T8191

The Caribbean Island of Antigua has been doing well fighting COVID-19, and recently re-opened ANU airport to foreign travel. We were getting excited, as we have a holiday booked for September. The processes were quite simple ... arrive with a C-19 free certificate, or get a nose/mouth swab test on arrival ($100).

Then someone from America had to [mod edit] threaten to sue the Antigua Government ... for protecting its Border. Now Arrival testing has been abandoned. Thank you, anonymous Americans, for making life more difficult for tourists. We can’t even get that test in our country unless ‘essential workers’, so that’s trashed our 3rd vacation this year.

https://news.paxeditions.com/news/tourism-board/amid-threats-us-lawsuits-antigua-barbuda-makes-pre-flight-covid-testing-mandatory

https://antiguanewsroom.com/tourists...ing-isolation/

(The comments make interesting reading)

sunshinebob

And there is no need for the average US citizen to go there anyways, after all they have everything in the US of A.

Sorry uncle T, it looks like another holiday cancelled. Its not like we all get an extra year tacked on the end of our lives to have a do over.. I will have had 8 trips cancelled soon, so I feel your pain.

See you in the Lamplighter and lets cry in our Liberations...

1Aturnleft

You can't get tested on the NHS as a non-keyworker but there's nothing stopping you getting tested privately in the days leading up to travel in order to satisfy the Antiguan immigration requirement.

https://doctap.co.uk/services/coronavirus-test/

One of many private labs providing the test that the Antiguan authorities require a negative result to on arrival.
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downinit

While it is certainly completely absurd that a deranged lawsuit-happy US citizen can influence foreign policy in other countries, it does make a lot of sense to get tested before the flight. It would be pretty awful to find out on arrival you will be spending your holiday in quarantine due to being an asymptomatic carrier. It is also good to keep as many infected people off of airplanes as possible, which benefits all of us. The bottom line is that getting tested pre-travel will require paying out of pocket for a rapid test from a private lab, as free/low cost testing options will not be viable. This service will undoubtedly become more common and readily available as more countries institute testing requirements.

BXK_Oz

Living with people like that every day. They don't like something they push, because they know the opposition will fold. Antigua should have told them that if they didn't want the swab, take the next flight back to the US. Where are these idiot countrymen of mine going to file suit, the World Court. Maybe I should sue the UK cause I would have to quarantine if I go there. Who are they to tell me I would have to stay in my room for 14 days . I wanna speak to the Queen about this. (hopefully you understand my humor and not take offense).

Boten

The behaviour of some people is just terrible. If you don't like the laws of a country and feel you cannot abide by them then don't go.

I am guessing the complaining US citizens were using the words "freedom" and "amendment" a lot. Do they not realise that their laws don't extend outside the borders of the USA? I for one am grateful their laws do end at their borders.

Sorry you have lost another holiday. Hope you get away soon.

atcer28

I think you may be able to get the test as there are private companies doing postal tests that will issue a recognised certificate. Not cheap at around Ł160 all in but possible. We used one for peace of mind and got the results back in under 48 hours. Was very efficient. If you google something like U.K. Covid tests travel certificates it will bring up the options.

hope you get your holiday!

T8191

Thanks - I have started exploring that Postal option. Jersey is also moving [at its usual pace] to licence private test providers (https://jerseyeveningpost.com/news/2...uires-licence/) which may help. But Plan A seems to be trying to move the trip to next spring, and go to Malta instead!

downinit

Definitely the best choice is to avoid any place with Americans altogether at this point. I just wish I had that option.

BXK_Oz

I agree with you somewhat. Not all of us are bad. Have an old saying, "Three percent of the people ruin it for the other 97 percent". These individuals are epitome of ugly American.

T8191

We have too many close friends in the USA to be justified in branding the whole Nation. But we do, sadly, have to agree that some US citizens are total PITA, wherever they might be located! Some Brits abroad can be pretty awful too! 😡

​​​​​​​Hey-ho, we shall survive!

SJCFlyerLG

I am a resident in Antigua most of the year, as we own a villa in Jolly Harbour. The island was doing better than we expected, and the "lockdown" was gradually relaxed between the beginning of April and June. We left on June 18th. We were very concerned that people coming in would be a problem. From the day of the first flight, we saw tourists not wearing masks or practicing any social distancing. On the two flights that followed ours, 20 people tested positive - and it was on those flights where the Ugly Americans threatened to sue over the testing requirements.

The positions of the government about admitting arriving residents and tourists have been very fluid, to say the least. They were supposed to have rapid tests upon arrival, but they did not actually have the equipment. People were being tested, with the tests sent to Trinidad. People were being told that the results would be ready in a couple of days, but their movements were not being restricted - very stupid. When the island first opened back to tourism, we thought it would be limited to all-inclusive resorts where movements could be easily monitored. The good news is that there are only four active cases. I like the idea of requiring tests before traveling to the island - otherwise, the airline would be required to fly infected passengers back to the USA.

BTW, Antigua has cut the price of its "citizenship by investment" program to $100k US for a family of 4. It's a "donation" to the development fund. If I can be satisfied that the money will be actually spent on development other than for a minister's home, I might go down that path.

The_Bouncer

summerfieldhealthcare.co.uk is one who is offering mail order testing. I looked into it prior to returning to Austria.

T8191

SJC, thanks for the local perspective and expanding on the bare details available to we common people! You raise some interesting points:

1. Ignoring the Nationality aspect, it was never going to be a winner when virtually all ANU flights seemed to originate in FL, with one of the USA’s worst infection rates (IIRC).

2. Local aspirations to regenerate Tourism were obviously a major driver, but I did note that there’s a limited list of ‘approved hotels’ (Ours is one of those, COCOS on Jolly Beach). As we find in Jersey, it’s difficult to monitor the Tourist Herd once released into the wild!

3. Credible and timely testing is, of course, key. Arrival antigen testing (Oh, not the SWABS!) has generally worked here in Jersey. Indeed, I have even considered doing a quick TP Run JER-LGW-JER so that we could get tested (free) on our return!!

Thanks, The_Bouncer, for that link. The micro-issue is timing test results to meet Antigua’s deadline. Can we 100% rely on Jersey Post to deliver the returning mail in time? Too risky, TBH. Plan A is to forget this trip ... need to talk to BA Holidays about our options. Malta beckons!!

downinit

My comment was aimed more at the fact that statistically speaking, Americans are much more likely to be harboring and spreading COVID at this time, so it is wise to give us a wide berth. Asymptomatic carriers can infect others just as readily as the ill can. I'm 100% convinced the current explosion is due primarily to house parties and group get-togethers at local restaurants and bars (i.e. friends and families inadvertently infecting each other). It is not uncommon to see 12-16 people together at one table in a restaurant right now (or at least a few weeks ago).