Mixed views on move to end COVID-19 test requirement for visitors

 

Public Health expert Dr. Winston Davidson is questioning the government's decision to end the requirement for people to test negative for COVID-19 before travelling to Jamaica amid a surge of the highly transmissible Omicron BA.2 variant in several countries. 

 

The requirement for travellers to present a negative test done no longer than three days before arrival will be lifted on Friday.

 

But Professor Davidson has taken issue with the move, saying the testing requirement for travellers is important for preventing persons infected with the virus arriving in Jamaica.

 

He believes the Jamaican population will now be exposed to the new COVID-19 strains affecting other countries. 

 

"The WHO warns us that we must be vigilant with the measures that we take because there are a number of strains. For example, in Southeast Asia, in China, we have some strains that are really, really damaging. And so therefore, you are taking down the barriers that you need to put in place to ensure that you are not exposed and that it doesn't really infect the country badly again," Professor Davidson argued, admitting he was "flabbergasted" by the move.  

 

 

However, the business community has shared a different view from the public health expert. The Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) supports the removal of the requirement for a negative COVID-19 test for travellers to Jamaica.

 

JHTA President Clifton Reader has also denied that the group lobbied the government to end the requirement and said occupancy levels in hotels had not been affected by it.

 

He noted that in discussions with the government about the COVID-19 measures, it was always suggested that advice from medical experts should be followed, and according to the hotelier, the latest move is supported by science. 

 

"The science is saying that there isn't hospitalisation to a point where they should not make that decision and the science is also saying that people are not getting sick to the point where they are dying," he suggested.  

 

Asked why Jamaica should not instead follow the lead of the United States which has extended its mask mandate and still requires a negative COVID-19 test from travellers, Mr. Reader contended that Jamaica is a sovereign country and he believes the government is making decisions "in the best interest of Jamaicans".  

 

He was adamant that the removal of the entry test and mask mandate will not result in an increase in COVID-19 cases. 

 

"Look how many Caribbean countries recently have eliminated that and we are studying their figures. I mean, I sit on the advocacy committee for CHTA, for the Caribbean Hotel and Tourist Association, and we've been monitoring those countries who have done the same thing that Jamaica has done and there has been no significant impact. I believe that when you can come to me with figures and show me the figures, then we can talk about those things," he insisted.  

 

The JHTA president is of the view that COVID-19 numbers can be kept low if personal responsibility is practiced by locals and visitors. He said some his own staff will continue to wear masks, for instance, especially if they have underlying issues. 

 

 

The Micro, Small and Medium Sized Enterprise (MSME) Alliance also agrees with that view, and says other countries around the world have been removing the requirement for testing prior to travel.

 

Donovan Wignal, President of the MSME Alliance, contends that the measure provides only a thin layer of protection against the virus. 

 

"There is no check to validate whether the test report that you travel with is valid and was not created. You just have to show the date that you did the test and the result to the person that is checking you in and you're on the plane. So, while it's a measure, it's a very weak measure and it does not prevent people coming into the island from coming in with the virus."

 

As a result, he suggested it was more important to "maintain personal responsibility" by continuing to practice physical distance, sanitisation, mask wearing and other rules the individual may deem necessary.  

 

The men were speaking Thursday on the Morning Agenda on Power 106.