Barbados is the latest nation to report zero active COVID cases, after a 35 day waiting period to ensure new cases wouldn’t spring up. With this milestone, Prime Minister Honorable Mia Amor Motley announced that all curfews would be lifted as of July 1, and the island would move into welcoming back visitors.
“This is testimony to the will, discipline and commitment of Barbadian people…the health authorities, the frontline workers, the essential services, the social partnership, the media, the police, those on the borders, all have been integral to the success we have had thus far in tackling this pandemic,” Motley said in a statement. “And more so, each and every Bajan in every house and in every community.”
Commercial flights will be allowed starting July 12, for those flying Air Canada only. British Airways flights from London will be allowed beginning July 18, and JetBlue flights from New York’s JFK will tentatively resume on July 25.
Additional routes from London and the U.S. will resume starting in August.
With the reopening comes updated safety protocols to keep residents, as well as visitors, safe while in the country.
If you are coming from a high-risk country, you must get testing at an accredited laboratory within 72-hours of your departure. High-risk countries are those with more than 10,000 active cases, so this includes the United States. Low-risk countries will have up to one week prior to departure to have their test done.
All arrivals will also be required to complete an online embarkation/ disembarkation form. Once the form is complete and received, you will be given a bar code that must be presented with your negative test result when you land.
If you fail to get tested prior to your arrival, you must submit to testing in Barbados and pay for any expenses you may incur during the 48-hour wait period.
Additionally, face masks will be required as well as temperature checks at the airport.
“We will continue to take a risk-based approach to the protection of our country, our people and our visitors,” Motley stressed.
Related: Everything You Need To Know About Turks And Caicos’ Reopening
