Antigua and Barbuda relax Covid testing rules

The Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda has relaxed its Covid test requirements for entry, following an update to protocols on 18 November.

Following the change, fully vaccinated travellers now able to take a rapid antigen test to enter the country. All travellers were previously required to present a negative PCR test result carried out up to four days ahead of arrival, or an approved negative rapid antigen result up to three days before entry.

However, for partially vaccinated visitors and transiting passengers, negative rapid antigen tests will no longer be accepted under the new rules. Instead, they will be required to provide a negative PCR test within four days of their arrival.

The islands remain closed to unvaccinated individuals, with all new arrivals, including returning nationals and residents, required to have received at least one dose of a vaccine approved by either the World Health Organization (WHO) or the Ministry of Health, Wellness, and the Environment.

Children under 18 are exempt from this rule, but unvaccinated minors between the ages of five and 18 must also present a negative PCR test up to four days from the date of testing. Children under five are not required to be tested.

Approximately three quarters (60,000) of the country’s 80,000 inhabitants have now been vaccinated, according to the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority.

Fellow Caribbean nation Barbados also relaxed its testing rules for visitors, scrapping its mandatory second PCR test for fully vaccinated visitors in October.