Winter Sun: CDC Warns Against Aruba As the Island Heads To Level 4
At a time when Barbados, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands have tightened their entry requirements, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have added Aruba to the highest Level 4 “Do Not Travel” category, due to the Omicron variant.
Avoid Aruba this winter
When it’s cold and snowy outside, the thought of Caribbean beaches with their waving palm trees in the warm sunshine beckons. However, as the highly infectious Omicron variant does the rounds in the Caribbean, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have taken note.
In the latest, updated travel recommendations, the CDC has added the beautiful island of Aruba to its highest travel warning category of Level 4: “Do Not Travel.” This level indicates a “very high” level of COVID-19 transmission on the island, meaning Americans should avoid traveling to Aruba if at all possible.
The list is updated on a weekly basis, with Aruba being the latest destination added to the agency’s Level 4 category. Locations are classified Level 4 if there are more than 500 COVID-19 cases reported per 100,000 people in the last 28 days.
Travel to Aruba
The CDC’s advisory doesn’t mean people cannot travel to Aruba – it is just a warning. However, travelers heading to Aruba will need to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test, taken within 48 hours of departure, along with a completed, online Embarkation/Disembarkation card. According to the Aruba Tourism Authority, travelers will also be required to purchase Aruba Visitors Insurance.
However, the CDC’s travel warning comes at a time when several Caribbean islands have tightened their own entry requirements for travelers, including Barbados, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
Travel to Barbados
Travelers heading to Barbados are now allowed to either provide proof of a negative COVID-19 rapid test, taken within 24 hours of arrival on the island, or proof of a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of their arrival, according to the Barbados tourism website. Previously, visitors didn’t have the rapid test option.
Travel to Puerto Rico
As for Puerto Rico, that Caribbean island has also clamped down on its entry requirements and now requires all domestic travelers to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR or rapid test, taken within 48 hours of arrival on the island, regardless of their vaccination status. According to Discover Puerto Rico, unvaccinated travelers will also be required to quarantine for seven days on arrival, regardless of their negative test results.
Until this latest update, fully vaccinated visitors heading to the Caribbean destination did not need to get tested prior to travel. Also, unvaccinated travelers previously had a longer testing window, with no mandatory quarantine.
Any international travelers heading to a US territory will be required to show proof of a negative test taken within 24 hours of their departure. However, American travelers returning to a US state after visiting the islands are exempt from the requirement to get tested with one day of flying.
Travel to the US Virgin Islands
When it comes to the US Virgin Islands, the USVI Department of Tourism advises that all domestic travelers, regardless of their vaccination status, must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR or antigen test taken within 72 hours of travel. This shortens the previous, five-day testing window.
As the Omicron variant picks up speed around the world, it is probably a better bet to put off that sun break in the Caribbean until matters are more normalized, as hard as that may be.
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