As the result of a meeting with its Security and National Defense Council on January 29, the Government of France decided to close the country’s borders to non-European Union members; this did not omit its overseas territories, including St. Barth’s, St. Martin and Guadeloupe in the Caribbean. On Tuesday, French Polynesia officials announced it would be closing The Islands of Tahiti to tourists until further notice.
Under this order, travel to France and its overseas territories is currently limited to those with “compelling reasons,” which include personal or family order, health reasons or professional reasons that cannot be delayed). This officially takes effect Wednesday February 3. The local St. Barth’s government is working with the French government in the hopes it may be exempt from these measures in the near-term, according to a statement by Nils DuFau, president of the St. Barth’s Tourism Board.
Persons currently on vacation in St. Martin and St. Barth’s will be able to return to their homes, the Prefect of Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin said on its Facebook page.
Previously, St. Barth’s had been open since June 2020; restaurants, boutiques, businesses and beaches remain open. For travel to St. Barth’s, visitors (ages 10 and up) are required to show a negative COVID-19 PCR test. The date the test was administered must be within 72 hours (three days) of their arrival. (Antigen tests are not accepted to enter St. Barth’s.)
Earlier in January, Guadeloupe had imposed its own new seven-day quarantine for all travelers, except for those arriving from sister island Martinique. This was in addition to requiring a negative PCR test upon arrival, taken within 72 hours of travel. Following the seven days, another test was required.
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