SVG on US Level 3 COVID-19 warning list

St Vincent and the Grenadines is among several Caribbean countries that the United States has asked its citizens to reconsider travelling to due to COVID-19 related conditions.

The updated travel health notices from US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on August 6 list SVG and at least 27 other Caribbean countries under a Level 3 warning, which discourages all non-essential travel because of the perceived risk.

According to the CDC, if someone tests positive for COVID-19 while abroad, they may be isolated or not permitted to return to the US until they have fully recovered.

In addition, persons exposed to the virus while abroad may be quarantined or not permitted to return to the US for up to 14 day after exposure.

SVG received its first commercial flight from the US during the COVID-19 pandemic on July 11.

After assessing risks, local health officials issued a revised protocol for travel to St Vincent and the Grenadines on July 19, which required persons travelling from the US to arrive with a negative COVID-19 PCR test and proof of a reservation at a Tourism Authority/Ministry of Health approved hotel for five nights.

Before being released from the 5-day quarantine period, persons were also required to be tested for the virus after which they were mandated to continue quarantine in a private home or facility for 9 to 16 days, which makes for total of 14 or 21 days of quarantine, at the discretion of the Port Health Officer.

Other Caribbean countries listed with a Level 3 warning include Montserrat, Belize, The Bahamas, St Lucia, Grenada, Jamaica, Guyana, Haiti, Martinique, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, St Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, US Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, St Martin, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Curacao, Cuba, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Bermuda, Antigua and Barbuda and Anguilla.

The United States has also said its citizens should not travel to several countries for which it has listed Level Four warnings. The Caribbean countries on that list include Belize, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guyana and Haiti.