THE government has imposed travel restrictions for persons travelling from various African countries following the emergence of a new Covid-19 variant of concern Omicron (B.1.1.529).
The Ministry of Health in a media release on Friday stated that the new measures came into effect at midnight on Friday.
The countries with restrictions are:
- Botswana; Eswatini (formerly Swaziland);
- Lesotho;
- Malawi;
- Mozambique;
- Namibia; South Africa; and
- Zimbabwe.
The ministry stated, “All persons who are not citizens or permanent residents of Trinidad and Tobago and have visited the countries listed above within a 14 day time period of their arrival in Trinidad and Tobago will not be allowed entry into Trinidad and Tobago at this time.”
Nationals of Trinidad and Tobago who have visited those countries, within a 14 day time period of their arrival in Trinidad and Tobago, will be allowed entry but they will be required to undergo mandatory state-supervised quarantine of no less than 14 days.
“The public is advised that the traveller will be required to bear all associated costs and therefore should make the necessary arrangements prior to travel. This applies to both vaccinated and non-vaccinated nationals travelling from the countries listed previously,” the ministry stated.
All other existing entry requirements, as indicated in the TTravel Pass website www.ttravelpass.gov.tt, must be adhered to, inclusive of a negative nasopharyngeal (nasal swab) RT-PCR test result taken no earlier than 72 hours prior to arrival in Trinidad and Tobago.
The Ministry of Health is strongly advising against all non-essential travel to the aforementioned affected areas.
The ministry stated that it will continue to assess the situation and advise the population of any adjustments to this Health Travel Advisory, as required.
