JAMAICA ANNOUNCES NEW TESTING GUIDELINES

Dear Valued Partners, The Prime Minister of Jamaica, the Hon Andrew Holness has announced new testing guidelines for persons wishing to

visit the island.

These new guidelines will come into effect on October 10 and are part of our continued effort to minimize the spread of COVID-19, and to protect the lives of our citizens and visitors. These amendments are valid up to 2020 October 31.

The new guidelines are as follows:

• Effective Saturday, October 10 the Ministry of Health and Wellness will accept Antigen tests as well as PCR tests. All Antigen tests approved by the World health Organization/Pan American Health Organization and the FDA, will be accepted. All tests must be done at an accredited lab. Antigen tests are more accessible, costs less and the results are available in a shorter period of time.
• Persons living in countries designated as high risk areas will no longer be required to upload a negative test result when applying for a Travel Authorization. The negative test result will have to be shown, alongside the approved Travel Authorization, at check-in and again on arrival in Jamaica.
  • Both the Travel Authorization and the Test Certificate must be valid on the date of arrival into Jamaica
  • The Test Certificate is valid for 10 days from the date the sample was collected.
  • Travel Authorizations are valid for 10 days from the date of approval.
  • Antibody tests will NOT be accepted o Results from home-based test kits will NOT be accepted
  • Test results must be Negative or Not Detected
• Visitors are now allowed to do split stays within the Resilient Corridors
• While Jamaica maintains nightly limitations on movement, airport transfers within the restricted hours will not be affected. If stopped, visitors may be asked to show their flight details.
• For Business Travellers, nothing will change, excepting that Antigen Tests will now be accepted.

Reminders:

• The current high risk countries are listed as Brazil, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama and the United States (all States).
• An “unfit to fly” notice will be issued to the airlines for persons who test positive while in Jamaica. Persons will be allowed to leave Jamaica using medical evacuation or private flights.

For more information on entry protocols for Jamaica, please see our list of Frequently Asked Questions here.

For more information, visit https://jtbonline.org Bulletin #21 – 2020 Oct 9