Vacation To VI This December?

According to USVItravelportal.com, if you do not have a negative test result then you need to quarantine until you get that result. So you COULD come here and quarantine 2 days until you get the result. That's kind of unethical, (what if you get a positive result?) but seems to be within the rules. There are NO faster options for results in your area? Seven days is nuts. 

You can do a test at Community Medical in STT. I believe they have the rapid test. 

Please test BEFORE traveling. It has never been easier to get same day testing and same day or next day results. Please consider the community - passengers, cab drivers, hotel staff, restaurant employees, and the vulnerable islanders. The welcome sign is open to visitors for economic reasons. Please don't mistake that as a safe zone. We truly appreciate those who visit responsibly.

if you're in the U.S., please share your general location and I will gladly link multiple locations where you can get Covid-19 testing completed with results in a timely manner. It's a risky time for leisure visits. Wishing you safe travels.

https://usvitravelportal.com/https://usvitravelportal.com/

At the moment VI has the pandemic under control. As they make a decision to open up to tourism things will get out of hand quickly and given limited resources here the system will get overwhelmed fast. It is absolutely imperative that anybody flying down here gets negative COVID PCR test before departure. It should only take 24/48 hours for the results.

if you arrive here without PCR test it is imperative that you self isolate for 14 days. Please find away to get the test done on the mainland.  

Please test BEFORE traveling. Ignoring this and the TravelPortal is being rude from the start of a vacation.  Thanks!

Try getting your test 7-8 days before your flight. Interestingly, the RESULT needs to be within 5 days of the flight, not the test.

My last flight down, I called the local health department and they told me their turnaround time was 3-5 days. I took the test 8 days before my flight (planning to have the results 3-5 days before the flight).

Just my luck, they worked hard over the weekend and I had my results in 2 days (6 days before my flight). I made another test appointment for the next day and they beat their record again ( I had the results the next day).

If rapid test isn't available where you live, give it your best shot on timing when you'll get the results. Many places will email you a link to your results, so you may even get them while you're flying.

I'll echo others, but please don't skip the portal or doing your best to have results in hand when you fly.

So I spent the morning researching this. Good news is I can get a rapid test for $150 and get the result in 24 hrs. That's perfect!! However, the bad news....I've spoken to some friends here (who are Doctor's and work in the hospitals) and things are not looking good overall (in our city). As a result, I don't even know if we should be travelling, or if we will be allowed to actually travel come December. We currently have flights but can obviously cancel. If the numbers continue the way they are, is the VI really going to allow mainlanders in?? 

VI gov needs money desperately hence they will not close down. The islands are open to welcoming cruise ships which are essentially floating Pitre dish delivering daily dose 10-40 thousand potential vectors. That seems like pretty desperate choice but perhaps they have no other options. 

The current requirement is to have both the test and results within the 5 days before your arrival date.

I think it would take a lot for the USVI to decide to shut down again.  We may see changes in the testing requirements and 'gathering' restrictions before we see a shutdown.  And generally speaking, I think as long as visitors get the required testing, wear masks at all times they could be within 6 feet of another person, they are welcomed.  You can read a lot more about traveling now and other stories on travel forums like TripAdvisor.  

I've had a few of my AirBNB reservations cancel over the past few days which is fine with me.

My question is...how do officials know test results are real?

Being a graphic designer, I've already had people ask me to create documents for them.

Its quite easy if you have the right software.

@vicanuck I was thinking the same thing.  Easy to fake.  Also I don't know if you saw Elon Musk's tweet, yes I think he is a bit out there, but he stated he had 4 covid tests completed at the same location by the same nurse on the same day.  2 positive, 2 negative.  For what it's worth.

I had friends fly back to STT from Colorado this week where they could not get find anyplace to get tested prior to their return home. Believe me, they tried.

Colorado is experiencing a surge in Covid cases.

They were there due to a family member's long illness and unfortunately, subsequent death and dealing with everything that involves.

They really made every effort to be tested but had to fly back without it.

Upon arrival they were told to self quarantine for 14 days and given a list of test sites on STT. 

They have gone in for testing and have been following quarantine protocol.

