Caricom travel bubble 'bursts,' countries disagree on protocols

The Prime Minister has said that the Caricom travel bubble is more of an expectation than a reality.

It was expected that members of Caricom countries within the bubble would not have to take a covid19 test or be quarantined on entry in order to travel between the countries.

On September 26, Dr Rowley said Caribbean leaders set 20 new daily infections as the target for countries to participate in the bubble.

However, last Saturday at a press conference at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann's, Rowley said it was difficult to agree on what the bubble should be.

He said different countries had different priorities. For example some had to open international travel early because their economy relied on tourism. So instead, countries were developing and testing out nation-specific protocols.

“While we did talk about a bubble, it was difficult to manage and maintain. You can’t have a bubble with some people sticking their heads outside the bubble. And eventually we got to a situation where the protocols were not effective in preserving a bubble.”

He noted that TT already had continuous travel with Barbados and said TT was in conversation with the Guyanese authorities to improve travel connections.

“If there is something we can participate in because of that (20 new cases per day) then we will be happy to qualify but if there is nothing, we keep working our numbers to suit ourselves. Just remember it’s an ongoing process with a moving target.”

Instead, he said the government was more focused on local reactions to changes being made to covid19 protocols.