(Trinidad Express) – On July 17 the borders of Trinidad and Tobago will be opened for citizens of Trinidad and Tobago to return home.
The announcement was made yesterday afternoon by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, who outlined the conditions under which people would be allowed into the country.
He said that T&T nationals who are fully-vaccinated (defined as a person who has received the required number of doses of a WHO-approved COVID-19 vaccine two weeks prior to travel) and having shown proof of a negative PCR test taken 72 hours before their flight would be allowed to enter.
The PM said that such a person would be allowed to travel into T&T without hindrance and be allowed to go directly to their homes.
If such persons were traveling with children, these children would be allowed to go home with their parents/guardians.
A citizen or resident of T&T who was not vaccinated and wishes to enter T&T would be allowed to come home but must go into State supervised quarantine for 14 days.
The person must show proof of a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours before their flight.
The State quarantine would be State-sanctioned hotels, and the stay would be at the person’s expense.
Non-nationals who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 will not, at this time, be allowed to enter T&T.
Rowley said that Caribbean Airlines would be giving more details, and that a digitised system where the traveller could provide information on vaccination status at the point of the booking (already available is some Caribbean countries) would be available in T&T before the July 17 date.
He said that he would be speaking with the Office of the Attorney General to strengthen the penalties against anyone who attempted to enter the country with fake vaccination documents.
He said that this major development was coming at a time when the Delta variant of the virus had emerged in the United States, was the major variant in the United Kingdom, and was “popular” in Africa.
He said that COVID-19 and its variants are still very active and aggressive worldwide, “notwithstanding what you are hearing from some people in Trinidad and Tobago who have no responsibility for nothing”.
He also said that vaccination does not mean a person had escaped or was fully safe.
“It means you are strengthened, but you still have to work to avoid the infection”, he said.
