How are Testing Challenges in the US Affecting Our Tourism Industry?
Pre-testing is a critical part of the protocols to protect the citizens of St. Lucia. Additionally, with no mandated second on-island testing it becomes the only PCR test that the tourist will take. Therefore, testing delays in the USA are of significant concern to St. Lucia “While there are tests available, the country’s testing system is struggling to catch up to the worst public health emergency in modern history.”
Falling Testing Rates in the USA
Coronavirus testing rates have fallen in several states where cases are increasing, an NBC News analysis of testing data has found. “If we really wanted to get things under control, frequent testing of almost everybody would be one way to do it and we’re, of course, nowhere near that, Marc Lipsitch, a professor of epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said. “We’re doing infrequent testing of almost no one.” There are several reasons why states aren’t conducting enough tests, experts say, including the diminished fear of the virus on the part of some people, who are increasingly getting tired of wearing masks, practicing social distancing and seeking Covid-19 tests. The initial level of fear is not at the level that it was,” said Melissa Nolan, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of South Carolina, which has resorted to offering students T-shirts and raffles as an incentive.”
The lack of testing in the USA would provide further incentive for tourists to submit fraudulent tests as they know that their test results cannot be verified. “Sajid, who expects a surge in business as tourist travel becomes possible again, was unconcerned when told by undercover reporters that one of those buying the fake certificates had tested positive for Covid. The scammer, who openly advertises on social media, said the loophole was easy to exploit because it is almost impossible for airlines and border staff to check if documents are genuine.” How does the Saint Lucian Ministry of Health Authorities determine whether a test is questionable?
Testing from Verified Labs by Hawaii
There are examples of verification completed on COVID-19 as it applies in Hawaii where Negative COVID-19 test result required prior to departure and tests are ONLY accepted from Trusted Testing and Travel Partners. The Hawaiian authorities have a list of testing partners they have verified and also indicated the following “If your organization is interested in becoming a Trusted Partner with the State of Hawaii please send an email to SOHSAFETRAVELSPLANTTP@hawaii.gov with the name of the organization and a point of contact email. This information will be added to a list of interested organizations and when the State moves forward with onboarding another tranche of trusted testing partners this will ensure that you are notified about the process. The process will typically involve a wide-call for submissions of interest, a paring down of the submissions for further vetting and then finalization of the next tranche.”
Does St. Lucia have any similar arrangements with any testing partners from the COVID-19 hotspots that the visitors are arriving from? Will the government of St. Lucia consider on-island testing for all tourists arriving on island?
Updated CDC Recommendations
On December 4th the CDC published some additional and revised recommendations. The key strategies are as follows:
1) Universal face mask use
2) Maintaining physical distance from other persons and limiting in-person contacts
3) Avoiding nonessential indoor spaces and crowded outdoor spaces
4) Increasing testing to rapidly identify and isolate infected persons
5) Promptly identifying, quarantining, and testing close contacts of persons with known COVID-19
6) Safeguarding persons most at risk for severe illness or death from infection with SARS-CoV-2
7) Protecting essential workers with provision of adequate personal protective equipment and safe work practices
8) Postponing travel
9) Increasing room air ventilation and enhancing hand hygiene and environmental disinfection
10) Achieving widespread availability and high community coverage with effective COVID-19 vaccines.
The revised recommendation on facemasks includes the following “Within households, face masks should be used when a member of the household is infected or has had recent potential COVID-19 exposure (e.g., known close contact or potential exposure related to occupation, crowded public settings, travel, or non-household members in your house).” Since the majority of the visitors at our COVID-19 certified hotels are from COVID-19 hotspots, we should recommend that our hotel-workers continue to wear face-masks even when at home to avoid continued transmission of COVID-19 particularly since the government has refused to mandate an on-island second tests. Hotel workers should try to whatever they can protect their own health and their family’s health even if the government does not care about their health.
