BASSETERRE, St. Kitts -THE Government of St. Kitts and Nevis has further extended the travel ban for persons from three countries due, in large measure, to the three more contagious variants of the Coronavirus.
Acting on the advice of the Federal Ministry of Health, the Government, through the National Covid-19 Task Force, extended the ban for a further 30 days, with effect from Thursday (Apr. 8).
The ban has been imposed on persons travelling from the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil, where the variants discovered there have been more contagious and deadlier.
Surprisingly, though, the Government has not imposed a similar restriction on persons travelling from the United States, where all three variants have been found, along with other newly discovered strains of the virus.
“The decision to further extend the travel advisory comes as a result of the Government’s firm interest in continuing to protect our borders and the health and wellness of our citizens and residents in response to the three new variants of the COVID-19 virus that have originated in Brazil, South Africa and the UK. The UK variant of the virus had been identified in a number of CARICOM territories since February.
“Since then, additional strains of the UK variant have also been identified in the UK and deemed as ‘variants under investigation’ (VUI), given their likelihood of evading some immunity from vaccination or prior infection,” the Government explained in a media statement.
Of particular concern is the new UK variant, which the Government noted that a mutation of the original virus and “is deemed to be far more transmissible and has a higher likelihood of death from the symptoms of COVID-19”.
However, the Government noted that persons who intend to travel from the aforementioned destinations are advised not to travel to St. Kitts and Nevis at this time.
“Moreover, such persons are reminded that travel into the Federation is controlled by the National COVID-19 Task Force and must be approved by the Ministry of National Security, following the process stipulated on the online platform www.knatravelform.kn,” the media statement read.
Additionally, the statement said: “The Federal Government again advises all citizens and legal residents returning from any of the aforementioned countries will not be denied re-entry into the country but must also process their travel requests through the online platform www.knatravelform.kn.”
