Protocols & Processes Fine-tuned for Reopening of P.G.I.A.
This Thursday, October first, the Philip Goldson International Airport officially reopens to international tourists. But there are still lingering concerns from tourism stakeholders on the protocols and the processes in place at the airport as well as mandatory quarantining for visitors as well as returning Belizeans. During today’s Ask the Experts webcast, Director of Health Services Doctor Marvin Manzanero shared the protocols to be observed. The delay for processing at the airport is dependent on the traveller and whether or not they comply with the requirements for entry into the country.
Marvin Manzanero
Dr. Marvin Manzanero, Director of Health Services
The tourists would still only be accessing gold star hotels, which means that they are not going to be able to go into the general stream of coming and going. Belizeans, and I need to stress this, even though you are not going to be required to quarantine in a hotel upon arrival, it is still going to be the staff at the airport that will be telling everybody that you must or you should go and do, at minimum, seven to ten days of quarantine at home. And the reason is very simple. Even if you bring a negative PCR test, you may have still been exposed en route to coming to Belize. So people can appreciate that you can bring a potential exposure from whoever is visiting you and the people who are coming here to visit can also appreciate the reason why we are suggesting that you do elements of self-quarantine at home. At the end of the day, we want to make sure that you are avoiding exposure with your community, with your family, with your friends. So that will be the recommendation, blanket recommendation, we are making for everybody. I think we need to stress this because it is a common question that is coming to our hotlines. I know that the B.T.B. website and the infographic is being updated in a dynamic kind of way. We are also strongly recommending—you may not find it necessary in the infographic—that all Belizeans returning, if they can bring back a PCR test. The closer you can have that to when you board your plane, the better it is going to be for you and that would allow for a quicker processing of your situation at the airport. We are anticipating that with the full complement of staff at the airport, the lab techs will be able to process between fifteen to twenty samples per hour per lab technologist. So if there is three to four, we anticipate it can be sixty to eighty. As I said, if you bring your PCR result and you have your health app downloaded, that process can be completed in a much shorter period.”
