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Fully vaccinated travellers to St. Vincent and the Grenadines are no longer permitted to undergo their 48-hour quarantine at home.

“A new set of protocols are going to come in relation to fully vaccinated people and also unvaccinated persons,” Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said on NBC Radio on Wednesday.

“And a big change is that — we have started already — this idea of allowing people to go into quarantine at home, we are going to discontinue that for a while, even though you are vaccinated,” Gonsalves said.

“Because, still if you are vaccinated, most countries you come from, you will just be doing two days’ quarantine in the hotel.”

He said that travellers from very high risk countries such as Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, Ecuador, South Africa, Suriname, Colombia, Belize, Guyana, Panama, India, Mexico, Argentina, and Peru will have to quarantine for seven days or more.

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“But otherwise, you come from high-risk countries or medium-risk countries, you will quarantine for the two days — the 48 hours — in an approved hotel.

“And those from low-risk countries with the vaccine — low-risk like Anguilla, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat — you would not have to quarantine at all, if you come with your negative test.”

The prime minister said that his government has been allowing vaccinated travellers to quarantine at home if all of the other occupants were vaccinated or if the traveller lived alone.

“But you are supposed to do that and give the information to the Health Service Sub-Committee of NEMO two weeks before,” he said, adding that some travellers send the information 36 or as little as 12 hours before they arrive in the country.

This, Gonsalves said, does not give the relevant authorities enough time to make the requisite checks.

“And what is worse, people are saying that their families are vaccinated, everybody in the house, and that is not so.  So people have been abusing this. “

He said that a number of people who arrived in the country last Christmas abused the protocols, resulting in a spike in cases in January and December.

“And right at the moment, you have some real deadly variants, like the delta, and it is in a number of countries in the region, including in Trinidad…

“We have to be very careful that doesn’t let go here.  So I know for some persons, it is going to cause a hardship but we just have to do what we have to do,” he said, adding that he has asked Chief Medical Officer Dr. Simone Keizer-Beache and Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Roger Duncan to explain this to the public.

The prime minister said that the two health officers had briefed the Cabinet on Monday.

“Though the numbers now in St. Vincent are quite low for the last several days and we have been controlling fairly well in the shelters – let me knock wood when I say that. But the point is that, you can’t wait till the horse has bolted…  They just have to bear with us because we are not an island unto ourselves,” Gonsalves said.  

8 replies on “New rule ends home quarantine for vaccinated travellers”

  1. Carl Maylor says:

    Can i say he is correct in one part ????(not a great supporter of him but alas one has to listen to sense when one hears it ) if persons travelling require you to notify the relevant authorities at least two weeks before returning why are those such authorities even entertaining persons who think they can give less notice??? Again see what happens when people just don’t follow the rules a large number of us suffer the consequences, Two shots of vaccine negative test when you arrive live alone or with spouse also vaccinated prove that live alone and 48 hours staying in your yard aint no big ting ??? yet again unnecessary money have to come out of people pocket because the minorities think they run tings and have it their way.

    Can you all tell im well and truly P……… Off ????

    Come on Vincy people fix up please and for those that come from other countries just because we need you to spend money here DONT you think your flippant stupid behaviour is killing us off and causing us more problems in an already tough situation. Simplesssssssss we don’t need your dollars or pounds if you can abide by SVG rules as i know you couldn’t carry on like that in your own countries where you come from……

    Ok had My Rant My Say My View stay safe my Fellow Vincentians

  2. This is utter bullshit. If I have proof of vaccination, plus proof that all members of my household are vaccinated AND show a negative test, there is NO reason I should be forced to pay for a hotel. FOH!

  3. No mention of people from the US. We are fully vaccinated and still follow safe protocols. Will we have to stay in for the 48 hours.

  4. This hotel thing is a problem. If persons live alone then why do they have to go to a hotel? Does that mean at the hotel you are locked away in a room for 48 hours? It’s also possible that persons can pick up the virus at the hotel, because many people were tested after staying at hotels and came up positive. Are the people working at the hotel tested often to ensure they are clean and would not transmit the virus to guests who enter the premises?
    People who have received the 2 vaccines and can prove it should not be forced into hotels.

  5. Hashtag Prince says:

    Whether High Low or Medium- If you are coming with a negative PCR test and FULLY Vaccinated why 2 days quarantine? Why not administer another test upon arrival and let traveller wait 12 to 24 hours??? So they only spend one night in cost at a hotel or guest house. Why force people to spend 2 nights money???
    If you are to get that Tourist Dollar you gotta make the traveller comfortable and the way of doing things hassle-free. All this tie-up , tie-down and keep-back won’t work if you wanna make a happy traveller.

  6. I am sure the authority has a reason to discontinue the home quarantine program.
    However, can someone explain to me that after 4 weeks of waiting and calling and emailing i have not be able to get the forms I needed.

    In New York can show you vaccination card you are free to go.
    I will not pay to stay atinformation@ a hotel when I have an empty house on the island.

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