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EALTH-VIRUS-HAITI-AVIATION
Haiti defends resuming flights with United States
PORT-AU-PRINCE, July 1, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Haiti defended its decision to reopen its air borders to the United States, with the first plane due to arrive Wednesday morning.
The US has been one of the worst hit countries by the coronavirus pandemic, reporting almost 130,000 deaths from the disease as some states see a spike in fresh cases.
The first commercial flight in three months will land in capital city Port-au-Prince from Fort Lauderdale in Florida — a state with a large Haitian diaspora, but which is among those reporting a sharp uptick in recent COVID-19 infections.
Haiti’s health minister Marie-Greta Roy Clement said reopening was “not a mistake” and that the country had to balance concern over the economy with medical advice.
“We know that there’s a risk but we are going to increase epidemiological surveillance, and everyone who comes into the country from tomorrow must observe a home quarantine,” she said.
“People coming from countries with a high incidence of coronavirus will have to bring a negative test result. However, as we announced it today, we will have to wait a little before applying it,” Roy Clement added.
Travelers will also have to pass through a newly installed thermal scanner at the city’s Toussaint Louverture International Airport.
Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe emphasized that passengers entering the country must present a negative test.
“Haiti is a sovereign country and whoever the person is, they must obey all decisions made by the governmental authorities or else they will not come.”
Haiti has recorded fewer than 6,000 COVID-19 cases and 105 deaths.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1150 hrs