A group of nurses wait to perform PCR tests on attendees hours before the start of a concert, at the Hospital Clinico de la Universidad de Chile, in Santiago, Chile. File photo: REUTERS/PABLO SANHUEZA
In the middle of a pandemic, it’s one thing to travel to a remote place such as the savannahs of Zimbabwe or the jungles of the Amazon and quite another to get the Covid-19 testing and paperwork you need to spend time there — even with help from a seasoned travel agent. It’s especially true for customers who hope to visit more than one country before returning home.
Because of the time it takes to get tests to and from the lab, the Tanzanian lodges had to impose a three-night minimum stay — at about $2,500 a person, per night. Typically, clients have stayed two nights and moved on. Guests could potentially defray costs by packing home-test kits. American travellers, for instance, could use the FDA emergency-use-authorised BinaxNOW Covid-19 Ag Card 2 Home Test, which sells for $150 for a pack of six tests, or the Ellume Covid-19 Home Test, priced at $45 a test.
In the Maldives, the Soneva Jani and Velaa Private Island resorts joined forces last year to open a Covid-19 testing centre at the airport in Maafaru in Noonu Atoll; open to both guests and locals, it was built in 30 days. The investment included a Roche Lifecycle 96 machine, which sells for about $41,000 and can process up to 700 tests per day, as well as salaries for staff from the nearby ADK Hospital to operate the lab.