The Bahamas has updated and streamlined its travel and entry protocols, effective immediately.
What had been a quarantine requirement for 14 days or for the duration of a visitor's stay, whichever was shorter, is being replaced by a required purchase of Covid-19 health insurance, monitoring procedures and on-island rapid testing for those staying longer than five days.
The Bahamas earlier had announced that the rapid test on arrival would replace the Covid test taken prior to arrival but that plan was scrapped due to logistical problems, according to minister of tourism Dionisio D'Aguilar.
The new rules call for a PCR test no earlier than five days prior to arrival, and a Covid-19 rapid antigen test on day five of the visit (unless visitors are departing on day five). Visitors are required to quarantine at their resorts until the results of the test are received. Results from the rapid test are usually obtained within 60 minutes and are texted or emailed to each visitor.
Hotel properties have information on the testing arrangements. Children 10 and under are exempt from the test.
Mask wearing is mandatory in public places. A $200 fine for not wearing a mask is enforced.
Visitors also must submit a Bahamas Health Travel Visa before arrival and complete a daily online health questionnaire during their stay, which will be emailed to them, to help medical officials monitor for possible Covid symptoms.
In addition, beginning Nov. 14, everyone must opt in to the mandatory health insurance when applying for the health visa. The insurance will cover travelers for the duration of their stay. Visitors staying up to four nights pay $40 each, and those staying more than four nights pay $60 each. Children 10 and under are free. The insurance covers the cost of the rapid test, quarantining at a hotel for 14 days if a visitor tests positive but has no symptoms and medical evacuation to the home country if they are positive with symptoms.
Those travelers booked under the former protocols that required a PCR test taken seven days prior to travel can enter the Bahamas with their health visa and negative test result through Nov. 6.
The government cautioned that conditions and instances of Covid can be different on each of the 16 islands available to visitors; the status of the island is at at bahamas.com/travelupdates.