Once again, I’m fascinated at the variety of ways some places have reopened, or are considering reopening to tourism:
- Cuba has figured out a way so tourists and Cuban residents don’t have contact
- Among other things, Hawaii has considered “resort bubbles”
- Fiji is recruiting these people in their bid to financially survive
And now we have yet another creative addition to the list.
Fernando de Noronha, a popular tourist destination in Brazil, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s known for its undeveloped beaches, as well as for scuba diving and snorkeling. Sea turtles, rays, dolphins and reef sharks swim in its warm, clear waters.
The archipelago, which is also a national park, has about 3,500 residents. Due to COVID-19, it’s been closed to outsiders since March 21st. The islands have just reopened their doors to tourism at the end of August and in this first stage of reopening, their rule is that only those who have already had the 2019 Novel Coronavirus can visit as a tourist.
Guilherme Rocha, the archipelago’s administrator, is of the belief that if you’ve already had COVID-19, you are immune (and yes, I know, the jury is still out on that one). So for now, the only people who can visit are those who submit a PCR virus tests or IgG antibody tests, either of which must have been taken at least 20 days before arriving on the island, that shows they have COVID antibodies.
Rocha didn’t explain why they’ve decided to go this particular route in its quest to get tourists to return.
Brazil’s cases of COVID-19 are second only to that of the U.S., with just over 4 million (and 126k deaths). The CDC recommends U.S. citizens not travel to Brazil because of this, but if you’ve already had the virus and believe you are immune (although, again, according to medical researchers, that may or may not actually be the case), I guess Fernando de Noronha could be an option.
Feature Image (cropped): Luis Eduardo Câmara / Wikimedia
#stayhealthy #staysafe #washyourhands #wearamask
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
