Palau (Koror) Diving Potentially Closed for 100 days

[gwklein]

Just got back from Palau. On Friday, November 5, the Chief of Koror State (sometimes called the King of Palau) died. It is tradition in Palau to mourn the chief for 100 days. As a result, all diving in the Koror State which includes most of the dive sites in Palau was shut down. The only diving allowed was in Peleliu and to the far north of Palau. Day boats in Koror were forced every day to take an 1 1/2 speed boat trip each way to do any diving. The tourist industry lobbied to exclude diving from the shutdown but was not successful. There is some hope that the diving ban will be lifted after the chief is buried sometime this week but the Queen of Palau (the chief's sister) is objecting to any break from tradition.

 

[Dan]

RIP to the Chief!

Oh boy! I’ll be in Palau in December on Palau Aggressor.

 

[gwklein]

I was on the Palau Aggressor as well. We were still able to do 24 dives but in a very small area. We did most sites multiple times. The crew did their best to try to work things out. Water was consistently 86 degrees with vis inconsistent.

 

[Dan]

I made @aquabluegreg awared about this news. He inquired from his contacts in Palau for more detail and learned that the diving ban period would be revisited after the Paramount Chief burial (Wednesday, November 24), two days from now.

I just came back from DEMA light in Las Vegas. I talked to some Palauans in Palau booth and United Airline booth a couple days ago. They didn’t know this news and had contacted their home for verification. The next day they pretty much verified the news from @aquabluegreg contacts.

The person in Aggressors booth didn’t know about it, but he showed us what looks like a trip video of @gwklein did.

I googled about it and this is what I found:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/islandtimes.org/paramount-chief-ibedul-yutaka-gibbons-pass-away-in-taiwan/%3famp

Waiting anxiously for what Bilung Gloria Salii, his sister and chief matriarch of Koror, would say after the funeral. Fingers crossed for lifting off the diving ban.

 

[Dan]

@aquabluegreg received a message from the manager of Fish -n-Fins on Palau that said as of Nov 24, all Palau dive sites are now open. The Paramount Chief’s funeral was held and diving is back to normal.

 

[Luca Brasi]

Let’s celebrate the life of the King with more diving?

 

[Dan]

I guess so.

Here’s a BBC news on Palau back in August 2020:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-53831063.amp

“In 2019, 90,000 tourists came to Palau, five times the total population. In 2017, IMF figures showed, tourism made up 40% of the country’s GDP.

But that was pre-Covid.

Palau's borders have been, in effect, closed since late March. It is one of the only 10 countries in the world with no confirmed cases (counting only countries that are full UN members, and excluding North Korea and Turkmenistan).
Yet, without infecting a single person, the virus has ravaged the country.
The Palau Hotel has been closed since March, and it’s not alone. The restaurants are empty, the souvenir shops are shut, and the only hotel guests are returning residents in quarantine….”

Now, over 15 months later, I would think they’d welcome us to dive there, especially since we’d be in a liveaboard, away from their people, during the entire 5 days between Covid tests.

 

[Dan]

A question to @gwklein
What kind of Covid test did you use before going home from Palau, PCR or Antigen? I hope it’s an Antigen test. If you got PCR test, do you know if the clinic there would do Antigen test also?

The reason I ask is starting next week, everyone going home would require to get negative Covid test within 24 hours. That would rule out PCR test. I’m hoping that they offer Antigen test there.

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Thanks

 

[gwklein]

A question to @gwklein
What kind of Covid test did you use before going home from Palau, PCR or Antigen? I hope it’s an Antigen test. If you got PCR test, do you know if the clinic there would do Antigen test also?

The reason I ask is starting next week, everyone going home would require to get negative Covid test within 24 hours. That would rule out PCR test. I’m hoping that they offer Antigen test there.

President Biden Announces New Actions to Protect Americans Against the Delta and Omicron Variants as We Battle COVID-19 this Winter | The White House

New Actions Aim to Get Americans Boosted for Even Greater Protection Against the Delta and Omicron Variants, Keep Schools and Businesses Open, and Help Quickly Respond to Surges if Needed During the Colder Months Today, President Biden will announce new actions to combat COVID-19 as the United...

www.whitehouse.gov

"...Strengthening global pre-departure testing protocols: Early next week, the United States will tighten pre-departure testing protocols by requiring all inbound international travelers to test within one day of departure globally, regardless of nationality or vaccination status. This tighter testing timeline provides an added degree of public health protection as scientists continue to assess the Omicron variant..."

Thanks

The hospital offered both types of tests. Since the only flight out of Palau at the time I was there went to the United States (Guam) the hospital was very aware of what was needed to get you on the plane. The hospital also was aware that Hawaii had different requirements for those that were staying there versus transiting thru so those people staying were told what they needed to stay in Hawaii. When you get to the hospital, there is a form for you to complete that asks all the relevant questions so the hospital can get you the correct test. Unless Palau has changed its requirement for a test after 5 days, you will have to get a test of the 5th day to take off the mandatory armband that indicates you are quarantining on the boat. You can't go anywhere else until the hospital removes your armband. You will then have to go back to the hospital to get a second test to be within the 24 hours to get back into the U.S.

It is probably to late for you to order self-test for antigen from NAVIC and eMed.com which I have used in other countries where COVID testing was not readily available. But for future information, these tests are self-administrated but proctored thru an on-line video (ZOOM-like) connection. It takes about 10 minutes to go thru the testing and then another 15 minutes of waiting for the results and then another 5 minutes for the proctor to explain how you will get the results by email. There are a couple of other companies that offer this self-administered tests that are approved by the CDC but I don't remember their names.

 

[Dan]

The hospital offered both types of tests. Since the only flight out of Palau at the time I was there went to the United States (Guam) the hospital was very aware of what was needed to get you on the plane. The hospital also was aware that Hawaii had different requirements for those that were staying there versus transiting thru so those people staying were told what they needed to stay in Hawaii. When you get to the hospital, there is a form for you to complete that asks all the relevant questions so the hospital can get you the correct test. Unless Palau has changed its requirement for a test after 5 days, you will have to get a test of the 5th day to take off the mandatory armband that indicates you are quarantining on the boat. You can't go anywhere else until the hospital removes your armband. You will then have to go back to the hospital to get a second test to be within the 24 hours to get back into the U.S.

It is probably to late for you to order self-test for antigen from NAVIC and eMed.com which I have used in other countries where COVID testing was not readily available. But for future information, these tests are self-administrated but proctored thru an on-line video (ZOOM-like) connection. It takes about 10 minutes to go thru the testing and then another 15 minutes of waiting for the results and then another 5 minutes for the proctor to explain how you will get the results by email. There are a couple of other companies that offer this self-administered tests that are approved by the CDC but I don't remember their names.

Thanks a lot @gwklein for this timely and helpful info!