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Tourism subsectors await fate in aftermath of COVID-19 Bartlett appoints Coordinator of Pandemics for global resilience centre WHAT IS THE REST OF THE CARIBBEAN DOING?

WHAT IS THE REST OF THE CARIBBEAN DOING?

Covid-19 forces postponement of CTO conference
THE CARIBBEAN Tourism Organization (CTO) is advising stakeholders of the post- ponement of the 10th Tourism Resources Conference, which was scheduled to take place in May. The new date for the event, being organised in collaboration with the Nevis ministry of tourism, is November 25-27, 2020.

“In light of the constantly changing nature of the coronavirus crisis, and in the wake of the decision by the World Health Organization to declare COVID-19 a pandemic, the CTO and the government of Nevis have decided that postponing the conference is the best course of action,” said Sharon Banfield, the CTO’s director of resource mobilisation and development.

The CTO will continue to diligently monitor the situation and pay close attention to guidance from regional public health officials.

For more information on what the CTO and member countries are doing to limit the spread of coronavirus in the region, visit www.onecaribbean.org. For the regional health response, visit www.carpha.org.

ABOUT THE CARIBBEAN TOURISM ORGANIZATION

The Caribbean Tourism Organization, which is headquartered in Barbados, is the Caribbean’s tourism development agency comprising membership of the region’s finest countries and territories, including Dutch-, English-, French- and Spanish-speaking nations, as well as a myriad of private- sector allied members. The CTO’s vision is to position the Caribbean as the most desirable, year-round, warm-weather destination, and its purpose is ‘Leading Sustainable Tourism – One Sea, One Voice, One Caribbean’.

British Virgin Islands limits ports of entry, enacts stringent screenings

ON MARCH 14, citing the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring COVID-19 a pandemic, the government of the Virgin Islands announced the immediate closure of the Tortola cruise port, allowing no cruise ships to call on the territory for a 30-day period in an effort to protect the Territory from potential contam- ination. At present, there are no confirmed cases in the islands.

Also, the number of international ports of entry into the British Virgin Islands (BVI) has been limited to facilitate the effective screening of passengers. The three ports that remained opened up the printing of this publication were Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport, Road Town and West End Ferry Terminals, and one cargo port of entry – Port Purcell.

The entry of passengers and crew mem- bers who had travelled to, from or through COVID-19 affected countries as specified in a list of countries of special interest, within a period of 14 days or less, were not being allowed. Additionally, the entry of passen- gers and crew members who had travelled to, from or through COVID-19-affected coun- tries classified as a high-risk country within a period of 14 days or less, immediately preceding their arrival in the territory, were subjected to advanced screening procedures and were opened to be being quarantined for a period of up to 14 days, based on the outcome of the risk assessment.

Locally, mass gatherings or festivals that were scheduled to take place in the BVI during the next month have been postponed until further notice. This includes the 2020 BVI Spring Regatta, scheduled for March 30-April 5, and the Virgin Gorda Easter Festival scheduled for April 11-13.

“After extensive consideration, the British Virgin Islands made the prudent decision to put stringent measures in place to temporarily enhance the protocols for entry into the Territory until April 13,” said Andrew A. Fahie, premier and minister of finance and the minister responsible for tourism. “It is imperative that we prioritise our limited resources to safeguard our residents and our guests. Tourism is our mainstay and it is important that we take measures to ensure our long-term sustainability.”

Premier Fahie continued, “Our tourism industry has faced many crises before, from natural disasters to epidemics, and we have always come out strong on the other side. After much anticipation, we are at the start of a big celebratory year, as many of our beloved resort products are finally reopening following extensive rebuilding. We also ex- pect this summer to be busy in the BVI with rerouting of cruises and airline service in and out of the Caribbean.”

The public is reminded to take all nec- essary precautions against contracting the coronavirus. The risk can be reduced by implementing personal protective measures, such as frequent handwashing, covering nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing, and avoiding close contact with people suffering from acute respiratory illnesses.

The Bahamas working to execute response plan following first covid-19 case

THE BAHAMAS Ministry of Health is working closely with all pertinent Government agencies throughout the destination to execute the Bahamas National Preparedness and Response Plan for COVID-19.

At this time, there is one confirmed case of coronavirus in Nassau, The Bahamas. The patient is in isolated quarantine following the guidelines out­lined by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Ministry of Health is currently con­ducting full contact analysis and more details will be shared as they become available.

