Get proof of Covid recovery before you fly

QOn January 11, I tested positive for Covid-19 after taking a lateral flow test in Jersey. I submitted the result to our Government and isolated for seven days before submitting two negative lateral flow tests. We were due to fly to St Lucia on January 27 so I obtained a Covid-19 letter of recovery from my doctor in case the required PCR test came back as a false positive, which indeed it did.

The Ministry of Health in St Lucia said I could still come but I must submit the result of the initial positive test and a discharge letter from my doctor, or an NHS recovery pass. I thought I had complied but the authorities were not happy and refused me permission to travel on the day of the flight. Please can you help me get to the bottom of their reasoning, if only to help other readers?

AIt turned out there were two reasons why St Lucia’s Ministry of Health ultimately refused entry to Joy. She had isolated for only seven days (as required in Jersey) and not the 10 days recommended by the World Health Organisation at that time. Nor did she take a PCR test to confirm the infection.

Government-issued lateral flow tests done at home are undated and cannot be used as proof, the St Lucia authorities state, even though Joy could show when the result was logged with Jersey’s Department of Health. Fortunately, thanks to British Airways Holidays agreeing to refund Joy’s airfares and her hotel costs in St Lucia in vouchers, she was able to buy new flights via Barbados to the Grenadines and salvage her Caribbean holiday. In the event of a travel PCR test being a false positive, Barbados required only a doctor’s letter of recovery while St Vincent and the Grenadines was happy with a negative lateral flow test.

Ironically, when Joy took a second travel PCR test on January 29, it came back negative. There are no reliable figures for the percentage of people who continue to test positive for up to 90 days following a Covid-19 infection. If you have recently recovered from the virus, it is worth booking two PCR tests: one using a postal service and a second at a clinic with a fast turnaround time on the day before travel, as a number of readers have reported a negative result.

Fortunately, the requirement for PCR tests to travel abroad is being quietly dropped by countries keen to reopen to tourism. See telegraph.co.uk/ tt-covidproof and, for the latest advice, go to gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice.

Bright idea: Saint Lucia in January sounded tempting but reader Joy Taylor was refused entry by the island’s health authorities