by Linda Straker
- Last recorded positive Covid-19 case was in July
- 3 international airlines return to Grenada in October
- Hotels in-house protocol will be complementary to national protocol for incoming passengers
With the return of 3 international airlines to Grenada in October 2020, there is every indication that October is set to be a turning point for Grenada’s tourism industry, which went into hiatus in March because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The airlines from 2 of our major international source markets are set to resume weekly flights, and Sandals Hotel is set to reopen. I see that as incredibly positive news for the tourism industry,” said Tourism Minister, Clarice Modeste. “American Airlines, JetBlue and Air Canada will be offering weekly flights to the island and this will see our hotels once again welcoming guests, and with guests comes the return of employment for many in the sector.”
Grenada is part of the Caricom bubble and 3 smaller airlines provide connecting flights from Barbados, St Vincent and the Grenadines or Antigua. The international airlines are set to resume the weekly flights during the first 8 days of October. However, Sandals, which is an all-inclusive property, will reopen as of 1 October.
“This is exciting news for Grenada. We look forward to the reopening of the hotel and to resume welcoming visitors to our shores. This will largely signal the resumption of activity in the tourism sector, which has been particularly hard-hit by the Covid-19 pandemic,” Prime Minister, Dr Keith Mitchell, is quoted as saying in a news release from the Government Information Service (GIS). “What is even more heartwarming is that hundreds of our nationals are returning the work after 6 months. This is good news on a personal level for these employees, and for the suppliers of goods and services, who benefit indirectly from the hotel’s operations. On a wider scale, it is also good news for the country and I am truly heartened by this announcement.”
As part of adjusting to the new normal with guidance from the new health protocol, several hotels in Grenada received the approval from government to be official quarantine facilities, and this gave them limited business with reduced staff.
Radisson, Sandals and Royalton are 3 international hotel brands operating in Grenada and each one of them has in-house health and cleanliness protocols that are mandatory for the operating of the properties. Last weekend, Sandals held a 2-day workshop where, among other initiatives, shared its cleanliness protocol with government officials.
“The hotels in-house protocol is for the operations of the hotels and it will be complementary to our national protocol for incoming passengers. What this means that once we clear them at the airport and [they] are allowed to leave quarantine facilities, the hotel guest now has to comply with the in-house health protocols,” explained Modeste, as she pointed out that all hotel properties have in-house protocols.
Radisson never closed its operation; Sandals will reopen on 1 October, while Royalton is scheduled to reopen on 29 November 2020.
In a recent news conference, Health Minister, Nickolas Steele, indicated that Grenada was reviewing its health entry protocol. Currently, all arriving passengers from international cities must present a PCR negative test result dated no less than 7 days before entry. The cities of original departure will determine the length of the quarantine stay.
It is anticipated that by 1 October there will be a new health protocol which will work in harmony with the new Quarantine (Covid-19) regulations and the Public Health Act regulations.
It means among other things, that just like locals, visits to tourist attractions or any facility outside of the hotel contact tracing information will be required. Already there is a new health protocol for places of entertainment. The size of the venue or the location of a social event will determine the number of persons allowed to attend.
The first Covid-19 case was diagnosed on 22 March and days later a state of emergency with a curfew was declared, placing the island in lockdown to international commercial traffic. Grenada was not the only country in the region to take such action, because by April almost all of Caricom was in lockdown as part of efforts to control and contain the contagion.
By June, the curfew was removed and that began a new normal as health and law enforcement officials began applying the new health protocols. Critical in that protocol was the opening of the international airport to accept returning nationals.
Grenada currently has 24 recorded Covid-19 cases, all of whom have recovered. The last recorded positive Covid-19 case was in July 2020.
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Grenada WAS one of the most successful places on Earth to control Covid, with a few blunders at the beginning the Government ultimately has done a sterling job of keeping us safe UP UNTIL NOW.
We never had what most countries would call community spread, which has made the endless restrictions, and compulsory wearing of masks, and skin damaging constant use of hand sanitizers extremely frustrating, when NOBODY in the community on the ISLAND had anything. You can’t catch what isn’t out there.
This has lead many people to be very casual about how they wear masks if at all apart from in stores, even some stores have abysmal mask protocols where as I observed at a major retail outlet yesterday half the staff had the mask under their nose…. which makes it absolutely useless, and one staff member had it under his chin. Despite the fact we the customer have to have our image recorded, put the mask on and have our hands sanitized.
Once these visitors arrive with their pcr tests that are something like 48% reliable, a coin toss, then it will probably be days if not weeks before we have to go into curfew and lockdown again.
While preventing the spread was laudable, the rest of the World failed miserably, so we are literally an island surrounded by sharks.
What is far more sensible now the cat is out of the bag, is to get everyone to take protective measures, let the old infirm, obese, and diabetic either isolate or at least be very careful, let the younger healthier people just get on with life, but observe the masks etc , and just let the virus run it’s course. It’s going to anyway, so the only real thing we can do is flatten the curve as they say.
The only Country in the World that is profiting from this debacle is China, who are all set to supply all our needs for as long as we and the other nations keep ourselves helpless.
We the people must unite and protect ourselves and each other until natural herd immunity becomes constant in the outside world, it isn’t that far away in many of the 1st World countries, or a sensible form of treatment arrives.
The Australians seem to have a nasal spray that could protect us not just from Covid, but many other types of influenza type infections as well. I am extremely doubtful about the proposed vaccines being tested, as the companies involved are both very shabby in their practices, do not do proper placebo trials, and seem to be using animal tests that were worthless at best.
To use young Macaques is a double whammy of idiocy. Firstly they do not actually have a severe reaction to SAARS as a species, and secondly they used young animals which like young humans have a greater resistance than older ones.
The companies must know that, and just like the tobacco companies that lied to us straight in our faces will with their immunity from prosecution will allow them to rush and provide a vaccine that will make some people very ill, in all likelyhood more may be badly affected than from the virus itself which has a fatality rate of around 0.26%. 4 years down the road a rash of cancers, whill obviously be nothing to do with the vaccine.
what is the time of quarantine if i come from france or europe ?
it is the most important thing to know before deciding or not to come
you open the country ok but we don t want to be prisoner in an hotel during 8 days or 15 days …
Fly San Juan to Barbados to Grenada
Yes thanks, circumnavigate our survival protocols. What an intelligent piece of advice. I hope your conscience doesn’t crumble when an Island that has been Covid free, for 2 months, and only had transmission from previous visitors localised to their families without community spread gets devastated by stupidity like you are suggesting.
As a frequent visitor who brings guests and charters boats, it would be VERY helpful to have more specific information.
The last GrenadaNow article I read suggested Americans needed negative test before a flight, then 2 more upon arrival while staying in Government approved lock down accommodation…
We would be coming from Puerto Rico. Are any airlines offering flights from San Juan to Grenada? I was there a few years ago while on a cruise, and I was impressed.
If I was coming from England how long would I have to stay in quarantine for?
Let them arrive first.
Please please make sure you separate passengers who carry a negative test result from those travelling from within the so called green zone as it comprises the whole testing process.
All passengers with negative test results should be fast track in order to save time and please increase the number of staff available on days when the large aircraft are due.