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on strong screening and other protocols,” a senior tourism stakeholder stated after learning of the new decision.
On Monday, seven flights are expected with approximately 1,000 passengers, and of major concern is the Ministry of Health’s capacity to manage traveller volumes. It took more than three hours for the ministry to fully test and clear close to 150 arriving passengers on the most recent UK flight into Kingston.
It is believed that the Montego Bay Convention Centre may be used to facilitate the testing of passengers.
“Moving persons from the Montego Bay airport to the Convention Centre for testing will be disastrous,” said one stakeholder, who asked to remain anonymous.
Several calls to the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) President Omar Robinson rang without answer.
But at least one tour operator shocked by the news said the move would cause people to view Jamaica’s policy arrangements as confusing, potentially threatening airline confidence.
The carriers scheduled to return on Monday include American Airlines and Delta while Air Canada will fly out of Calgary into Sangster on Tuesday.
“We are guided by assessing the risk that is involved based on a particular point in time and a particular context. We are still manoeuvring the approach to managing the virus. It is still novel (meaning the population is not yet exposed),” Minister of Health Dr Christopher Tufton argued.
He noted that the lifting of restrictions both for Jamaicans and non-Jamaicans brought a different risk profile to managing the virus.
“We are protecting our population and our economic interest, which includes the tourism sector,” he stated.