Exuma chamber president calls for adjustment to interisland travel requirements

If the government would adjust the requirement for Nassauvians to produce a negative RT-PCR COVID-19 test and instead accept the less expensive rapid antigen test when they seek to travel to Exuma, the economy of that family island would not be struggling as much as it is, according to Exuma Chamber of Commerce President Pedro Rolle.

Exuma has had just one confirmed case of COVID-19 since the start of the year, but remains under emergency orders restrictions, including curfews and stipulations against indoor dining.

Although the island’s main employer and economic engine, Sandals Emerald Bay resort, has recently opened, Rolle said there are limited foreign visitors and the government should make it easier for New Providence residents to patronize the island.

“I’m not a health professional but I would think the measures that are put in place, I find it hard to understand why if you’re coming from Nassau to Exuma you are forced to take the PCR test. I think we’re at a point now where the rapid test, for instance, can be put in place. It is much cheaper and even if persons are required to do the rapid test twice – when you leave Nassau and then five days later in Exuma – it is better. The cost of the PCR test is literally the cost of a ticket, so if you come to Exuma from Nassau, it’s like buying two tickets. That really is stifling economic activity on the island,” he told Guardian Business.

“As you can imagine, with the decrease of foreign activity and foreign visitors coming to the island, because it’s expensive for them to travel as well, we are relying now more than ever before on interisland travel to kind of stabilize and give us some kind of life on Exuma. So, local Bahamians may want to say, let me go to Exuma and spend my vacation there. It would encourage them to come in a responsible fashion. So, that’s the concern and we’re wondering why that isn’t being considered for persons who are coming from Nassau to Exuma. That’s the one suggestion we would make.”

Exumas and Ragged Island MP Chester Cooper last week again asked the government the medical reasoning behind Exuma’s continued restrictions. He previously said it would cost Bahamians $316 to take a RT-PCR test and travel to Exuma, a price he said is too high for the average Bahamian.

Rolle said while he is mindful that COVID-19 is real and there are measures that need to be put in place to protect the health of the public, it is frustrating trying to understand the rationale behind the measures put in place on Exuma.

“I think it’s a little frustrating for people coming to Exuma and I think it’s a challenge for our air carriers we are relying on. Bahamasair and Western Air come here. For them to offer a service and offer it at a reasonable rate, I think there has to be a partnership between the government and the airlines, being more mindful of the impact these policies are having. But I think we’d see more economic activity if that one simple policy is adjusted,” he said.

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source https://thenassauguardian.com/exuma-chamber-president-calls-for-adjustment-to-interisland-travel-requirements/