Covid surging in Bonaire

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I need help. My flight leaves tomorrow morning at 7am from Charlotte. I booked my appointment at Walgreens to get my PCR test so it would be within 24 hours and they just told me it would take 72 hours to get the results. From my understanding they will not accept a Antigen "Rapid Test" but that's all I can get at this point. Am I confused, screwed, or both?

Search for a location that specifically has the Abbott Labs ID Now test. I directly asked the Bonairian government and they said the ID Now test is fine. Double check and make sure they’re sending it through the ID Now machine for molecular test (as opposed to doing an antigen test).

I got a test on Sunday (to be safe) and another this morning (because I hate lines). Both were done at my local urgent care, I had results in 20 minutes, and out of pocket was $0.

EDIT: clarified that “sending it through” meant sending it through the ID Now machine as opposed to sending it out to a lab or doing an in house antigen test,
 
Search for a location that specifically has the Abbott Labs ID Now test. I directly asked the Bonairian government and they said the ID Now test is fine. Double check and make sure they’re sending it through for molecular test.
The whole point of the ID NOW test is that they have an on-site analysis machine...no "sending it through" anywhere. That is what takes the time.
 
I need to read thru the thread. I want to go soon.
 
We (the world!) are all waiting for the official announcement that fully vaccinated travelers from the US can enter Bonaire without additional testing.
Real. Soon. Now. The Netherlands government needs to say OK, apparently, which includes putting the US on the low-risk list.

Meanwhile, Bonaire is doing great on managing cases and getting its population vaccinated.
As of today (6 July):
upload_2021-7-6_11-39-40.png


Last vaccination report was July 1, with 14959 people having had at least one shot; that is 79% of the island population.
 
We just got back from a week in Bonaire and here's some stuff that might be helpful. We flew in on June 30th, 2021 and flew out on July 7th, 2021.

Pre-Testing for COVID
Prior to arrival, we each got two COVID tests - both were Abbott Labs ID Now molecular tests. One was done 72 hours prior to arrival, and the other the day before departure. We only needed one, but we wanted to skip the need for an antigen test on arrival. On arrival in Bonaire, there are a couple of different checks. First, you'll be filtered to another area if you need an antigen test on arrival. There was a definite line, but it looked like it might add an hour or so to entry. Because we had an ID Now test done the day before, we were filtered into another line where they checked out printed traveler health forms. They then compared our printed test results - so make sure both are printed and with you. The person checking our documents didn't know that that ID Now test fulfilled the requirements and consulted with someone else, and still though that it didn't qualify. This was despite the fact that other members of our group had the same test and had no problems. I showed the printout of the email I had from the Bonairian government and only then did she let us pass. There might be a small hiccup if you do the health declaration and haven't gotten your test results when you submit it. They just wrote down a few things by hand for the people in that situation.

After that, immigration and customs was pretty normal, aside from being asked to dip your mask to show your face to match the passport. People kept their masks on while collecting luggage and even while waiting for their rides.

Of note, you might be able to get away with a US based NAAT and then an US based antigen the day before flying - one of the staff at Dive Friends did that on the flight that landed 30 minutes prior to us, but this doesn't look like it is officially advertised as a method anymore.

On the Ground
AB Car Rental said they'd do a touchless rental, which wasn't the case. It was basically the normal process. Some people kept their masks on in the van to the rental, others did not. None of the staff there were wearing masks.

At Van Den Tweels, Bonaire Warehouse, and Zhung Kong - which were the only grocery stores we visited, some people were wearing masks. Maybe 15% of customers and a handful of staff - except at Zhung Kong where about half the staff were wearing masks. You could see some legacy elements of the higher COVID levels - like signs asking to mask up and even a customer registration sheet still tacked to the wall at Zhung Kong.

Bonaire still seemed a little bit sleepy - a lot of the retail stores weren't open, particularly those that rely on the cruise ship traffic. But, as we avoid downtown on cruise ship days, I can't say if this was that much different.

Eating
The good thing about Bonaire is that you're probably eating outside. That was the case for us. A very small number of customers were wearing masks, but I'd say it was less than the grocery stores. None of the wait staff were wearing masks, although we did see a few of the back of the house staff wearing masks. I guess this made me feel better, even though COVID is mostly airborne. The food on Bonaire, was, as always, delicious. I really should remember to buy more bottles of Yess from Joe's next time I'm down there.

