For the restart of the cruise season, Minister of Tourism Carlos James said the hope is to get vendors on board in the bubble, but they must be fully vaccinated.
“Those who are not vaccinated will not be allowed to sell to the visitors as the government is attempting to control their movement and also the safety of locals.”
James said once the vendor has met the requirement for the bubble, they will be able to come into the site to ply their trade, thus allowing them to continue making a living from the sector.
Taxi Drivers At AIA
Speaking on WEFM last Thursday, Minister of Health St Clair Prince said there are new protocols for taxis at AIA.
“As of July 23, only fully vaccinated taxi drivers can operate at the Argyle International Airport”.
Prince says there are 350 registered authorized taxi drivers in the state, of which 31 on the mainland and 13 in Bequia are fully vaccinated.
Currently, there are 44 out of 350 registered taxi drivers who are fully vaccinated. Prince said it would be in the interest of operators to get vaccinated.
CMO on Taxi Drivers
Recently Chief Medical Officer Dr. Simone Keizer-Beache said that efforts to engage taxi drivers related to vaccines and the Covid-19 protocols are ongoing as visitors increase demands to be transported only by vaccinated drivers.
According to Dr. Keizer-Beache, they are looking into having some designation between unvaccinated and vaccinated taxi drivers so that people can choose.
Within CARICOM, there is an emphasis on vaccinated passengers. The CMO said this is to ensure that the people interacting with tourists are also vaccinated.
A July 25 report showed that 25,603 persons had been vaccinated, 15,711 have received their first dose, while 9,982 the second.
There have been 2,280 cases and 12 deaths on the island since the start of the pandemic.
