PORT OF SPAIN – The Trinidad and Tobago government Saturday announced a re-opening of its borders on July 17, but warned that foreigners who are not vaccinated will not be allowed into the country as the government moves to deal with socio-economic impact of the coronavirus (COVId-19) pandemic.
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, speaking at the weekly news conference here, said that the re-opening of the Piarco International Airport to scheduled flights would take into consideration three categories of persons.
“We expect to recognise three categories of people. Category One are citizens of Trinidad and Tobago vaccinated. Category Two, citizens of Trinidad and Tobago unvaccinated and Category Three, other persons unvaccinated.
“The exact date in July, we expect to be Saturday July 17 that’s when we expect to go back to scheduled services, open our borders to those categories of people,” Rowley said.
He told reporters “non-nationals of Trinidad and Tobago, who are unvaccinated and let me repeat that, non-nationals of Trinidad and Tobago who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 , will not at this time be allowed to enter Trinidad and Tobago.
“Nationals of Trinidad and Tobago, who are fully vaccinated, and a fully vaccinated person is defined as a person who have received the required number of doses of a WHO (World Health Organisation) approved vaccine and have been two weeks since the final dose was applied. Such a person who is a citizen or legal resident in Trinidad and Tobago would be allowed to enter, having shown proof of a negative PCR test, less than 72 hours or less, such a person will be allowed to travel into Trinidad and Tobago without a hindrance and will be allowed to go home”.
But he said those citizens or residents arriving here without being vaccinated “must go into state supervised quarantine for 14 days and you must in order to enter unvaccinated you must be able to show proof of a PCR test not older than 72 hours.
He said that the state-supervised quarantine facilities would be at venues such as certain approved hotels “and that would be at your own expense”.
He said children who are not vaccinated would be allowed to enter the country once accompanied by their vaccinated parents and allowed to go home from the airport.
But Rowley warned persons who would seek to beat the system that measures are being put in place to ensure that “they feel the full brunt of the law. (CMC)
