The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through its High Commission in the UK, is pleased to announce that twenty-one (21) stranded nationals from the United Kingdom will arrive in Grenada this evening on LIAT. The repatriated nationals are part of a larger group of CARICOM nationals, who, through a joint effort of regional governments, left the United Kingdom on a British Airways flight earlier today.
The flight’s load on the outbound leg is being shared among several CARICOM countries, with Barbados having the largest share of nationals. The 205 passengers are from Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Antigua and Barbuda and Grenada.
The British Airways flight, also destined to pick up British Nationals in the region, will land at 3:05 p.m. today, Wednesday 3rd June 2020, in Barbados. Other regional nationals aboard the flight will immediately access LIAT for their respective countries. Grenada’s 21 passengers will arrive at 5:00 p.m.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Health, Grenada, have worked together to ensure that there is a policy which governs the repatriation process, cognizant of the challenges faced by many of our nationals in foreign countries, during this COVID-19 pandemic.
Upon arrival at the Maurice Bishop International Airport this evening, the passengers will be received by health officials, and immediately tested.
All medical screening after disembarkation will be completed by the Ministry of Health. Nationals will also complete at least, a 14-day mandatory quarantine at specified quarantine locations, to which they will be directly transported after the airport. Further testing will be conducted during the quarantine process, as determined by health officials.
The Government of Grenada looks forward to welcoming home this group of nationals, and we continue to empathize with all others stranded abroad, who are desirous and anxious to return to Grenada. It is a work constantly in progress, as we explore the most feasible and safest ways of doing so.
We are aware that during this repatriation process, as we have seen with the crew member nationals from ships, that there is the likelihood that any of those returning home in this first phase of border control, can be a carrier of COVID-19. So too can anyone who visits or returns home, after June 30th, which is the date we are working towards for another phase of the reopening process.
For this reason, we are deploying all the necessary resources to be able to guard the borders and isolate, as much as possible, any potential carriers of the disease, in order to safeguard the general population.
We continue to urge all our nationals, wherever you are, to stay alert and safe, and we ask that you please observe ALL health and safety guidelines issued by health officials—Wear your masks when out in public, practice proper hygiene by washing hands frequently with soap and water, and practice physical distancing of at least six feet from any other person.
