Covid surging in Bonaire
- Thread starter tursiops
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
timetraveler
Contributor
There is a 30 minute turn-around PCR testing site near the Miami airport. We're planning to use it this coming Friday because we also have an overnight in Miami before flying out on Saturday. I can't vouch for the site from personal experience at this time, but for what it's worth, check it out at https://www.bodyk.net/drive-thru-testing/
TabeaK
Contributor
Thanks! Testing slots are unfortunately not conducive to arriving late a night Friday and leaving on an early flight... Plan is still to test at home and hope that results are back in time...
I just noticed that the Bonaire Crisis website now lists the US as "very high risk," meaning all people arriving from the US will now need to take a NAAT test in Bonaire on day 5 after arrival. I'm assuming that Day 1 is the actual day of arrival, right? That means that for a Saturday to Saturday stay, I suppose fully vaccinated people could just the Wednesday NAAT test in Bonaire as their test for return to the US as well, so not the end of the world. Except that NAAT tests are more expensive than the rapid antigen tests. So big thanks to all the unvaccinated who helped push the US into the very high risk category.
timetraveler
Contributor
My buddy and I are flying to Bonaire on Friday, August 28. I am angry that we have to waste one day of our dive trip getting a COVID test. But it isn't the Bonaire people or their government I'm angry with.
I just returned yesterday and will post a trip report, but before the trip I took an RT-PCR and the next day took an ID-NOW (rapid molecular) as a backup, and then of course we took an antigen test the day before the return to the US. That's three tests, and if my trip had been a week later, with the US moved from the High Risk to the Very High Risk category, I guess I would have had to take yet another test five days after arrival (although as @Outbound mentioned, since my trip was only a week the 5th-day test could have done double duty for return to the US). With all this testing, Bonaire has to be one of the safest places in the world. If not the safest, I at least feel it's safer than somewhere like Mexico that doesn't have any requirements and safer than here in the US.
The test we took for returning to the US took five minutes at a drive-through site for which we had an appointment--less time than it takes to pick up tanks. It's really easy. It was $35 for an antigen test. Covid-19 test
timetraveler
Contributor
Where was your testing site on Bonaire? How do you make an appointment?
My buddy and I are going to need 3 tests: one PCR within 48 hours of departure for Bonaire; another PCR 5 days after we arrive and another test before leaving. (We're staying 3 weeks).
Did the link at the end of my post not work?
Similar threads
