In a press briefing Wednesday, the prime minister of St. Kitts & Nevis, Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris, said the dual-island nation expects to reopen its borders in October, although he did not provide an exact date. This would allow for the resumption of commercial air and sea traffic carrying international passengers into the federation's ports.
In preparation for the borders reopening, the St. Kitts Tourism Authority, the Nevis Tourism Authority and the Ministry of Tourism, in conjunction with the Ministries of Health and Civil Aviation, are conducting training for over 5,000 tourism industry stakeholders. The training aims to educate stakeholders in the health and safety protocols and standards that must be met in order to obtain the "Travel Approved" certification and seal from the respective tourism authority that will be required for them to operate.
The phased reopening is being implemented with the advisement of the chief medical officer, the medical chief of staff and medical experts. At their advice, St. Kitts & Nevis has successfully flattened the curve: It has the fewest number of confirmed cases in all the CARICOM independent states at a total of 17 with zero active cases at this time and zero deaths to date.
All incoming passengers must provide a negative RT-PCR test result to the chief medical officer, Dr. Hazel Laws at [email protected], 72 hours prior to arriving in St. Kitts & Nevis. Additionally, All incoming passengers must quarantine for a minimum period of 14 days. On the 14th day, they must take another RT-PCR test; once a negative test result is received, they will be released from quarantine.
As for whether or not Americans will be able to visit, it has not been announced yet.
The St. Kitts Marriott Resort and Park Hyatt St. Kitts will reopen in October; the Park Hyatt's Fisherman's Village reopened August 7; and Koi, a Curio Collection by Hilton, will reopen in the fourth quarter of 2020. The Royal St. Kitts Hotel is currently operating with reduced capacity. The Four Seasons Resort Nevis will soon announce reopening plans.
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