NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Fully vaccinated individuals and kids ages two through 11 traveling to The Bahamas must now obtain a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR or rapid test inside five days of arriving, in line with the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM).
This new policy will take effect on August 6, walking back the travel regime implemented in May that saw fully vaccinated individuals exempted from testing requirements when entering The Bahamas or traveling domestically.
In line with the OPM, unvaccinated travelers ages 12 and over are still required to acquire a negative RT-PCR test inside five days of travel.
Because it pertains to domestic travel, fully vaccinated individuals may even should present a negative rapid or RT-PCR COVID test inside five days of travel from New Windfall, Grand Bahama, Bimini, Exuma, Abaco and North and South Eleuthera.
Children ages two through 12 must also comply with this testing requirement.
Nevertheless, children under the age of two remain exempt from any testing.
Moreover, travel health visa fees will probably be waived for all Bahamians and residents for domestic travel.
When Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis previously announced eased restrictions for fully vaccinated travelers, including exemption from RT-PCR testing, Consultant Physicians Staff Association President Dr Sabriquet Pinder-Butler urged the federal government to reconsider.
She really helpful that testing remain a requirement for travel and has renewed the decision as cases surged in recent months.
She also suggested the federal government consider incorporating rapid antigen tests within the travel protocol, and subsidizing the PCR test or liaising with labs for cost reduction.
Despite concerns regarding the removal of testing restrictions for fully vaccinated individuals, health officials on the time said the matter of transmission after vaccination was still being reviewed by the National COVID-19 Vaccine Consultative Committee.
Since then, cases have increased from the low double digits to triple digits.
A complete of 334 cases were recorded over the weekend: 162 on Friday, 81 on Saturday and 91 on Sunday.
The Bahamas surpassed 15,000 COVID-19 cases yesterday and saw hospitalizations climb to 102.
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said “new science” indicates vaccinated people can spread the COVID-19 delta variant in some cases, and really helpful fully vaccinated individuals return to wearing masks in indoor public places in certain areas.
