I only have to wonder why this hasn't been the case since last March - how can you can control the spread of the virus if potentially positive people are flying into your country?
On your first point I tend to disagree and think they are very effective but of course not 100%. Even if a test only detects 50% of people (obviously it's much higher) that may be positive or spread the virus to others due to those who contracted it after the test was taken or weren't yet at a point in "the cycle" or just inaccurate results, it's still effective and a good thing that we should be doing to help unless we are going to shut down air travel. A mask isn't 100% either but we wear them on the plane and elsewhere.One does have to wonder how effective these measures actually are. COVID test accuracy continues to largely depend on where the virus is within its life cycle in your body, and there are many examples of people testing negative when they are actually infected.
The most glaring example to me is the high profile case of the UAE to New Zealand flight earlier last year, where an entire plane full of passengers with negative COVID-19 test results still managed to allow one positive passenger onboard, who in turn infected four others around them during the flight. (Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/07/health/coronavirus-airline-passengers-outbreak.html)
Part of me also wonders (and worries) that a negative test result ahead of boarding a flight in some cases solicits more risky behavior and a likelihood to not as closely abide by mask compliance for some passengers because they are lured into a false sense of security.
Lots of questions for sure.
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The most glaring example to me is the high profile case of the UAE to New Zealand flight earlier last year, where an entire plane full of passengers with negative COVID-19 test results still managed to allow one positive passenger onboard, who in turn infected four others around them during the flight. (Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/07/health/coronavirus-airline-passengers-outbreak.html)
The Red Cross in St. Barth provides free antigen tests by the St. John cemetery. I will check to see if they will be able to expand their testing to accommodate the new volume they will have.
My read of the article was there were 86 people on board, and that the "requirement" was for a two week quarantine pre-flight v. testing. 5 of the 7 had taken a test, with negative results, but not all 7 had been tested.