Diving
Dive Friends still had stuff up about needing to schedule check-ins when we arrived, but we were told that was old information. There are still signs up talking about limiting the number of people in areas, but they're not needed. You can grab your own tanks, analyze them, and go. I think the biggest change was how Dive Friends changed up the rinse tanks at Cliff. We didn't do any boat dives.

There have been significantly fewer divers on the island. In previous years when we've gone around similar weeks we'd have STINAPA tags with numbers around 30-35k. Our numbers for this trip were in the 6900s. We miss getting the tags you put on your BC - if you're going, buy the tags online and print out the QR codes and just leave them in your car. This was was the first time we were ever asked about our tags - it was a day when Hurricane Elsa was causing the winds to come from the south and they were checking at Bachelor's Beach when we were there.

The reefs are in fine shape - maybe a bit siltier than before, which was unexpected. We noticed a lot more lionfish on the reef, probably because there are fewer divers killing them right now.

Other Notes
A few other surprises stood out. There seemed to be a lot greater presence of the police and customs around the island. When we left, customs was inspecting a lot of the cars before they were allowed to drop off passengers. We asked at the airport and were told it was a response to the passenger who was caught with 710 grams of cocaine at the airport at the end of May.

Return to the US
There are numerous places to get a COVID test to return to the US. An antigen test is fine. We did it through covidtestbonaire.com where it was $35 a person and we got a PDF emailed to us about 45 minutes after our test finished. You can pay with cash or credit card, but they charge a 5% surcharge for credit cards (which adds up when you're with a group). There are other places to get tests, like Bon Bida, but it seems like covidtestbonaire.com, across from the airport, was the cheapest.

We also had to fill out a health declaration form. We flew Delta and they emailed us a link to their COVID attestation form, which needed to be filled out ahead of time (we did ours about 40 hours before the flight). Annoyingly, they only sent this to the person who was logged in when the tickets were purchased - so if one person bought the tickets for everyone, then you're only getting one email about this.

At check in at the airport there were the usual security questions about your bags. A Delta representative asked for our COVID test results before we could board and I showed the PDFs on my iPad. Make sure to have these downloaded to your device because LTE data isn't always great at the airport.

Security was quick - which was a weird change - especially as it was busy time at the airport with American, Delta, KLM, and TUI flights all leaving within a few hours of each other. The terminal was cramped, but not terrible thanks to the expansion - which really just gave more room for shops. They added an outdoor seating area, which was open. It's a nice place to look at the planes. During my time, I didn't see many people go out there. Masks were required while waiting and there was probably 75% compliance with the rule.

Despite landing later in Atlanta, immigration was still a mess. Global Entry machines weren't working, and Atlanta doesn't do mobile passport anymore. Luckily, Global Entry got us through in about four or five minutes. Other members of our party in the normal immigration lines reported waiting for 75 minutes in a line with no social distancing. Customs was the usual customs in Atlanta, which is to say, the booths were not manned at that time.

But now, we're on to the domestic travel. Bonaire is still Bonaire. It still is wonderful. Even during the time of COVID, thanks to their not-so-oenerous but still secure entry protocol and great vaccination process, it was pretty normal once we were on the island. It felt great to get under the water down there again.
 
Not sure what the issue was, but our return on June 26 we waited 90 minutes to drop our bags for Delta. It was ridiculous and really ended our trip on a down note. We all know how there is no air flow in the check in area, UGGHHH. Once through that, security and customs went smoothly and quickly. Please, just add some fans to the Check in/Baggage drop area! And I am sympathetic that there is more for staff to check with the COVID test results and the attestation form, and one couple took about 20 minutes at check in because obviously something was wrong with their forms.

Definitely more lion fish on our trip also!
 
New Regulations announced, valid as of today, July 17.
Best summary can be found at List of Countries Published for Travel to Bonaire, but the original info is at BonaireCrisis.com.
The punch lines:
  • Countries have been categorized into four risk levels: very low, low, high, and very high. The US is in high (which I believe is appropriate given the large number of antivaxxers, especially in some regions of the country). Canada is also high-risk.
  • There is now a distinction between being fully vaccinated or not. (No info yet on how this will be assessed.)
  • For each risk level the rules are different for vaccinated versus unvaccinated.
  • For the US/Canada, if you are vaccinated, you now need only one NAAT/PCR test within 72h of arrival; no antigen test is needed when you arrive.
From the first link above, a summary:
upload_2021-7-17_19-52-3.png
 
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