Despite the recent revision of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) travel advisory on The Bahamas, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Aviation and Investments Chester Cooper said yesterday that he remains satisfied that current mitigation protocols create the right balance to protect the country’s residents and guests.
The CDC on Tuesday changed its advisory on The Bahamas from a Level 2 to a Level 3 destination following an uptick in COVID-19.
Level 3 means there are high occurrences of COVID-19 and travelers should be fully vaccinated before visiting the destination. Those who are not should avoid non-essential travel to the destination.
Cooper said The Bahamas has a very resilient product and the government is hopeful that the impact of the advisory will be minimal.
“The past several months have shown a rapid and robust rebound of tourism, well ahead of our regional partners. Our proximity to the USA, the pent-up demand for travel and the attractiveness of our product should continue to bode well for us,” he told Guardian Business.
“We have an exceptional team of tourism professionals around the world who will continue to monitor reactions in our major markets. We are satisfied that our protocols arrived at in collaboration with our health officials create the right balance between protecting the health and safety of our residents and guests, as well as supporting our tourism industry and economy for the benefit of the Bahamian people.”
The Bahamas is currently in the midst of a fourth wave of COVID-19, brought on by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, having recorded more than 2,000 new cases in the past week alone.
The government has not announced any new restrictions as a result of the spike in COVID-19 cases, however the Ministry of Tourism this week also scrapped recently announced RT-PCR testing requirements for entry into the country that were supposed to come into effect on January 7.
“Vaccinated persons, as well as children ages 2-11, may continue to present either a negative rapid antigen test or negative RT-PCR test,” the ministry said in the statement.
“In addition, effective January 4, 2022, all persons remaining in The Bahamas for longer than 48 hours will be required to undergo a rapid antigen test, regardless of vaccination status.”
For now, the Ministry of Tourism said because of the ever-changing nature of the pandemic, decisions on entry requirements to each island in The Bahamas will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
“Due to the fluidity of COVID-19, the government of The Bahamas will continue to monitor islands individually and enact protective measures to address specific cases or spikes accordingly,” the ministry stated.
The post Cooper hopeful impact of CDC travel advisory minimal appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/cooper-hopeful-impact-of-cdc-travel-advisory-minimal/
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