Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Oct 18, 2025

8th day COVID-19 test for tourists under review

8th day COVID-19 test for tourists under review

In an effort to bring down the associated costs of COVID-19 testing to tourists, as well as reducing the number of tests to be administered, Minister for Health and Social Development, Honourable Carvin Malone (AL) said the administration is working to review the 4th COVID-19 test requirement.

This comes after Premier and Minister of Finance, Honourable Andrew A. Fahie (R1) on October 26, 2020, announced that the VI government would require tourists to take a total of 4 tests before they are allowed unrestricted movement in the territory.

However, the announcements have since sparked concerns that the Government’s COVID-19 PCR protocols may be excessive and would deter prospective tourists from even considering the Virgin Islands as a destination.


Honourable Carvin Malone (AL) has said that Government cannot jump on ideas solely because it is being popularly supported or proposed by the VI community.

Concerns over the number of COVID-19 tests


According to the Health Minister, during a Tuesday, October 27, 2020, press conference alongside the Premier, while the 14-day quarantine is not feasible to build a tourism product as determined by medical professionals, he said reducing it to four days means more requirements.

“There's a requirement that the test that is going to be accompanied on the eighth day is to make sure that we reduce the percentage of possible occurrence of the virus. That seems to be the most concern that we have in terms of the number of tests,” he said.

“We are going to look at this, but it must be looked at by the medical professionals, we cannot arbitrarily just say well we don't want an 8-day test because we don't feel it is necessary, we might be doctors overnight but epidemiologists we are not.”

The Minister said, therefore, the administration will have to consider the science behind the COVID-19 virus and determine what risk percentages the Government is willing to allow in the territory.


Health Minister Hon Carvin Malone (AL) said while a 14-day quarantine is not feasible to build a tourism product as determined by medical professionals, he said reducing it to four days means more requirements.

Gov’t will listen, but medical team will decide – Hon Malone


“If our citizens are telling us that it could be looked at in other ways that we can implement the safety of it, we are prepared to look at it and have our professionals look at this, not the politicians, not the leaders but to have the medical team look at what may well be best.”

The Minister warned; however, that the Government cannot jump on ideas solely because it is being popularly supported or proposed by the VI community.

“If we have an outbreak tomorrow the same people who would be looking critically at the measures put in place, will be the very same ones that will turn around the criticism in terms of, what have you done.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
×