Covid surging in Bonaire

[scubadada]

I flew United back to the US from Mexico on Tuesday. I was scheduled to take an antigen test at a hospital there but a few weeks prior to the return United sent a link for Abbott Lab BinaxNOW rapid test which we took. Self-administered with a proctor, results are then uploaded the night before the return flight to United. Buy the kits, bring them with you, take the test the required days/hours before the flight.

From Abbott's website:

BinaxNOW is a rapid test that detects COVID-19 antigens (the proteins that make up the virus) to help identify someone is currently infected. It is easy-to-use, provides fast results and can help healthcare professionals quickly identify infectious people so they can take measures to help prevent the spread of the disease to others.

Everything needed to perform the BinaxNOW antigen test is included in a credit-card-sized kit, which lets authorized healthcare providers (such as a school nurse) test quickly and easily.

The BinaxNOW test has been authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration through its Emergency Use Authorization process and is intended to identify antigen from SARS-CoV-2 in a nasal swab. For complete information on the BinaxNOW test, visit https://www.fda.gov/media/141570/download.

My impression is same as @tridacna Who qualifies as the proctor? How does this work in a foreign country for use for reentry?

 

[tursiops]

Good info to have! Where did this data come from? Bonaire by chance?

Yes, the data are posted daily on the Bonaire government website and FB page.
Unfortunately, the curves are going back up right now. I'll post an update in a few days.

 

[KDAD]

First hand experience from someone who ordered the Abbott Lab BIOX-NOW Rapid Antigen Test, self-administered the test under guidance of a proctor within three days of flying internationally to the US, and flew back from Mexico to the US on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021 via United Airlines.

NOTE: I did have a reservation at CostaMed in Playa del Carmen for a rapid antigen test but after making that appointment United Airlines sent a link for the Abbott Lab test which they recommended and accepted. That is what I used. Some details:

• Order the test from Abbott Lab/eMed less than 14 days of travel.
• Download the NAVICA app on your phone.
• Cost is $50 per person, two kits per person are provided in case you wan tone going down and coming back or you screw up a test.
• Within 3 days of return travel, take the test.
• Open your computer or device with a camera.
• Connect to the Abbott Lab proctor who guides you in swabbing, monitors the test kit through the camera while processing, and reads the result over the camera. Our proctor was in the Philippines but watched the entire procedure over the computer camera for the 15 minutes it takes to process the sample.
• If you are under the age of 18, like my daughter, have the guardian (me) administer the test.
• Test results are available immediately on the NAVICA app.
• Contact United Airlines and upload the results from NAVICA to them.
• Fly home.

I and three people with me all used it to fly from Mexico to the US. Anything in posts above contradicting this may not be accurate.

Let me know if any questions.

 

[tursiops]

First hand experience from someone who ordered the Abbott Lab BIOX-NOW Rapid Antigen Test, self-administered the test under guidance of a proctor within three days of flying internationally to the US, and flew back from Mexico to the US on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021 via United Airlines.

NOTE: I did have a reservation at CostaMed in Playa del Carmen for a rapid antigen test but after making that appointment United Airlines sent a link for the Abbott Lab test which they recommended and accepted. That is what I used. Some details:

• Order the test from Abbott Lab/eMed less than 14 days of travel.
• Download the NAVICA app on your phone.
• Cost is $50 per person, two kits per person are provided in case you wan tone going down and coming back or you screw up a test.
• Within 3 days of return travel, take the test.
• Open your computer or device with a camera.
• Connect to the Abbott Lab proctor who guides you in swabbing, monitors the test kit through the camera while processing, and reads the result over the camera. Our proctor was in the Philippines but watched the entire procedure over the computer camera for the 15 minutes it takes to process the sample.
• If you are under the age of 18, like my daughter, have the guardian (me) administer the test.
• Test results are available immediately on the NAVICA app.
• Contact United Airlines and upload the results from NAVICA to them.
• Fly home.

I and three people with me all used it to fly from Mexico to the US. Anything in posts above contradicting this may not be accurate.

Let me know if any questions.

View attachment 643339

Thank you for this.
It is worth noting that tests to get back into the US seem to be popping up nicely and affordably, lots of places.

The BIG issue with getting to Bonaire right now is the requisite 4h-old antigen test before departing for Bonaire. No one has figured out how to meet this requirement except by flying through Aruba or Curacao -- and getting the test there, and perhaps needing an overnight stay to do it. The problems are (1) on-airport US sites like XpresCheck do not offer the antigen test, and (2) do not open early enough to give you the test even if they provided it. It doesn't really matter, of course, because there are no flights scheduled to Bonaire from US airports until June 6 except for AA from MIA, and they keep cancelling those. This is Catch-22: no flights without the test, but why arrange the tests if there are no flights? To top it off, Bonaire says "no at-home tests" and everything must be administered professionally. So forget the little kit from Costco.

It seems the doors will be closed to US flights until the Netherlands drops the antige-test requirement for Bonaire. You can track all this in near-real-time at Bonaire Expats and Visitors COVID-19 Discussion

 

[Kha]

Confirmed....XpressCheck is useless for a Bonaire run. On the bright side, AA just cancelled all MAR flights out of MIA to BON, so we're now going through CUR which has in airport antigen testing that BON will accept.

Where did you see that AA has cancelled all flights to Bonaire from Miami? Not saying I don't expect it but we have been booked for Mid March since they first opened up to direct flights and we have not been notified of a cancellation. Obviously, if there is not some way to satisfy the four hour rule they will cancel but we've not heard anything.

 

[Kha]

Never mind. Just checked my AA account and it is now showing no leg from MIA to BON.

 

[uncfnp]

Confirmed....XpressCheck is useless for a Bonaire run. On the bright side, AA just cancelled all MAR flights out of MIA to BON, so we're now going through CUR which has in airport antigen testing that BON will accept.

Who confirmed a molecular test was not sufficient?

 

[tursiops]

Who confirmed a molecular test was not sufficient?

I assume he asked XpresChek if their rapid test was an antigen test and they said no.
It is Bonaire that says an antigen test is required.

From Q&A's reizigers - Crisiswebsite van het Openbaar Lichaam Bonaire

 

[hroark2112]

Confirmed....XpressCheck is useless for a Bonaire run. On the bright side, AA just cancelled all MAR flights out of MIA to BON, so we're now going through CUR which has in airport antigen testing that BON will accept.

Me too. When are you going?

 

[dmaziuk]

I assume he asked XpresChek if their rapid test was an antigen test and they said no.
It is Bonaire that says an antigen test is required.

From Q&A's reizigers - Crisiswebsite van het Openbaar Lichaam Bonaire
View attachment 643592

It says they want both: a PCR test taken within 72 hours before arrival and a rapid test taken within 4 hours of boarding the plane if traveling form a "high-risk" country. Which actually makes sense as far as the testing goes; logistically it's a bit of a non-starter.