Grenada Taking a More Cautious Approach to Reopening its Borders
Grenada’s Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell has announced a more cautious approach to the reopening of the country’s borders. In an address to the nation on Sunday, June 28, the Prime Minister said with daily reports of increased rates of infection, especially in the US, which is the main source market for Grenada, officials will continue to work on the finalization of protocols before the country begins to accept commercial flights.
The Prime Minister continued by saying that Health officials have tested and evaluated the protocols put in place for the protection of citizens and visitors and a number of areas have been identified for improvement. Therefore, for the immediate future, Grenada will only continue to welcome chartered flights under established protocols, which include testing before departure, testing upon arrival, and agreement to bear the cost of quarantine.
According to the Grenadian leader, the Government appointed COVID Sub-Committee is expected to wrap up its work at the end of July. Thereafter, the Government’s decision-making on matters such as protocols, regulations, quarantine, and testing, will be guided by a National Advisory Committee. The composition of this body will be announced subsequently.
So far, the Ministry of Health and the Grenada Tourism Authority (GTA) has trained over 1500 Tourism stakeholders in the new health and safety protocols for the industry; creating a new way of doing business. Both entities will continue this important training industry-wide.
Meantime, the Government of Grenada has been granting additional easements in the COVID-19 regulations to allow more and more businesses to operate, in keeping with established guidelines for the various sectors. From Tuesday, June 30, Grenadians will also enjoy extended freedom of movement daily, from 5 am to 11 pm while continuing to wear face coverings and practicing social distancing. Additionally, beaches are open to the public from 5 am-5 pm. Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique currently have no active cases of COVID-19 (as of June 18) with 23 total cases recorded.
The GTA with its launch of a new domestic Tourism campaign called Paradise at Home on Thursday, June 25, 2020, is encouraging locals to enjoy the special offers extended by the
participating accommodation sector and in turn, help the sector test its new health and safety guidelines.
For further information please visit the Government of Grenada webpage at
https://covid19.gov.gd/ or the Ministry of Health Facebook page at
Facebook/HealthGrenada.
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Media Contact
Ria Murray
Communications Officer,
Grenada Tourism Authority
rmurray@puregrenada.com
473 440 2001/2279
473 420 2557 (mobile)