Brazilian island reopens to welcome tourists, but only if they’ve had Covid-19
- Fernando de Noronha has reopened for visitors after a five-month shutdown, but with one stipulation
- Tourists have to have contracted and recovered from Covid-19 before being allowed on the island
Fernando de Noronha, a tropical island 354km off Brazil’s northeastern coast, is reopening to visitors, but with a catch: they need to have had Covid-19.
The island, part of a pristine volcanic archipelago that limits tourism to several hundred arrivals per day, closed five months ago to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Officials said in a post on the island’s Instagram account that it would begin reopening in phases from September 1, with strict health controls to “guarantee everyone’s protection”.
“In this first phase, only tourists who have already had Covid-19 will be allowed to disembark,” it said.
Visitors will be required to present a positive test result for the virus that is at least 20 days old along with their payment of Fernando de Noronha’s environmental conservation tax.
“We are reopening responsibly, with caution and without hurry,” the archipelago’s administrator, Guilherme Rocha told a news conference. “Hurry is the enemy of life … We can’t do everything at once.”