Travellers to Saint Lucia will be required to provide a negative test for Covid-19 within seven days prior to travel.
The new regulation from July 9 applies to visitors unless they are arriving from countries in a ‘travel bubble’ designated by the island’s government. The rules will be reviewed in 30 days.
Visitors travelling only from destinations that have zero or a low instance of Covid-19 cases will be exempt from the seven-day pre-testing requirement.
These include Antigua, Barbuda, Aruba, Anguilla, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Curacao, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St Barthelemy, St Kitts and Nevis, St Martin, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos.
All arriving passengers will be screened, including temperature checks, at the airport.
Any symptomatic passengers will be isolated and tested. They will be required to remain in isolation at their hotel or a government-operated quarantine facility until the test result is obtained.
If the test is positive, they will be transferred to a treatment facility until they receive two negative test results and are clinically stable.
Passengers arriving with proof of a negative PCR Covid-19 test may be exempt from testing and advance through immigration, baggage claim, customs and arrivals for transportation to their Covid-19-certified hotel, pre-approved home quarantine facility or government-operated quarantine facility.
Anyone arriving without proof of a negative PCR test will be subject to immediate isolation and testing with possible quarantine or treatment should a passenger test positive – at their own cost.
Hotels that have received Covid-19 certification include Bay Gardens Beach Resort & Spa, Sandals Grande St Lucian, Stonefield Resort Villas and Sugar Beach – A Viceroy Resort.
Several others are on track to receive certification this month.