TOURISM, Investments and Aviation Minister Chester Cooper.
By EARYEL BOWLEG
Tribune Staff Reporter
ebowleg@tribunemedia.net
TOURISM, Investments and Aviation Minister Chester Cooper revealed COVID-19 protocols for cruise line visitors have been gazetted and are already in effect, bringing them on board with guidelines in place for air travellers.
He said cruise lines are now required to put these guidelines in place and have the procedures validated and approved by the Ministry of Health.
This news comes after relaxations of COVID protocols for travellers entering the country.
In June, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville announced the government would remove its COVID-19 testing requirement for vaccinated people entering The Bahamas that month.
“The protocols for cruise lines, harmonising them with air arrivals came into effect I believe yesterday,” Mr Cooper told reporters before the weekly Cabinet meeting.
“This has been gazetted. I can provide a copy of this but in effect what happens now is that if you are vaccinated, you require no test to enter the country. If you’re unvaccinated, you require a PCR or a rapid antigen test. This has now been harmonised for cruise arrivals as well as air arrivals.
“Cruise lines (are) now required to put in place and have the procedures validated and approved by the Ministry of Health. We want to ensure that there’s proper monitoring and surveillance of passengers onboard and we want to ensure that they have appropriate protocols and facilities onboard to handle positive COVID cases. So because of the prolonged stay of passengers onboard we considered some additional requirements for cruise lines but suffice to say for entry we’ve harmonised the requirements.”
Mr Cooper had also previously announced that the travel health visa will no longer be needed. However, unvaccinated people will still be required to produce a negative COVID-19 test before arrival in the country.
Yesterday, he said the cruise business is important to the country.
“The Bahamas is a leader in the cruise business. We have been at the forefront of developing regulations for cruising during the pandemic – we’ve led the way. We work hand-in-hand with the cruise lines. We considered them our partners. We will continue this stride forward.
“We’re blessed with proximity to the US. We’re attracting some five million cruise port passengers to our shores. We anticipate that this number is going to match five million closely this year and probably exceed it next year.”
Comments
carltonr61 1 year, 8 months ago
Djovic, the tennis world champion non vaccinated with natural covid antigens was booted from Australia last year, and though testing negative, because he is non American cannot enter the USA. While by a large degree most people that experienced Omicron were Delta vaccinated CDC has placed nationality over best health practices afraid that the world will know vaccine cure was 100% rubbish along with mass vaccinations as detailed in their latest self criticism. Non vaccinated persons pose zero threat to health but they are still punishing persons with their mark of the beast brutality for travel in full knowledge that hygiene is primary for persons with comobidities. Israel just put the lid on pzr covid treatment pill.
carltonr61 1 year, 8 months ago
The hells of fire contradictions are catching up with WHO/PAHO. 52 might as well head WHO. He had all the answers from early 2020. Now CDC is admitting all their calculations were wrong and not based on the best age old historical science methods available at the time but politized science conjecture thus the total failure of the pandemic that caused global destruction. PAHO alone cost The Bahamas 9.7 billion dollars in hand pass to hand cash circulation amongst Bahamians. But the monetization if the covid earned local medical alone as profiteers about 100 million dollars. And they want the show to go on though we all know the conclusion of the burning science-based condradictions. According to international observations quadruple vaccinated persons are immuno compromised, evidenced by the falk in narrative for mass Vax boosting instead only for specific aged and health risk persons nor healthy individuals.
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