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A rash of ‘travel bans’ as the Caribbean gets serious about coronavirus

Caribbean island nations are as concerned about who crosses their borders as any other nation. So, when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus — officially named COVID-19 — as a global health emergency, regional governments began taking concrete action.

To date, no case of COVID-19 has been confirmed in the Latin America/Caribbean region, according to the Pan American Health Organization, which is helping the region prepare for any possible cases.

Jamaica is one of several Caribbean territories — including Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Dominica, and Trinidad and Tobago — to impose travel restrictions to and from China, after COVID-19 was traced back to a market in Wuhan, China, a city of 11 million people.

As of February 8, 2020, Barbados had not imposed a ban but insisted that it is conducting rigorous screening at all ports of entry.