As thoughts turn to next season Antigua has just released the following protocols for yachts clearing in. You must remember this reflects the situation in the world as of now. As such it is very much a work in progress. It is totally reliant on the situation of the COVID status worldwide in the months to come and maybe also on the situation of the country you originate from.
If you are flying in to join your boat there is no quarantine as long as you have had a test prior to travel and of course don’t appear to be sick on arrival and are staying in a place certified on Covid protocols , all hotels and most villas are certified and yachts are also recognized as such.
A couple of you have shared concerns that Antigua may consider you persona non grata.
That is not the case. Antigua is a population of 100,000 people who rely on 1 million tourists to survive. There is no Plan B to be had. Therefore, we have to do whatever is required to make tourism happen and as before you are all very welcome.
BUT
This is dependent on us being a safe haven for you to visit. So there have to be protocols in place not only to protect you but to protect us.
SO
While this may seem draconian to some. We think it’s smart until the world sorts itself out.
AND
Everyone clearing in will be assessed by a qualified medical officer. They have the ability to either waive the extra quarantine days if they are satisfied you had the proper test upon departure or impose a longer quarantine period if their standards are not met. (These are care givers in the first instance and their interests are all of us.) It is important for yachts arriving to have maintained a Health Log with daily temperature taken and any symptoms recorded.
Overall, we would give our government top marks as to their response and openness since the Pandemic arose. We have been open for tourism/hotels for a couple of months now with strict entry protocols for them and have a total recorded cases of 101. They have made sure every school meets the standards set before allowing them to reopen. Public awareness is very high and no-one complains about wearing a mask. (Because it is the law). Every store we have seen has hand wash stations outside and some of the bigger ones check everyone’s temperature. We still have curfews in place for now (11pm to 5am) so night club life is reduced. You can get a test result at the hospital within 24 hrs on an approved system should you need one to enter Europe. We are told that there will be similar testing facilities in the dockyard for the season.
For those of you who are worried that you will not be able to cruise other islands We have this. This protocol is Antigua’s view on how to protect our environment for us and you in the first instance. We do not have control/opinions on what other islands think now or put in place 2-3 months hence. We have to respect their decisions based on their own experience.
But there is a bubble of a few islands just starting to happen whereby you can sail between without tests or quarantine needed. This only came out a couple of weeks ago and once again is a work in progress.
This appears to be a good website for monitoring all island policies.
It is early days for all governments in the Caribbean to make policies cast in stone that will be applicable in the months to come. (they will probably be changed/updated over the winter as the same thing happened between European countries over the summer.)
If you have any specific questions, please send and we will forward to the relevant people if we can’t answer. We very much look forward to welcoming you back to Antigua and the Super Yacht Challenge.
And in the meantime, stay safe.
Best
Stan & Paul