I wonder tho how many vacationing tourists would do the same? 

Here's what the BVI is requiring:

https://bvinews.com/govt-reduces-cost-of-covid-accessories-for-all-travellers/

@daveb722

My friend's co-worker and wife went to get tested because they didn't feel well. They went to the local centre and registered. When they were told that the wait to get tested was an hour, they left. A week later they both got emails saying they were positive.....this is the major problem with the testing. 

There certainly are flaws.  And also people who will try to fake results.  And testing upon arrival has all kinds of risks.  I haven’t heard about any kind of enforcement on the self quarantine.  Seems to me like everyone is trying to find a way to live with Covid and still keep the economy going.  What is going on in the states with positive cases and hospitalizations is concerning.  We would be in serious trouble here considering our already unstable healthcare.  

I was in town for the first time since early March yesterday and it was whiter than I thought it was going to be but I for sure saw tourists who clearly weren’t even trying to wear a mask correctly.  They had them around their ears but the whole mask was on their chin not covering their mouths or noses.  And this was in Mongoose Junction courtyard where there Were signs everywhere saying they needed to be worn properly at all times.  I saw no one enforcing though.  Those are the kind of visitors we don’t need.  

It oś my observation that STT gets a lot of tourism from Ohio and Michigan that are epicenters of pandemic at the moment. 

We were concerned about New Yorkers coming over in spring. Midwest is now 5 times worse than NYC. 

Phfizer vaccine should be available in December but it requires transportation and storage at -90F so will be super challenging for VI. 

Good night, 

I am curious, what is the actual procedure at the airport upon arrival?  Do they require incoming visitors to wait in line when they arrive to confirm test results or lack of test results? Are there separate lines or processes whether they have test results or not?  Is it a long process?  How is ( if at all) the quarantine enforced?  Is it just a voluntary quarantine that visitors are asked to sign? 

At STX, everyone arriving at the airport goes into the COVID Q.  If you have pre-registered on the VI web site with your test results and have the code they direct you into the fast Q to collect/confirm your code and collect your traveler screening form, about 30 seconds.  If you don't have a copy of the completed form you have to step aside and fill out the form.

If you have not pre-registered they direct you to the slow Q for additional screening, review of your test results, and presumably instructions for quarantine if you do not have test results.

@Scubadoo Thank you 

@dante

My brother visited a few weeks ago and wound up in the slow A (he'd been tested before he left but his results were delayed). 

They got his contact information and swabbed him and gave him information on how to contact them for results. The entire process to about 15 minutes and his American flight was pretty full.

Hewas here for 2 weeks and we never able to get the results from them before he flew home...

I've heard since then that they may direct you to a lab in Beeston Hill (on STX) for testing, but don't know if that's accurate.

@dante

My brother visited a few weeks ago and wound up in the slow A (he'd been tested before he left but his results were delayed). 

They got his contact information and swabbed him and gave him information on how to contact them for results. The entire process took about 15 minutes and his American flight was pretty full.

He was here for 2 weeks and we never able to get the results from them before he flew home...

I've heard since then that they may direct you to a lab in Beeston Hill (on STX) for testing, but don't know if that's accurate.

A couple weeks ago, into STT, we had negatives 5 or less days before arrival.  Tests in hand, dealt with the V.I. portal, wife went left and they ushered me right because the V.I. portal hadn't sent me the permissive email that the wife had received.  It took me less than 2 minutes to scratch out the form they wanted filled in, and we were off.  It's not particularly burdensome.  

I want to be positive about the DOH but it's so hard with the government here.  I signed up for notifications for the current covid results.  At first almost everyday, just  randomly throughout the day, but for the most part I received a text with the days current results.  Since the reopening, it's sporadic, days go by without anything.  I also have the site bookmarked.  Some days, the test results are there first thing in the morning, then somedays, late at night.  Why can't this be consistent.  Each day around the same time, results update, transmitted to the company sending the text messages, then sent to me.  Pretty simple in 2020?  Honestly, I think they wait until they get the results they want, no other reason it's not updated daily around the same time.

They consolidate all the test results from all the test facilities -- not all report daily and at a specified time.