By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Tribune Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

THE hotel union “is on edge” over the US State Department’s decision to upgrade its travel advisory to level four, warning Americans not to enter The Bahamas.

The State Department’s upgraded warning followed similar advice from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, which advised the same to American travellers on Monday.

Darrin Woods, Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union president, told The Tribune the advisory could not have come at a worse time as industry workers were looking forward to an uptick in visitor arrivals at this time of year.

He said the advisory had planted a seed of doubt in the minds of potential visitors and could prove to be problematic for tourist arrivals.

On Monday, the CDC cited a very high level of COVID-19 in the country as reason to increase the country’s health notice from level three to level four, saying people should “avoid all travel” to The Bahamas. The nation had remained at level three since late January, after previously being listed at level four by the CDC last year due to virus infections.

“Any travel advisory is concerning, particularly at this time of year with tourists starting to come to this country,” Mr Woods said. “What is amazing is that they are issuing this advisory when their numbers are through the roof.

“I know that they had a spike over the weekend so it’s incumbent on our people to try their best to not let their guards down because obviously we are not out of the woods yet. This is the third wave and we are admonishing Bahamians not to let your guards down. Following the protocols because we don’t want the numbers to further increase.”

He continued: “While we know that there is light at the end of the tunnel, we remain concerned about the new strain of the virus. This one seems to have a mind of its own.”

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said that travellers within the country who have been fully vaccinated will be exempt from COVID-19 test requirements during travel from New Providence, Grand Bahama, Exuma, Abaco and Eleuthera.

He added that this will only apply when the traveller has had both jabs.

Additionally, from May 1, people travelling to the country will be exempt from RT-PCR COVID testing once they are fully vaccinated and have passed a two-week immunity period.

In response, Mr Woods said: “Even though you are fully vaccinated, that doesn’t mean you won’t contract the virus.”

Yesterday the US Embassy in Nassau reasserted its country’s position, saying that as travellers face ongoing risks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the State Department updated its travel advisories in general to better reflect the CDC’s science-based travel health notices.

The embassy said following this update, approximately 80 percent of all countries worldwide will have a travel advisory Level 4: Do Not Travel.

This, it said, does not imply a reassessment of the current health situation in a given country. It reflects an adjustment in the State Department’s Travel Advisory system to give more weight to the CDC’s existing assessments. This realignment reflects the current, unpredictable and evolving threat posed by COVID-19, the embassy further noted.

“The State Department is closely monitoring health and safety conditions across the globe, and will continue to update destination-specific information for US travellers as conditions evolve,” a brief statement said yesterday.

“As travel continues to recover, the Department of State has no greater responsibility than the safety and security of US citizens overseas. We are committed to providing US citizens with the most up-to-date information to keep US citizens informed when they are abroad.”

According to the Ministry of Health, there were 68 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, nine on Monday and 55 cases recorded on Sunday for a total of 132 over a three-day period.