Published 5 May 2021
Basseterre
Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
Grenada News
by Linda Straker
- Mixed group that cannot be separated will be treated as unvaccinated
- Health officers at Ports of Entry can refuse suspicious documents presented
- Groups include family members from same household, friends or strangers travelling together
Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Shawn Charles has explained that although there is now a policy that fully vaccinated persons entering the island will only spend 48 hours in quarantine, people travelling as part of a group with unvaccinated people must comply with the protocol that requires testing on the 5th day.
“There are persons who are not vaccinated, and they do not carry the same level of protection against the disease. That is why if you have a mixed group and they cannot be separated, they have to treated as unvaccinated,” Charles said, explaining the rationale for classified some vaccinated people as unvaccinated. Groups include family members from the same household, friends, or strangers travelling together.
“We examine all vaccine cards at ports of entry and our health officers have the right to refuse that document if they think it’s not authentic. In addition, any document we believe that is not authentic, we will follow up with the issuing country, with the issuing agency, while that person remains in quarantine,” he said.
“We also test all these individuals; these individuals get a PCR test on arrival,” he said, confirming that the cards that are issued by Grenada can also be subject to scrutiny by other states, and once an inquiry is made, the answer will be provided easily because the names of all individuals who receive the Covid vaccine is logged into a system.
“Questions as to whether someone from Grenada is vaccinated or not, they can simply make a call to us,” he advised.
More than 13,000 citizens have already received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine while a little more than 3,000 have received both doses.
