be monitored for COVID-19 for periods of up to 14 days in accordance with the directions of the Quarantine Authority and the Quarantine (COVID-19) Guidelines; visitors may be required to undergo testing on arrival or at the hotel or place of lodging as determined by health authorities
- Arriving passengers with symptoms of COVID-19 may be isolated as determined by health authorities
- Transiting passengers/crew members who require an overnight stay will be required to proceed to a hotel or government designated facility to await departure
- All marine pleasure craft and ferry services will enter only at the Nevis Street Pier
Antigua reopened its airport in early June, with commercial flights resuming on June 4. Since then, Minister of Tourism Charles ‘Max’ Fernandez confirmed during a recent Facebook Live update that there has been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 from arriving visitors.
Antigua’s updated travel advisory comes on the heels of Saint Lucia’s mandatory pre-travel testing announced last week. Effective July 9, all travellers to Saint Lucia will be required to obtain a negative PCR test, also within seven days of travel.
