Jamaica Travel Restrictions Get Tighter for Visitors

The Caribbean island of Jamaica tightened up their COVID-19 travel restrictions for visitors, reducing the time frame in which travelers need to get tested for the virus. Currently, Jamaica requires tourists to present proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR or Antigen test within 10 days of travel to the island. The new restrictions, which take effect beginning March 10, 2021, reduced the testing timeframe from 10 days to three days.

Beginning March 4, 2021,  all visitors to Jamaica, 12 years of age and over, regardless of nationality, will be required to present a negative COVID-19 PCR or Antigen test result to check in for a flight to Jamaica.

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has Jamaica at a ‘Level 4: Very High Level of COVID-19’ and encourage all Americans to avoid travel to the country. The CDC also requires international travelers to have a negative COVID-19 test prior to boarding their return flight to the United States. 

Jamaica currently accepts the following kinds of COVID-19 tests: 

• A Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction Test (RT-PCR)
• A Nucleic Acid Amplification test (NAA)
• An RNA or molecular test
• An Antigen test

It’s also important to note that the testing center or medical laboratory must be accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP) or registered by the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) for the test to be accepted. 

Jamaica Travel Authorization 

Everyone visiting Jamaica need to complete a Travel Authorization document during check in and boarding pre-flight. Passengers will not be able to board their flight without it. The document is not required to book your flight initially. You can obtain the document HERE. 

The new COVID-19 testing protocols comes as a result of a spike in cases in the country since the start of February 2021. In total, the country has seen more than 23,000 cases with more than 400 deaths as a result of the virus. 

Jamaica is one of the most popular Caribbean islands for tourism with more than 4 million people visiting the island each year. Frequent cruisers have no doubt visited the island as ports like Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Falmouth, Port Antonio, and Kingston see significant cruise traffic. 

Have you cruised to Jamaica? Let us know in the comments!