GOVERNMENT FACED WITH CRUCIAL DECISION, CRUISE SHIPS GIVE THEM ULTIMATUM
Written by Fuze Social Team on September 2, 2021
Officials in the Cruise Industry have given the BVI an ultimatum to remove the rapid antigen testing from cruise passengers visiting the BVI or risk losing the ships.
Director of the BVI Ports Authority – BVIPA Oliviene Maynard told an emergency meeting of Transportation, Industry and taxi officials Tuesday evening that Cabinet amended the Covid-19 Control and Suppression (Entry of Persons) (no.3) (Amendment) June 12th, 2021 which requires for all fully vaccinated persons arriving to the Territory to take a rapid antigen test.
Maynard says unfortunately, due to this testing requirement the Cruise lines have indicated that it is impractical for them to do so, as the timeframe to administer tests to hundreds, or thousands of passengers would ultimately take hours from their day stop which is usually less than 8 hours. Further, the physical space and shelter required to administer these tests are not available at the cruise pier and the guest experience would be negatively impacted.
Maynard says the situation is complex, because while coronavirus does not respect national borders, cruise ships must, and most cruises touch more than one country. Therefore, having health and safety protocols in place is important but they must be workable.
