Kralendijk – All travelers aged 12 years and older from the Netherlands and the US must take a PCR test and a self-test on arrival within forty-eight hours before departure to Bonaire from Wednesday, December 22, 2021. The travelers will receive a free self-test, they must register on the day of arrival at their holiday accommodation. If they test positive, they must make an appointment in isolation and with the Public Health Department to retest. Bonaire is tightening travel conditions to the island to delay the arrival of the omikron variant.

Due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, all high-risk countries will be equated with very high-risk countries from 22 December 2021. This also applies to the Netherlands and the US. From next Wednesday, all travelers from high or very high-risk countries will be have to perform a PCR test on the fifth day after arrival. This must be done at their own expense at a commercial testing company.

Unvaccinated travelers from high or very high risk countries are required to self-quarantine for five days. After that, they have to do a PCR test at their own expense at a commercial testing company, not at the Public Health Department. A traveler can only be released from quarantine with a negative test result. All travelers who test positive must be in isolation.

Delay arrival

It has become clear in recent days that the omicron variant is spreading faster than people thought. The Public Health Department stated a while ago that it is not a question of whether this variant will come to Bonaire, but when. With the Omicron variant spreading rapidly, the stricter travel conditions should delay the arrival of this variant to the island.

The department hopes that while waiting for the omikron variant, as many people as possible will get the corona jab and the booster jab. For example, Bonaire is better protected when the new variant appears on the island.

Government also says that at the moment not everything is known about the omikron variant as of yet. Scientists do know that this variant spreads two to three times faster than the delta variant. This means that the pressure on the hospital and the rest of the healthcare sector can increase considerably when the new variant is on Bonaire.