Antigua and Barbuda has tightened health screening at its ports of entry as officials prepare for passengers linked to the new Air Peace service connecting Lagos, Barbados and Antigua and Barbuda.
The measures were outlined after a post-Cabinet update from Health Minister Michael Joseph, with officials citing international concern over Ebola outbreaks in parts of Central Africa as well as ongoing monitoring for malaria and hantavirus. The Port Health Unit has been instructed to strengthen surveillance and to collect fuller travel histories from arriving passengers.
Travel history and arrival checks
Under the revised approach, incoming travellers can be asked to provide details of where they have travelled during the previous 21 days. Officials have also moved to restore some of the screening tools used during the Covid period, including closer arrival monitoring and temperature checks where needed.
The timing is tied closely to the launch of Air Peace service from Lagos via Barbados. Prime Minister Gaston Browne said some travellers bound for Antigua and Barbuda are expected to complete the final leg on LIAT 2020 after landing in Barbados, a routing the government sees as easier to manage from a public-health standpoint.
Authorities say the goal is not to shut down connectivity but to keep the route operating under tighter safeguards. The public message from officials is that Antigua and Barbuda wants the economic upside of new airlift while avoiding the kind of unmanaged risk that can unsettle both the health system and the travelling public.
