Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) President Robert Sands yesterday lauded Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis’ announcement that testing requirements would be lifted for fully vaccinated people traveling into The Bahamas and traveling within The Bahamas, insisting the move would open up further economic possibilities for the country.
Minnis made the announcement in the House of Assembly yesterday, as he addressed concerns over the growing number of COVID-19 cases in the country.
Sands said in a statement commenting on the prime minister’s announcement that the BHTA fully supports this move.
“As more and more individuals within source markets such as the US get vaccinated, the removal of the requirement to have a RT-PCR test for fully vaccinated persons who want to travel after the stipulated two-week period, will have a decisive positive impact on visitor arrivals to The Bahamas,” said Sands.
“In addition, the removal of the requirement for fully vaccinated persons to attain a RT PCR test for travel to and from certain Family Islands, will stimulate travel by locals, residents and visitors who may have deemed the added cost of the viral test to be prohibitive to travel.
“This is very good news for the economy, as the population in The Bahamas will be better able to buy Bahamian and support local tourism-related businesses in islands such as Abaco, Grand Bahama, Eleuthera, Exuma and New Providence.”
He also commended government’s decision to mandate that even those who have been fully vaccinated, continue to follow mask wearing and hand washing protocols in order to continue to mitigate the spread of the virus.
In his address yesterday, Minnis maintained that those health and safety protocols will remain in place for both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.
Sands added in this statement that the removal of testing requirements for fully vaccinated people is a measured response by
government and will usher in a further sense of normalcy for the country. He warned, though, against becoming too lax.
“However, we still have work to do,” he said. “Until we can attain the level of protection afforded to populations via mitigation measures such as widespread vaccination, we cannot let our guard down, we must remain vigilant and follow prescribed proven health and safety protocols, we must continue to act responsibly, to encourage others to do the same.”
The post BHTA lauds loosened travel restrictions for vaccinated appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/bhta-lauds-loosened-travel-restrictions-for-vaccinated/
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