French Polynesian President's 5/20/2020 Announcement on Coronavirus

[capriccio]

According to (https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/417162/french-polynesia-lifts-covid-19-restrictions) on May 20th the president of French Polynesia, Edouard Fritch, made an announcement after determining that the coronavirus stopped circulating within the country.  Of particular interest to cruisers:

 

• French Polynesia recorded 60 cases of Covid-19.
• Air Tahiti is cleared to resume internal flights.
• The international carrier Air Tahiti Nui is expected to resume services in July.
• The current quarantine rules will remain in force. The current quarantine rules (https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/417085/french-polynesia-updates-covid-19-quarantine-rules) are arriving travelers must go into quarantine for two weeks in either the premises set up by the government or at home.

 

The resumption of international tourism subject to a rigorous health protocol was also discussed (https://la1ere.francetvinfo.fr/polynesie/deconfinement-total-polynesie-834592.html?fbclid=IwAR3cPe-XHfG8k26wsVFpEs0B5taGuZOuK8_irg7DnlMz5ZG4gP3rCHm3WVg 😞

• Arrivals must have a negative test 72 hours before departure to French Polynesia.
• Upon arrival there is a quarantine period of fourteen days in dedicated accommodation or at home under strict conditions.
• Arrivals will go through a new screening at the end of that quarantine period.
• There will be daily health monitoring with the possibility of checks by the police.

 

As far as I can tell from these sources he did not address the cruise industry.

Edited May 22, 2020 by capriccio

[Mercruiser]

This article is very confusing in that it talks about "the resumption of international tourism" requiring a 14-day quarantine. That's exactly what Hawaii has done to effectively block all tourism.

 

This is not a resumption of tourism. It is a continuation of a no tourism policy.

[capriccio]

7 hours ago, Mercruiser said:

This article is very confusing in that it talks about "the resumption of international tourism" requiring a 14-day quarantine. That's exactly what Hawaii has done to effectively block all tourism.

 

This is not a resumption of tourism. It is a continuation of a no tourism policy.

 

I agree.  I think it might better be characterized as the resumption on international flights and aimed at those who have second (third?) homes in French Polynesia.  While I'm sure that applies to a number of people, I'm also sure that number is no where high enough to seriously impact the return of tourism.  The other group it is probably aimed at is Polynesians themselves who travel internationally and then return to the islands.