Aruba has announced the country will officially reopen its borders and welcome inbound travel for visitors, from Bonaire and Curaçao on June 15, the Caribbean (with the exception of Dominican Republic and Haiti), Europe, and Canada on July 1, 2020, followed by visitors from the U.S. beginning July 10, 2020.
“The safety and well-being of our residents and visitors is our highest priority. As we prepare to reopen our borders, Aruba has put in place advanced public health procedures to reduce the risk of COVID-19 on the island,” said Prime Minister Evelyn Wever-Croes, in a statement. “We have taken careful and deliberate steps to assess the current situation and make certain it is as safe as possible and appropriate to begin the reopening process.”
Aruba considered a range of factors in the reopening decision-making process, including local containment, gradual easing of on-island restrictions, and stringent health standards in place, with the latter focusing on new health and safety protocols being implemented island-wide, with a heavy emphasis on tourism and hospitality businesses to ensure visitors feel safe.
Travelers will be required to follow a new embarkation and disembarkation process to enter the country:
- All travelers wear a mask while in-flight to Aruba.
- While masks will not be required in Aruba, the government strongly encourages visitors to have their mask handy for situations where social distancing proves difficult.
- All travelers not showing documentation indicating a negative PCR test result prior to travel to Aruba as a part of the ED card process—available online as of June 25, 2020—will receive a mandatory PCR test at the Airport when arriving in Aruba, at the visitor’s expense, followed by a mandatory 24-hour quarantine at the travelers’ accommodations while test results are assessed.
- All travelers showing documentation indicating a negative COVID-19 test result as part of the ED card process, will receive a temperature check and health interview by a medical professional.
- If the temperature check and health assessment are clear, no further testing or subsequent 24-hour quarantine is needed.
The Aruba Airport Authority has worked with the Department of Public Health and followed World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines to implement numerous measures such as screening, capability to PCR test visitors upon arrival, temperature checks, on-site medical professionals, social distance markers, additional shields and safeguards, mandatory PPE training for all staff, and more.
In addition to social distancing, Aruba is placing temporary capacity limits on some of the more popular tourist destinations to decrease the flow of visitors at peak times in more heavily trafficked areas, without limiting overall access.
Meanwhile, the Aruba Health & Happiness Code outlines stringent cleaning and hygiene standards that are mandatory for all tourism-related businesses throughout the country. This protocol will ensure tourism businesses adhere to the strict guidelines for health, sanitation, and social distancing protocols. Each business will go through a checklist of new rules and regulations on how to operate in a COVID-19 world. Upon completion, businesses will be inspected by the Department of Public Health and receive a Code Gold Certification once approved.
For more information, including protocols if your clients are showing symptoms and/or test positive for COVID-19 while in Aruba, visit aruba.com.
