THE Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) is once again calling for a review of the entry protocols into the island in light of Government scrapping the COVID-19 curfew from today.
While expressing gratitude for the further ease in restrictions, particularly on some segments of the hospitality industry, chairman Renée Coppin wants health officials to go further.
“We are very cognisant of the strongly-held belief by Barbadians that the tourists bring in COVID. However, we need to ensure that Barbadians are aware that is not supported by the current statistics we have received,” she said in a release yesterday.
Coppin said the statistics pointed to a lower positivity rate within source markets which, when coupled with high levels of vaccination, meant Barbados was at a decreased risk from visitors.
“We are also signalling that many of our competitive destinations have put in place simplified, updated entry protocols. These protocols include more recent testing using rapid antigen tests and these destinations have not had any commensurate increase in case loads as an outcome of this decision. (RA/PR)
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