The Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands is hopeful that its entry into American Airlines’ preflight testing program will strengthen its efforts to minimize the spread of COVID-19 in the territory.
Governor Albert Bryan Jr., who recently called for pre-departure testing to make travel to the Caribbean healthier and easier, heralded the territory’s inclusion in the LetsGetChecked program to give more customers access to an at-home Preflight Testing Program (PCR) testing with an observation by a medical professional via a virtual visit.
“Since the beginning of our response to this pandemic more than nine months ago, we have worked overtime to ensure that we do everything we can to protect our residents and visitors. Throughout our efforts, American Airlines has been one of our major partners, and we are thankful that passengers across the U.S. mainland have another option to get tested before traveling to our islands,” said Gov. Bryan.
During the pandemic, American Airlines has continued operating service to the U.S. Virgin Islands – both St. Thomas (STT) and St. Croix (STX) – and is currently flying more than 50 weekly flights to St. Thomas from its hubs in Charlotte (CLT), Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), Miami (MIA), Chicago (ORD) and Philadelphia (PHL), as well as more than 20 weekly flights to St. Croix from Charlotte and Miami.
For travel beginning on Dec. 9, 2020, passengers traveling from the U.S. to the U.S. Virgin Islands will have access to the testing program. Testing must be completed within five days of departure.
“Through this initiative, we continue to demonstrate our commitment to keeping our residents and visitors safe and healthy during the coronavirus pandemic,” said Joseph Boschulte, commissioner of V.I. Tourism. “This easy-to-use, at-home solution adds another layer of protection, convenience and confidence for those traveling to the territory, allowing them to focus on their unique reasons for choosing the USVI.”
LetsGetChecked is an at-home coronavirus (COVID-19) test that incorporates a nasal swab and Preflight Testing Program lab analysis, offering convenient and secure results on average 48 hours after receipt in the lab.
Every traveler aged five or older who enters the territory, by air or sea, including anyone in-transit to another destination, is required to use the USVI Travel Screening Portal and submit a COVID-19 test result prior to travel, to avoid processing delays, enhanced health screening and/or mandatory self-quarantine.
For further information, visit www.usviupdate.com.
