The United States has issued a level three travel advisory to its citizens travelling to Jamaica. A level three advisory, the second-highest level, means travelers should avoid all non-essential travel.
In a statement released on January 22, the US embassy in Jamaica urged Americans to reconsider travel to the island due to safety measures and COVID-related conditions. It also urged Americans to increase caution while on the island due to heavy crime in some areas.
The US Embassy advised that effective January 26, all airline passengers to the United States must provide a negative COVID-19 viral test result that was done within three calendar days of travel.
Alternatively, travelers to the U.S. may provide documentation from a licensed health care provider of having recovered from COVID-19 in the 90 days preceding travel.
Jamaica’s three biggest tourist markets the US, United Kingdom and Canada have all announced protocols requiring all travellers to present negative COVID tests before being allowed entry. The UK and Canada require PCR testing, while the United States accepts both PCR and antigen tests.
The government has started talks with several stakeholders to ramp up COVID-19 testing across the island in light of the new requirements.
A special task force has also been named to spearhead efforts to boost Jamaica’s COVID-19 testing capacity.
