Trinbagonians travelling to Barbados are not expected to face any “additional challenge” as a result of the “travel bubble for specific Caribbean countries with a low incidence of Covid 19”, which has been announced by the government of Barbados, Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne said in the Senate yesterday as he responded to an urgent question posed by Opposition Senator Wade Mark.
Trinidad and Tobago is among the countries which have been left outside of this bubble, which means that its citizens are required to do PCR tests and quarantine upon arrival in Barbados.
Browne stated: “What has been described is not a travel bubble in the strictest interpretation of the word. The government of Barbados has announced that, effective June 30, 2021, fully-vaccinated persons with a negative PCR test coming from specific countries with low incidence of Covid 19 can enter their country without any further test on arrival. Passengers from countries that do not currently meet their criteria, such as Trinidad and Tobago, would be subject to the existing protocols.
“Under those protocols, passengers from Trinidad and Tobago, vaccinated or unvaccinated, must present a negative result from a PCR test taken three days prior to arrival in Barbados. The unvaccinated traveller will be required to quarantine for five days at a designated, approved property. A PCR test is then administered at the end of this period. If the result is negative, the passenger may then leave quarantine after five days. The vaccinated traveller from T&T is administered a second PCR test on arrival in Barbados. If the result is negative, the passenger may then leave the designated quarantine location. That result is normally obtained within 24 hours. Accordingly, there is no additional challenge anticipated for travellers from T&T to Barbados under the announced regime.”
On another matter, Leader of Government Business Clarence Rambharat, deputising for the Energy Minister, said there is no policy to phase out super gasoline.
“That was a proposal made by the technocrats of the Ministry of Energy and that proposal was not accepted by the Government,” said Rambharat.
