The Bahamas government is scrapping plans to enforce stricter testing requirements for vaccinated travelers this week.
While Prime Minister Philip Davis said in late December the Bahamas would stop accepting rapid antigen tests from vaccinated travelers from January 7, officials said on Tuesday it would suspend that requirement. According to a statement from the country’s Ministry of Tourism and Aviation, fully vaccinated travelers and those under the age of 12 can continue to show a negative PCR test or a rapid antigen test.
Unvaccinated travelers aged 12 years and older must still present a negative PCR test and should not use rapid tests. Travelers under the age of two remain exempt from testing requirements.
The Bahamas also updated their post-arrival testing requirements. Travelers staying longer than 48 hours will be required to take a rapid antigen test from Tuesday, regardless of vaccination status.
Previously, only tourists who stayed longer than four nights and five days had to take another test.
The updated eligibility requirements follow Davis’s announcement in late December that the country would no longer accept before departure coronavirus tests taken more than three days before arrival instead of five.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the Bahamas has a high number of COVID-19 cases and advises travelers to be fully vaccinated before entering. The country reported nearly 2,500 new cases in the past week, the highest number of cases per week to date, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
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What are the Bahamas test requirements for entry?
Under the new entry requirements, vaccinated travelers two years of age and older entering from another country must:
- Take a negative coronavirus test (a rapid antigen test or PCR test) no more than three days before arrival.
- If you are staying longer than 48 hours, do a rapid antigen test.
Meanwhile, unvaccinated tourists traveling from another country are required to:
- Take a negative PCR coronavirus test no more than three days before arrival if 12 years and older.
- If between 2 and 11 years old, do a negative PCR or rapid antigen test no more than three days before arrival.
- If you are staying longer than 48 hours, do a rapid antigen test.
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