Has there been an impact on travel to the Caribbean after travelers were required to take a Covid-19 test before they return to the U.S.? What if the traveler never technically left the U.S.?
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The CDC had alerted the travel industry weeks in advance of the negative test required on entry to the U.S., which took effect Jan. 26, but the wording of the quarantine ruling remained a bit fuzzy and vague. Travelers seeking to enter the United States from a foreign country shall be required to comply with other applicable CDC guidelines concerning international travel, including recommended periods of self-quarantine or self-isolation after entry into the U.S., the order stated.
Current CDC guidelines recommend seven days of self-quarantine following international travel with a Covid test three to five days into the quarantine. If a traveler cannot get a test, the CDC recommends a 10-day self-quarantine period.
Gay Nagle Myers
Although a cascade of crises face our new president, Cuba and Covid were the main topics discussed in a recent Zoom webinar composed of travel advisors who sell tours to Cuba, operators who run them and experts who explain and interpret Cuban policy. And all were hopeful that changes to current U.S. policies regarding Cuba are in Biden s sights.
The webinar took place in mid-January, just days after the former administration designated Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, prior to Joe Biden assuming office.
David Lee, founder of Cultural Cuba, a U.S. tour company that offers luxury individualized travel to Cuba, weighed in on the designation.
Gay Nagle Myers
The recent CDC testing requirement is the latest challenge facing the tourism industry in the Caribbean.
The bottom line for U.S. travelers vacationing in the Caribbean: After Jan. 26, proof of a negative Covid test (PCR or antigen) taken no more than three days prior to boarding their return flight to the U.S. will be required. Anyone who has tested positive for Covid-19 in the last three months must show documentation of recovery, which includes proof of the positive test and a letter from a healthcare provider providing clearance to travel.
The test requirement will likely send some vacationers scrambling to find testing locations, and then anxiously await results, instead of spending their last days in the islands relaxing on the white-sand beaches.