Curacao’s new hospitality protocol regarding the coronavirus, called “A Dushi Stay the Healthy Way,” is designed to welcome visitors into the new normal and coincides with the phased re-opening of international borders.
(CMR) The Minister of Tourism has shared that unlike the rest of the Caribbean the Cayman Islands will be implementing a unique phased re-opening approach to avoid some of the pitfalls of re-opening prematurely. Turns out this approach is being used by many regional countries.
Cayman's model appears to be closely following that of the Dutch Caribbean Country, Curaçao.
It was announced during Friday's press briefing that Cayman has formulated a re-opening committee that will focus on the way forward on how to re-open our borders safely. Starting September 1 we will be moving from the minimal risk pathway to the second phase – the quarantine pathway with more visitors being allowed in under strictly prescribed conditions. The details on Friday left many wondering if this will be enough as numbers around the world continue to surge.
One way in which Cayman hopes to stand out from the other jurisdiction is with the use of the technology and the “bio button” health monitor that will both serve as a geo-tracker and health monitoring system. Dr. John Lee, Cayman's Chief Medical Officer has been using the device in a real-world simulation when he took a week off work and enjoyed a staycation.
The bio button will reduce the quarantine period down to five days instead of 14 and allow persons to be at their own facility instead of a government-designated one. At the end of the five days, a local COVID-19 test will be administered.
Some countries have re-opened and had to backtrack and implement measures they did not originally think were necessary. Both Barbados and Jamaica have had to implement additional protocols after initially opening with few restrictions in place. Now they both are requesting negative PCR testing and pre-approval. Travelers to Jamaica are being restricted to a newly designated “resilient corridor” along the north coast from Negril to Portland.
It turns out that Cayman is not the only regional country that has implemented a “phased re-opening – the Bahamas, Curacao, Puerto Rico, Aruba, St. Lucia, Bonaire, and St. Barts have also implemented a similar approach with hopes of better results than the rest of the Caribbean.
They have a list of medium and low-risk countries that will be allowed entry into Curacao according to their government website.
They are also requiring a negative PCR test 72-hours before traveling. They will also be passing the cost along to the traveler. It was shared on their website that:
“The traveler must agree that all medical costs, quarantine costs and/or isolation will be at their own costs.”
However, it has allowed preference entrance to some tourists from Western Europe and Caribbean BES countries (Caribbean Netherlands).
The Bahamas entered Phase 2 of its re-opening on July 1. Puerto Rico also requires PCR testing and a 14-day quarantine at the visitor's expense if they test positive. An island-wide curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. remains in place until July 22. Restaurants are operating at 75 percent capacity and casinos are administering temperature checks at entry.
On June 1, the United States Virgin Islands entered the fourth of its five reopening phases, which include welcoming tourists who must undergo temperature checks and health screenings upon entry. Until the pandemic, the islands were on track to host 1.5 million cruise passengers this year, 1.4 million of them to St. Thomas.
The COVID-19 pandemic hit the Caribbean at the height of the high season. Originally beaches and restaurants would have been filled to the brim with visitors mostly from the United States. The impact on the Caribbean has been significant with the Caribbean economy expected to contract by 3 percent in 2020.
Most Caribbean countries rely more heavily on tourism for their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) numbers. In Cayman, tourism accounts for 30 percent of our GDP. This is far less than some countries like the Bahamas which is at 70% of their GDP.
The Caribbean countries of Barbados, Belize and the Bahamas are among the most exposed in the world to the sudden pause in global tourism. Tourism money is very important for one reason: It pumps cash (dollars) into the economy. Without tourists to pay (with cash) for para-sailing, scuba diving, deep-sea fishing, taxis, groceries, etc. tourism-dependent countries risk running out of US dollars, which they need for the importation of food, fuel and for servicing debt obligations. No tourism, no cash.
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