Covid surging in Bonaire

[tursiops]

So if you test positive (on the pretravel PCR?) you just present a recovery certificate from the previous 6 months and you are good to go?

OK, I see your confusion. If the positive test is followed by recovery and you have proof of that, you are ok.

 

[uncfnp]

OK, I see your confusion. If the positive test is followed by recovery and you have proof of that, you are ok.

The way I read it is if you test positive on the required entry PCR test you may still enter if you have proof of recovery from a recent infection. The 6 month time frame however through me and if true why not just require the proof of recovery without the test, similar to the US entry requirement. The US (CDC) does not recommend covid testing after a recent infection for the very reason that you can test positive but not be a true infection nor contagious.

 

[timetraveler]

5 day testing requirement will start on Sept 1.

Thank you for posting this, TabeaK. I arrived in Bonaire this afternoon and have been wondering why no one was at the airport to make appointments for the 5th day test.

 

[Outbound]

Extra test voor Amerikaanse reizigers geldt niet bij verblijf van 7 dagen |

no extra test for seven-day stays. This link should translate to English.

Unfortunately, this isn't true with regards to the NAAT test on day five. I confirmed this with the public health department yesterday via an email exchange.

I also confirmed that the test is free if done at the health department, but it can be done via a private testing company at the customer's expense. We'll have to see how it goes once the new program goes into place next week, but some visitors may opt to spend the $125 out of pocket in order to not deal with what likely will be a clusterfack at the health department when 300-odd Americans all have to get tested Thursday of every week. My wife and I are trying to decide if we want to pay the extra $250 plus whatever location fee a private company charges (it's $120 for Bon Bida Bonaire to do it, split amongst however many people want to go in on it) or do it for free and deal with the wasted time. Since we already have to get an antigen test at $25 each to return, that's $50 versus $300+.

 

[cleomagic]

We are headed to Bonaire in 3wks. For coming home, we are bringing with us 4 eMed test kits (2 for the each of us), so we can have a little more control over when we take the test to come back the States.

Here is the link: eMed | Airline Travel

Since we are going to be in Bonaire for 2 weeks, then we will have the "fun" of taking the free antigen test 5 days after arriving.

 

[TabeaK]

Unfortunately, this isn't true with regards to the NAAT test on day five. I confirmed this with the public health department yesterday via an email exchange.

I also confirmed that the test is free if done at the health department, but it can be done via a private testing company at the customer's expense. We'll have to see how it goes once the new program goes into place next week, but some visitors may opt to spend the $125 out of pocket in order to not deal with what likely will be a clusterfack at the health department when 300-odd Americans all have to get tested Thursday of every week. My wife and I are trying to decide if we want to pay the extra $250 plus whatever location fee a private company charges (it's $120 for Bon Bida Bonaire to do it, split amongst however many people want to go in on it) or do it for free and deal with the wasted time. Since we already have to get an antigen test at $25 each to return, that's $50 versus $300+.

Could you clarify the outcome of your email exchange? I am still confused. So, if we stay for 7 days and arrange for a private test on days 4,5 or 6 - which we need to do anyway to return to the US, we do not need to do this additional free public health test, provided we share our test results with the public health department?

Which kind of test satisfies Bonaire? The public announcements and website articles all randomly switch between PCR and antigen…

I mainly want to avoid having to do two tests in the same day. From reports on Bonaire Facebook groups one cannot take the public health test as an extra test as one will not get results back.

 

[TabeaK]

„Exit Test“ not „extra Test“

 

[tursiops]

The public announcements and website articles all randomly switch between PCR and antigen…

I think you are misreading the information. NAAT (PCR is one type of NAAT) is required for entry, antigen is required at the 5-day point for very high risk countries (like the US), and the US requires antigen within 72h of departure for the US for reentry.

So, for US folks staying longer than a week, Bonaire requires BOTH NAAT and antigen (at different times), but the US requires only antigen.

Best to avoid articles and random websites, and stick with the info on boanirecrisis.com and its associated FaceBook page for official info.

The way I read it is if you test positive on the required entry PCR test you may still enter if you have proof of recovery from a recent infection. The 6 month time frame however through me and if true why not just require the proof of recovery without the test, similar to the US entry requirement. The US (CDC) does not recommend covid testing after a recent infection for the very reason that you can test positive but not be a true infection nor contagious.

The Dutch version of the bonairecrisis website does not have the confusing statement about testing positive:

 

[TabeaK]

I am aware of the testing types and requirements, however, the Bonaire Crisis Website infographic shows that the day 5 test for travelers from very high risk countries is supposed to be a NAAT (nucleic acid amplification test) PCR.

PCR is a type of NAAT, there are a handful others - like the ID-NOW for example, that do not use classic PCR (which takes a while), but still rely on the virus genetic sequence amplification procedure.

But people keep posting that the 5 day test on Bonaire is an antigen test - ???

Do we essentially need to pay for yet another PCR on day 5 in Bonaire? That result could then also be used to re-enter the US, but these tests are much more costly and I am not convinced the turnaround time in Bonaire is going to be fast enough...

 

[ReadyDiverOne]

Sorry to beat this dead issue, but I remain confused: if staying 7 days or less, must one get the new Bonaire 5-day test?