More pressure on Jamaica, as US announces Covid travel rule

In an advisory, the US Center of Disease Control (CDC) said the new travel rule will come into effect January 26, 2021 and is “consistent with the current phase of the pandemic and more efficiently protects the health of Americans”.

The CDC said passengers, regardless of vaccination, must undergo a viral test  by way of a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) or antigen test, which has a faster turnaround time compared to a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test.

The announcement by the US comes on the heels of Canada imposing similar travel rules on December 31, 2020 and is bound to increase pressure on Jamaica’s testing capacity. Last week the Ministry of Health and Wellness revealed nine private laboratories it approved to offer Covid testing to the public. Only one of the nine labs has been approved to perform PCR testing, while the others are only authorised to conduct antigen testing.

The lack of testing sites has caused many travellers, including Canadian nationals, to be stranded on the island, forcing them to reschedule or cancel their flights.

• Health ministry's list of approved labs highlights severe PCR testing capacity shortfall in Jamaica
• Canada’s Covid travel rule puts pressure on Jamaica
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In an effort to meet the high demands that will follow after the CDC’s decision, Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett said a special task force has been put in place to boost the nation’s testing capacity.

"Like all other nations, we understand the need to protect citizens and to put measures in place to help reduce the spread of this deadly virus. It is for this reason the Government of Jamaica and key partners are putting measures in place to boost the COVID-19 testing capacity locally," said Bartlett.

“The Ministry of Tourism is working closely with the Ministry of Health and Wellness, the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica (PSOJ), the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) as well as private labs and other key stakeholders to have more available testing facilities in place to make the process a more seamless one.”

The task force is led by Bartlett and includes President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), Clifton Reader; First Vice President of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) and former President of the JHTA, Nicola Madden-Greig; Chairman of the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo), Ian Dear; Deputy chairman of the Sandals Group and Chairman of the Tourism Linkages Network Council, Adam Stewart; Executive Director of Chukka Caribbean Adventures and Chairman of the COVID-19 resilient corridor management team, John Byles; and Senior Advisor and Strategist in the Ministry of Tourism, Delano Seiveright.

The US has the highest Covid-19 cases worldwide with almost 23 million persons infected, while the CDC is reporting that more than 70 cases of the new coronavirus variant, first identified in the United Kingdom have found throughout several states.

“With the US already in surge status, the testing requirement for air passengers will help slow the spread of the virus as we work to vaccinate the American public,” the CDC said in a statement announcing the new travel requirement.

“Before departure to the United States, a required test, combined with the CDC recommendations to get tested again 3-5 days after arrival and stay home for seven days post-travel, will help slow the spread of COVID-19 within US communities from travel-related infections. Pre-departure testing with results known and acted upon before travel begins will help identify infected travelers before they board airplanes.”

With the pending move by the US Government, Bartlett is making a special appeal for the non-imposition of the rule on countries like Jamaica that has done remarkably well containing the spread of the virus. 

"These growing changes in testing requirements within the travel industry will undoubtedly cause a setback in the economic recovery of small vulnerable destinations globally. These adjustments will place added pressure on the resources needed to treat our citizens, especially in countries that have made considerable efforts to successfully bolster their health and safety standards to insulate tourists and citizens alike, from the risk of COVID-19 infection.  We will however, continue to work closely with all local and international tourism partners, to ensure the safety of our citizens and visitors.

"We have developed and introduced robust COVID-19 Health and Safety Protocols that have been endorsed by the World Travel and Tourism Council as well as COVID-resilient corridors, to boost the country’s ability to manage and trace the movement and activities of tourists along controlled corridors within the country. These innovative measures have helped to distinguish Jamaica as among the most COVID-19 resilient destinations in the world. We will continue to monitor and enhance our health and safety standards to protect our citizens and every single tourist who lands on our shores,” he said.

“While we make preparations to facilitate this likely request, we implore the governments of the United States, Canada and the UK to reconsider such COVID-19 testing requirements and take into consideration the peculiar circumstances and risk level associated with travelling to individual countries, as we believe that Jamaica has proven to be a safe destination with strict and effective COVID-19 protocols in place.”