Flight Cancelled

Airport was empty last time so queues probably won't be bad. I've seen planes come in same time where customs line was hour or longer pre covid.

How long does rapid test take for results?

https://www.diariolibre.com/actualidad/ … MG20401287

The idea has already been suspended. Unworkable. Would tale 4 to 5 hours to clear an average aircraft.

Random testing now?

Chaos. Imported cases the issue? Time to close borders again? But that stops tourism! No plan.

There is a video of airport arrivals all running to get out of the airport.  Will that be the normal?

Another well thought out response to the situation!

All we can do is sit back and watch, stay safe.

And now they have cancelled the rapid tests at airports!

Do you know why?

see post #282

And there was an incident in the airport, when those lined up in arrivals found out they had to be tested they ran! Literally, ran to get out!  No one will test and take the chance of going into  mandatory quarantine! 

And if that is the case, stay the hell where you are! Do NOT come here.

Arriving passengers should be randomly tested before passport control plus temp check for all passengers That's what they did at Madrid airport-no queues very quick.

Which airport with the incident sdq?

Santiago

They will require PCR tests to those who enter the country from Thursday

The information was given by Gustavo Montalvo, Minister of the Presidency

https://www.diariolibre.com/actualidad/ … JE20421080

The Minister of the Presidency, Gustavo Montalvo, reported that starting Thursday, all people arriving in the country will be required to have a PCR test of a maximum of five days prior.

Por fin,!

It solves nothing. Better than nothing. The test does not show infection during early  incubation and there are 5 days after to get infected too.

It is all PR. But it might defer some travellers.

No other measures announced to stem the rise of infections.

More testing is good but what will they do when greater spread is found?

If you are flying tomorrow... bit hard to comply

If you don't have test then supposedly you must test on arrival.  Then what?  Quarentine? 

And yes little else to help.  More testing - 6,000 a day.  Hospitals full.  Creating new beds yet a shortage of staff! 

One thing I did like was those with insurance through the AFP will have no co pays due to covid.

How many people will come with a test so back to original plan.

Part of the answer is don't travel anywhere at the moment.  Just like UK travellers going to Spain.  Then there's a spike in Spain and now you have to quarantine when you return  This is a global pandemic and anyone travelling for pleasure is totally nuts.  And if you do travel accept the consequences.

Absolutely spot on.

Yup!  Absolutely. You travel then you roll the dice.

Right now in the US it is taking 7-10 days to get results back. This will cause problems as well.

Total waste of time.  Incubation period can be anything from 2-14 days.  There is only one answer-  Unless you really really have to travel DON'T.  It is wrong and irresponsible.  All you do is to help spread the virus.

There clearly is some anxiety in government wanting to test incoming passengers.

I suspect they are now seeing plenty of newly imported cases in tourist areas in particular.

It takes time for governments to come to terms that health and social considerations are just if not more as important as economic ones.

We are fast reaching the point where travel between countries will be limited to that which is essential or heavily restricted.

DR is no different and it won't be able to live alongside this virus unless it gets it controlled and that will probably involve heavily controlled border entry in the weeks and months ahead along with a longer period of state of emergency with the new government.

https://www.arecoa.com/aeropuertos/2020 … ropuertos/

Just curious how they get results so quick with the rapid tests - they are accurate?

Takes 10 minutes

https://www.arecoa.com/aeropuertos/2020 … te-jueves/

Nothing here takes  10 minutes my friend. Processing  100 or 150 at once, stand in line take all your data, then do the test then wait for results then print out proof!  Then deal with the  results!

AND how many testing kits can they process at once? How many per hour? How many staff need to be there to do it?

Not that simple. Its a several hour wait  depending on number of people getting off that and other planes and processing!

Maybe in Santo Domingo airport right now but in Punta Cana more like only 20 or 30 people on flight. And I realize the DR clocks are broken!

They will probably need more security from people running! I am sure most will not expect to be tested.

Did you see the video of santiago airport? Easily  100 to 150 people all there in line and then they bolted! 

Regardless they are not going to handle this well.

Please post the link. There is nothing on line

No did not see the video and will continue to happen until people expect it or security in place.

Absolutely agree.  Theses were predominantly locals coming home who know the conditions if they had to quarentine. They were having none of it!

Few of the passengers who arrived in the country through the Las Americas International Airport (AILA) since last Thursday brought with them the Covid-19 PCR test, arguing for the most part, that they did not receive guidance that they had to come with the exam that they check the negative status of Covid-19 to enter Dominican territory.

"I did not receive any information that in order to enter my country, I had to bring proof that I had been tested for the Covid-19," said several of the travelers consulted, according to Hoy.

The first checked flight arrived in the country at 7:53 in the morning from San Juan, Puerto Rico, with 27 passengers on board, and according to reports, none of them brought with them medical or laboratory documents from have been tested for the coronavirus and ended at three o'clock in the morning today, when the last flight arrived from New York City.

However, on the first day that the official measure came into effect, everything took place at the Las Américas airport without major inconveniences, with all passengers even offering due collaboration to airport authorities and medical epidemiologists.

In addition to taking the temperature, the doctors extracted a pint of blood from the travelers and through the use of a modern apparatus, analyzed one by one and determined by epidemiologists, possible possessors of the symptoms of the virus.

The spokesman for the Dominican Airports Company Siglo XXI (Aerodom), Luis José López, said that there was a great deal of receptiveness on the part of the passengers in allowing the authorities to test the Covid-19.

He indicated that there was also a lot of respect for the distance that passengers must keep from each other, and that the check-in process lasted less than the time that the authorities had projected from 10 to 13 minutes for each traveler.

"The vast majority of passengers were checked in record time of five and six minutes for which we thank God for the rapid development of the process and we hope that everything will continue the same this Friday," he said.

The government's disposition to require travelers to have been tested for the Covid l9 five days before arriving in the country, is for the purpose of preventing people affected by the disease from entering
Dominican Republic and contribute to the expansion of evil.

https://www.arecoa.com/aeropuertos/2020 … rueba-pcr/

Hahahahajaja  stories all over social media including videos of people walking in and no one even taking their health questionaire or anything.  What a load of hoooey.

They took a pint of blood? When I donate blood they take 500 mls. May every passenger is donating to the Blood Bank.

Crazy-of course they didn't take a pint of blood!!!!

maybe a  total of a pint between like  100 people???   

St Kitts and Nevis announced now they will not allow USA arrivals until Ocober.

Seems some of the islands are taking action to protect their tourist industry for high season.

Smart.

Unfortunately, the USA and indeed most of the Americas less Canada, have such rampant covid 19 that it is a wise move by countries with low case loads or wishing to control spread to close borders or at least restrict entries from the Americas. Travellers to and from DR are a big risk.

U.S. lifts global health coronavirus travel advisory

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-heal … SKCN2522TK

but....

.....and instead issued a raft of high-level warnings for individual countries.

The State Department issued updated country-travel specific alerts, including “Level Four: Do Not Travel” advisories for about 30 countries, including India, Russia, Bangladesh, Belize, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Haiti, Iran, Kosovo, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Honduras and Libya.

US Department of State: "Do not travel to the Dominican Republic due to health measures ..."

The US government marked the Dominican Republic in red for being one of the countries where tourists should not travel

https://listindiario.com/la-republica/2 … ounidenses

But the US should ban all travel to DR period