Health Protection Agency (HPA) has stated individuals travelling to islands can get their PCR tests done free of charge from flu clinics.
Speaking at a press conference, Fathimath Ana from HPA’s Vaccine Cluster noted the new guideline issued for travel mandates PCR tests for individuals travelling from a region or island with a COVID-19 positivity rate above 5%. She said such individuals can get their PCR tests done free of charge from any flu clinic.
In the travelling guideline released on April 15, HPA revealed all individuals can travel without quarantine to islands where 60% of the population have completed their vaccine dosage. Individuals who have had two weeks passed since receiving the second dose of the vaccine can travel freely to all islands, even if 60% of the island’s population is not vaccinated. However, if they are travelling from an island or region where COVID-19 positivity rate is above 5%, they must present a negative PCR test before departure. Meanwhile, children who are not eligible to receive the vaccine can also travel without quarantine upon a negative PCR test.
There are currently no islands where 60% of the population have received the second dose of the vaccine. However, there are 120 islands where over 60% of the population have received the first dose of the vaccine.