The Ministry of Health is encourag­ing preventive measures and protocol to minimise the potential spread of the illness, and The Bahamas implemented new border control and quarantine measures for persons travelling from highly infected areas. Given the growing public health concern and to protect the health and well-being of the population of The Bahamas, effective Thursday, March 19, expanded travel restrictions will be introduced. Foreign nationals and foreign individuals who have travelled within the last 20 days from the United Kingdom, Ireland and Europe will be prohibited entry into The Bahamas. This is in addition to restrictions already in place for China, Iran, Italy and South Korea. This restricted travel list of countries will be continuously monitored and updated as necessary.

The Bahamas is conducting COVID-19 testing and is actively employing several measures used globally to screen visitors and residents and to manage the response to individuals of concern, in line with international health best practices. Traveller health question­naires and a screening protocol are used at ports, hotels and rental properties to identify guests who may require surveillance or treatment. In addition, all Bahamian nationals and residents returning to The Bahamas through any point of entry from any of the restricted countries or an area where community infection and spread is present will be quarantined or be placed under self-iso­lation upon arrival and are expected to follow the protocols of the Ministry of Health.

A destination-wide education cam­paign is under way to remind the public of the basic hygiene practices that can be used to prevent the spread of the virus including frequent, proper hand washing, use of hand sanitisers, frequent disinfection of surfaces and avoiding close contact with those exhibiting signs of respiratory illness.

All COVID-19 inquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Health. For questions, or concerns, please call the COVID-19 hotline: 242-376-9350 (8am – 8pm EDT) / 242-376-9387 (8pm – 8am EDT).

St Kitts & Nevis takes further action against COVID-19

TO DATE, St Kitts & Nevis still has no confirmed cases of COVID-19. However, in response to the rapid international spread of the disease and the fact the (a) the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared that the virus has now become a pandemic and (b) several CARICOM member states have now reported cases – all of which have been imported into the region, The Federal Government of St Kitts and Nevis announces the following:

At St Kitts’ Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport, all incoming air passengers to the Federation will continue mandatory com­pletion of question #17 of the Customs/Immigration Form, which requires a listing of “countries visited during last six weeks.”

• Travel advisories remain in effect for any and all incoming passen­gers who have travelled to or from any of the following countries within the last six (6) weeks before arrival in the Federation. Those travellers will continue to be asked to provide travel history, history of exposure to the virus and contact information: China, Italy, Iran, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Japan

• Travel advisories have now been issued for The United Kingdom (UK), France, Germany and Spain.

• Passengers travelling to/from these destinations within the last 14 days are asked not to travel to St Kitts & Nevis at this time. Persons who do travel to St Kitts & Nevis from these destinations will be subject to a mandatory 14-day quarantine period following screening at the port of entry. Such quarantine of passengers means that their movements will be con­fined to a designated facility.

• The Federal Government advises all citizens and legal residents returning from any of the afore­mentioned countries that they too will be placed on a mandatory 14-day self-quarantine regimen, wherein their movements will be restricted.

• The Federal Government reserves the right to screen any individ­ual arriving into the Federation, particularly during this WHO declared pandemic. This advisory remains in effect for citizens, res­idents and travellers until further notice and as previously stated, the Federal Government reserves the right to amend its travel advisories to include other countries.

• At the cruise port, inspectors from the Environmental Health Department continue to board each vessel that docks to review the passenger travel manifest and all medical reports for any passengers exhibiting flu-like symptoms. Any passenger displaying such symptoms is not permitted to disembark.
St Kitts & Nevis is complying

with International Health Regulations and reporting to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) / the World Health Organization (WHO) as appropriate. Following the WHO’s declaration on March 11, 2020 that the global spread of COVID-19 constitutes a Pandemic, the Government of St Kitts and Nevis advises citizens and residents to restrict travel to the aforementioned destinations until the WHO gives the all clear in relation to COVID-19.

The Ministry of Health is working closely with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and all appropriate Government agencies to execute national disaster preparedness and response plans so as to prevent, monitor and manage the spread of the virus if and when a national or visitor tests positive for the virus. The Disaster Mitigation Council is in place to handle the response to the disease and the Ministry of Health has conducted training exercises with front line workers including police and immigrations and customs officers.