Phase 2 Re-entry

https://bvi.gov.vg/media-centre/pha...wApMPK65ly6meE0BAVFSc2REQpz2sjH22w1xKl1A

It appears to me that the process for getting admission is this:
1) Book a flight or at least have a flight number and travel date in mind
2) Set up your account for the process online then complete the form with travel and personal information
3) Wait for confirmation

Can anyone tell me if this appears correct to them?

And pay $3500 to not stay in your own place.

The email address (bvireentry@gov.vg.) on their website portal where you can ask questions is coming up as not valid.

the normal domain is https://bvi.gov.vg so maybe try bvireentry@bvi.gov.vg

Gary, unless you own property, are a long-time resident or have a valid work permit and job, this is not for you yet, as I understand it. And, as Malcolm says, you will need to quarantine for two weeks.

Yeah, not looking to gain permission to enter and then pay $3,500 to stay somewhere other than our home on Jost for two weeks - right there with you Mal!

It looks like we will now lose a 4th rental season at our property. It took us 2 1/2 seasons to rebuild, we rented some until COVID-19 shut us down, and now another season possibly lost. OY!

Crazy, Crazy World

RW ...thanks I saw that too. I own a house in Long Bay so no problem there. Not happy about the quarantine and the fees but I have a lot of work to do.
JASON ...thanks for the tip on the email address. My mistake was to include a "." at the end of the address. The result of how I cut and pasted it.

FYI - you can quarantine for free at the govt. facilities until 30 September.

Thanks J..but we need and want to get back to CRC. Hoping the next faze will at least allow that. Seems things are just getting worse..folks asking to borrow rent $. I dont know how some folks are hanging on. Things are not exactly rosy here..bad air every day from the fires but at least we are safe from those and we are better off than many. Thing is we can get tested easily and quickly here in Sonoma but there is no point if it wont get us into the BVI's without all this $$ and hoop jumping. Also wonder when, and if, they will ever get the ferries running again.

I wouldn't expect the ferries to open this year. I think all the entry will be via the airport at Beef because there is room there to do the health screening.

The odd thing to me is that the government has not put the Phase 2 immigration order into the Gazette. I was hoping it would get formally published and would contain an end date. When the Phase 1 order was Gazetted, it has September 1 as the end date so I was hoping for that for Phase 2 but nothing so far. Technically, I don't think it's an official immigration order until the Gazette is published but maybe Peter knows better how that works.

Jason: Yes, the Hotel California. You can check in but...

If I have looked up the numbers correctly, BVI currently has 37 active covid-19 cases. St Thomas has 103 active cases. When you look at the number of cases per capita, BVI is 1.13 cases/1000 and St Thomas is 0.98 per thousand. Currently you have a better chance of bumping into someone in the BVI that has covid vs. St Thomas so I wonder who the BVI thinks they are protecting by not running the ferries. On paper they're protecting the USVI.

Actually... I screwed it up. I got the wrong population of St Thomas. The St Thomas number is actually 1.99 per thousand.
As Rosanna Danna used to say... "never mind".

Wasn't that Emily Latella?
:-)

Well crap... I've screwed up everything. You are right - it was Emily Latilla on "Weekend Update". One of my favorites:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZLeaSWY37I

Hi Jason, the only thing I know is the items are already gazetted only curfew times have changed for life in the BVI the September 1st entry was gazetted at start of August, nothing has changed in this regard. Well thats my take on it.

The Premier was on JTV tonight chatting and it brought confidence to me for the first time in a very long time, November 1st was marked in till this outbreak but if the cluster is taken under control by mid October I think they will announce borders opening schedule ,I know this doesn't help people booking ahead but it does bring some hope.

I don’t think borders will open for tourists by November - am I wrong?

I think the issue between USVI and BVI is not the per capital or per thousand but rather the inadequacies of BVI healthcare - simply a lack of hosptial beds for critical care.

I agree. Plus, it does the BVI's no favor if we fail to recognize that THEY are responsible for their own territory. The US government and the tourist industry and charter boat industry are not belongers in the BVI. It was beyond obvious in St. Thomas that re-opening to tourism had the side effect of importing more COVID-19 along with US tourist dollars. OOPS, response to that was to squeeze tight again. Who would argue that the BVI would somehow be different ?

Winterstale I wouldn't give up hope yet, but you might have to fly into EIS to begin with

Sleepy Chef,
Curious as to why you think there may be hope for 11/1? I did book my flight to fly into Beef Island, but with no mention yet of tourism and 14 day quarantine in full effect, what hope do we have, with less than 60 days out? i am very interested as I am already booking elsewhere, spoke with charter company who asked me to wait two more weeks and check back, but she did not sound hopeful either.....

As I stated above the interview last night that only had about 350 views instead of the 6.5k for announcements gave me hope, he mentioned 1st November,

Well....as long as there isn’t a 14 day quarantine? I am cool with flying into EIS as long as we can find a flight from STT.

If they impose a 14 day pre-charter quarantine, we won’t be able to go....

DO you have a link for that , would love to watch and have not had luck googling it.

