- Barbados is opening its borders from July 12, 2020.
- Inbound passengers will be required to take a PCR test. If results are not available by the time of arrival, they will be tested on the island.
- Subscribe to our daily newsletter for travel and aviation news and reviews.
As many Caribbean islands progress towards re-opening their borders, Barbados has announced that they will be welcoming guests from across the globe from July 12, 2020.
Prime Minister Mia Mottley has acknowledged that their push for tourism is a risk-based one, but encourages foreigners to consider vacationing and even working from home on the island for extended periods of time.
“We want to create an environment that will allow people to come to Barbados to work, to rest, and to play from here for an extended period of time during COVID-19.”
Guests who are planning to visit the island paradise will need to take note of some of the safety changes.
In This Post
New embarkation/disembarkation (ED) card
For starters, all incoming passengers will need to fill out a newly implemented online embarkation/disembarkation (ED) card. The form will some health related questions, and needs to be submitted before boarding the flight to Barbados. When submitted, travelers will get a unique code via email which they will need to present to immigration officers upon arrival.
COVID-19 negative test result
Strangely enough, passengers traveling to the island are not mandated to be tested before boarding their flight, but they do have the following criteria:
- Travelers from high-risk countries are “strongly encouraged” to get a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test from an accredited institution 72 hours before their flight.
- Travelers from low-risk countries have up to a week to get their test and results.
Passengers who are not able to get a documented negative result will still be allowed entry to the island, but will have to submit to a PCR test, and will be put into quarantine up to 48 hours at their own expense. Guest who test positive will be put under the care of the Ministry of Health and Wellness until they get a negative result.
First batches of flights
While the borders open on July 12, there won’t be a mad influx of flights, as various airlines will stagger their reintroduction dates as follows:
- July 12 – Air Canada from Toronto, Canada
- July 18 – British Airways from London-Gatwick
- July 25 – JetBlue from New York
- Mid July – Caribbean Airlines from Kingston, Jamaica
- August 1 – Virgin Atlantic from London-Heathrow
- August 5 – American Airlines from Miami, Florida
Corona-free
In total, Barbados has managed to keep its number of cases low, at just 97 infections. Of those 7 have died, while the remaining 90 and since fully recovered. It has been 39 days since their last positive infection.
[Featured Photo: PublicDomainPictures/Pixabay]
