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As destinations begin to open their doors to tourists once again, a number are requiring travelers to provide proof of negative Covid-19 tests to gain entry.
But while testing is available in the U.S., many destinations are requiring that tests be administered anywhere from three to 10 days before arrival, a requirement advisors say is proving difficult to meet.
Margie Hand, an Andavo Travel affiliate based in Birmingham, Ala., had a family headed to the Bahamas, which at the time required a negative test taken within seven days of arrival. They live in Spokane, Wash., where their local test facility said it could not guarantee test results within that window. The family canceled the trip. (The requirement has since been extended to 10 days.)
Another of her clients lives in New York. He was headed to Jamaica on July 15, which requires travelers from certain U.S. states Jamaica has deemed high risk, New York among them, to submit proof of a negative test taken within 10 days of arrival.
“He was actually able to find a rapid test facility and was able to do testing on Friday and got it back Saturday morning, so it worked out for him,” Hand said.
“We’re just running into the issue with so many [destinations] requiring it within 72 hours, and people are having a hard time getting test results within 72 hours.”
The number of tests being administered to U.S. citizens has risen from less than 100,000 a day in mid-March to more than 700,000 a day in mid-July, according to data from Johns Hopkins University’s Covid-19 Testing Insights Initiative. However, in an FAQ about testing, it said that the time it takes to get testing results in the U.S. “can vary based on several factors,” including the testing technology and whether the test has to be sent to a distant lab.
“Across the U.S., delays in testing due to shortages of testing supplies have been reported,” it said.
Hand said the biggest issue for her clients is the time constraint, but some just aren’t willing to go through the hassle of getting tested.
If testing delays continue, “I don’t know how international travel, any travel, is going to come back,” said Jay Johnson, president of Coastline Travel Advisors in Garden Grove, Calif. “I understand why they’re doing it, but people will not be able to travel with these rules in place. Until they get rid of these rules or change them … I don’t see how it’s going to come back.”
Coastline’s No. 1 destination is Hawaii. Earlier this month, the state had announced a pretravel testing program: If travelers produced proof of a negative test taken 72 hours before arrival, they would be able to skip the state’s mandatory 14-day quarantine. The program was slated to begin Aug. 1, but citing increases in Covid-19 cases both on the U.S. mainland and in Hawaii, it was bumped back to Sept. 1.
Johnson said Coastline is advising clients to avoid destinations requiring testing at the moment.
“Just wait, because quite frankly, it’s not worth it right now to go to the expense, the uncertainty and everything,” he said.
The issue is twofold, Johnson said. First, clients are faced with the task of finding a testing center that can guarantee results within their destination’s acceptable time frame. Second, there’s the question of what happens with the money they spent on their trip if they test positive and are unable to travel. A third, less critical issue is the price of the Covid test.
Testing will get faster, Johnson predicted, but the uncertainty surrounding canceling a trip because of a positive test will remain.
“You go on vacation to get away from stress,” he said. “If it’s going to cause you stress to go, then it’s not worth it.”
Several islands in the Caribbean have introduced Covid testing as a prerequisite for entry, but islands have continued to tweak the requirements. The Bahamas, for example, last week said it was requiring proof of a negative test taken 10 days before arriving, an increase from seven days.
The Turks and Caicos Islands heard travel advisor and traveler complaints, and it responded by loosening some of its restrictions. Previously, it required travelers to submit proof of a negative Covid-19 test within three days of travel, but that time period has lengthened to five days. Children under 10 do not have to submit proof of a negative test.
“When we looked at what our entry requirements needed to be, we wanted to ensure that we safely reopened the destination while ensuring the health and safety of our visitors upon arrival,” said Pamela Ewing, director of tourism for Turks and Caicos, “as well as balancing the needs of the local population.
“That’s why we thought extending to five days was a good idea.”
Ewing said she believes the restrictions will limit the number of tourists that Turks and Caicos receives at the beginning.
“We think that this provides us the opportunity to get comfortable — us and the traveling public, as well — with the protocols and procedures we’ve put in place,” she said.
Ewing encouraged travel advisors to research Covid-19 testing available to their clients to assist them with the process. She also hopes extending the testing time period from three to five days will be helpful to advisors as interest in travel increases.
Going forward, the new requirements will likely be the new normal, at least for the foreseeable future, according to Ewing.
“We will have to continue to take these precautions in order to do the best that we can to try to keep everyone safe,” she said.
Source: travelweekly.com