Manpot - Check flight to EIS (Beef Island). I have seen some pretty reasonable fares, especially if you book your trip SFO-SJU and then book SJU to EIS separately. Much better option than having to deal with ferries (assuming they are running again at some point) and customs at Roadtown.

(Fires and smoke getting better here in Marin lately, thank goodness)

Winterstale:

There's always VI Airlink from STT to EIS. Also Island Birds and Ace Flight Center.

If we can go (in November), we're booked to fly AA into STT and then take VI Airlink to Anegada. I fully expect they will have to stop at Beef Island to have us clear in there and then take us on to Anegada. Of course, that's if we can get in at all . . .

link

I saw a post on FB in BVI Abroad about Moorings sending out a notice that they are re-opening for charters on 10/31.

https://www.moorings.com/destinations/caribbean/british-virgin-islands-yacht-charters

And....if you follow the “restrictions” and take it all the way to the BVI Embassy guidelines?

The 14 day quarantine is right there...along with the $3500 fee....so it is still just Phase 2 guidelines listed.....

thank you Jason.

Thanks Jason....1 November is at 17:52 mark. I thought he did a pretty good job

That would be great...I would like to use my credit as soon as possible. However, the 14 day quarantine is a deal killer. It would be great if the government could "certify" some of the private local residences as quarantine houses as that might help the landlords kick start their businesses back up and staying somewhere down there other than a government facility for 2 weeks would be attractive...

We applied, were inspected and approved by the Health Ministry, and were inspected by the Security company to house quarantine guests. Haven't housed a single person. With the exception of Sugar Mill, I have not heard of any expats housing quarantine guests. And to be fair, I don't really know Dennis and Mary's immigration status; they could be belongers.

When Phase 3 starts to allow tourists back there will no longer be a quarantine. I wouldn't worry about that, it's just a question of when.

Yes - the question of “when” is definitely still fluid - from watching the clip, which was very well done, I am gathering that November 1 is still very much depending on how the next few weeks play out.

I am going to tell my crew to be ready to go either way.

16 new cases announced today bring the total active to 52.

It's hard to imagine the BVI opening back up to tourism in 2020. I recently read there are only 8 ventilators on Tortola. If that is correct, it makes 52 a big number.

I don't know what the odds are, but I think they are better than un-imaginable. Case numbers will include the recovered and the asymptomatic. Number of ventilators doesn't seem to have been much of a news issue in other places after the initial hand-wringing.

52 is our active cases. 63 total with 1 death and 10 recovered. 2 currently hospitalized but not serious.

A very small percentage of covid cases end up on a ventilator. 52 cases and zero are on a ventilator currently. There is a large surplus of ventilators in the US so sourcing more if it became needed should not be a issue. Treatment has also evolved away from ventilators to the use of steroids to prevent the need for a ventilator.

Jason, where have you seen that Phase 3 will not involve quarantine? Have been speaking with our neighbors and they're figuring we won't be able to go this year. People are worried, because they won't be able to check on or maintain their homes.

Winterstale, got an email yesterday from my charter co that if there is no official announcement this week, then they will issue me a credit good for one year. I was scheduled to sail 11/7.......

Phase 3 as I understand it is to admit tourists. By the nature of tourism’s it can’t involve a quarantine.

Toast - who are you chartering with? And did you purchase trip insurance?

George, you know what they say about ASSUME! There are people in the BBI who believe even tourists should quarantine. It doesn't make sense, but when was that ever a factor?

Well if they quarantine tourists space won’t be a issue. I am sure they can find room for the 1 person who comes!
G

We received notice from our charter company on Thursday, saying our October 31 date was in jeopardy and the Charter companies are rescheduling October and November charters. We have already rescheduled 2 charters for April 2021.

stay safe ya'll, see you in 2021.

Bo - who are you chartering with? We just got the final bill and the “time to start getting excited” email from BVIYC for our November 3 charter....yeah right....excited for shelling out another few thousand on a trip we won’t end up taking....UGH!!!

Of the US hospitals I have significant insight with, with populations double or more than BVI pollution, the inpatient census of cases have generally been 40-50 (With community cases over 1000). And of these patients who are admitted with Covid to the hospital, less than 10% are in ICU. The number of covid patient on the ventilator are generally 2-4 (so less than 10% of the patient census in the hospital). However, the ones who are on the ventilator can stay in the hospital for months.

One must remember that other health problems have not gone away so some of these hospital resources are being needed for non-covid needs.

The other fortunate thing is that we (medical professionals0 have learned a lots over past 6-8 months in managing these sick patients.

All that said, with 50 plus cases known in BVI, it is very unlikely to get back to no active cases for quite some time. The people of BVI (and elsewhere) must learn to live with it, doing everything feasible to reduce a person's chance of getting Covid (Wash hands, masks, social distance) . Fortunately, in BVI being outside is easy with fresh air ... such as outdoor dining.

Winterstale,

no to insurance and I am with DYC. I am ok with a credit as I need by BVI fix eventually.... So I think Key west is in my November horizon.....

If anyone is really bored, they can read and try to decipher the official National Action Plan Against COVID-10 Pandemic here.

I am not certain but I think it was mentioned in the press conference last week.