Young: Robust online system in place for border reopening

"A very robust platform" is how Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young described TT Travel Pass, which will be used to manage entry into the country.

Those who meet the requirements to enter Trinidad and Tobago must upload all the necessary information HERE.

The border reopening policy mandates that only vaccinated non-nationals, along with vaccinated and unvaccinated nationals, are allowed in. All unvaccinated nationals must enter through Piarco International Airport and be quarantined for 14 days at a state-supervised quarantine facility. The vaccinated can enter through either Trinidad or Tobago.

All travellers must present a negative PCR test done no more than three days before their arrival.

Young said the system is not new, as it is used in other jurisdictions. He reminded that the penalty for falsifying information is six months in prison and a fine of $350,000.

The website was unveiled Wednesday at a media conference at the Ministry of Works and Transport.

The platform will facilitate the opening of the borders on Saturday, after they were closed on March 21 last year.

In April last year the Ministry of Education’s online learning platform at learn.moe.gov.tt crashed, minutes after it became operational.

Asked about this happening with TT Travel Pass, Young said he anticipated the question and would have won money had he bet it was going to be the first asked.

“We built a very robust platform. We have done all that we can. We are satisfied, but you can never predict what can happen. Part of the whole process of digitisation is you have systems in place. We’re hoping that there are no issues.”

Young said the site is a “milestone in the management of the pandemic.”

He added that travellers will have to input their data, which includes their vaccination dates and confirmation of quarantine stay, including transportation to a quarantine site, where applicable, and negative PCR test. Once that is done and there are no queries, the traveller will be given a certificate which can be printed or saved on an electronic device. This certificate allows the traveller to book a flight.

He said with the launch of the website the Ministry of Digital Transformation will be in charge, with the National Security Ministry having oversight.

There will also be a call-in centre to assist those who may have issues uploading their information, Young said. The desk will be open from 8 am-4 pm and will be managed by TSTT. Asked about the capacity of the call centre, Young said that will be announced at a later date.

Eelectronic vaccination cards for nationals will become a reality “in the months to come,” he said. The Ministry of Digital Transformation, along with the Ministry of Health, will head that project.

He added that nationals who wish to travel can take their white vaccination cards to their County Medical Health Offices to get a green international vaccination card. They will also need to show a flight itinerary to prove they are travelling.