By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Cabinet minister yesterday signalled that post-arrival COVID-19 testing for tourists may be part of the solution to "easing" the mandatory 14-day quarantine impediment to the industry's revival.

Dionisio D'Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, while declining to provide details on the outcome of talks between his officials and the Ministry of Health said an announcement on a proposed solution could "hopefully come this week".

Disclosing that the two ministries, as well as the Prime Minister's Office as the COVID-19 "competent authority", had settled on a plan, Mr D'Aguilar said all government agencies involved in the discussions were now "working on the mechanics" of how it would be implemented and rolled-out nationwide.

Confirming that The Bahamas has no plans to abandon the demand for a negative COVID-19 PCR test from visitors prior to their arrival, the minister said the Government had been maintaining a keen watch on what other tourism-reliant jurisdictions were doing to balance re-opening with mitigating the risk posed by the virus.

In particular, he cited the likes of Bermuda and Hawaii, which are both conducting COVID-19 testing when visitors arrive and, in the latter's case, during their stay. The Dominican Republic, too, has shifted to testing for COVID-19 upon arrival, while Barbados, too, is conducting on-site testing of visitors.

"I think we've decided on a plan; we're just working on the mechanics of how to roll it out," Mr D'Aguilar told Tribune Business. "We are working through all of the possible scenarios. Hopefully this week we will be in a position to make an announcement on the direction we want to go in.

"We've essentially come up with an idea, and are going through all the necessary steps to ensure it can be rolled-out properly. What makes this destination problematic is it's an archipelago, with multiple ports of entry and modes of transportation, and all the pleasure craft as well, which makes it rather complex in trying to get the plan we need to make quarantine work. It's not like Barbados, with one airport and port."

Mr D'Aguilar declined to go into specifics on what the alternative to the 14-day quarantine might involve or look like, but dropped a heavy hint that post-arrival COVID-19 testing of tourists at both the airport and during their vacation could form part of the solution.

"I will say this," he said. "If you look at the number of destinations testing on arrival, if you look at the Dominican Republic, they've gone away from CPR testing before arrival to on arrival. We're not going to be as ambitious as them. The PCR test will remain in place before arrival; it's what happens after that.

"Bermuda is testing on arrival and after arrival. Hawaii has rolled out doing PCR tests on arrival. A lot of countries are looking at ways to mitigate quarantine, and currently it involves increased testing as an alternative. We're looking at ways to incorporate some of these ideas followed to work in our market. We all recognise the current scenario of quarantine is not going to work."

Given The Bahamas' existing difficulties with testing and contact tracing involving its own citizens and residents, some observers are likely to be sceptical as to whether on-arrival and in-stay testing, or a combination of both, will adequately mitigate the COVID-19 risks involving tourists. Tracking down those staying in vacation rental accommodation could prove especially challenging.

Mr D'Aguilar, acknowledging that many countries have still kept their borders closed to travellers from countries with high COVID-19 infection rates, further explained: "We're trying to see how we can ease the restrictions in terms of movement of people but add additional health protocols to mitigate any relaxation of staying in place for 14 days.

"Everything you do has to be the same for visitors and residents. You can't have a bifurcated system. Therein lies your conundrum. This is the reason why we're looking at all of these options because persons involved in the hotel and tourism industry have indicated issues around quarantine. We're reacting to that.

"The whole explanation of a 14-day quarantine is a major impediment. It means the entire 14 days or length of your stay, and you have to explain to people the whole concept of quarantine. By the time you get through that explanation they've already moved on to the next destination. We're looking to change the model, but not increase the risk," the minister continued.

"There's no script on this. This is what our travel partners are saying, and then you try and incorporate the concerns of public health officials and cope up with a solution you hope will work. The Bahamas has not had to deal with a pandemic before, so I'm writing the book as we go."