TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin A different COVID-19 testing question

I have a dilemma that I have not previously seen addressed here and cannot find the answer on the SXM Government page.

My wife and I have each recently tested positive and should exit our isolation periods this week. We are both currently doing fine. We have reservations in SXM starting January 8th and have previously scheduled rt-PCR testing for January 4th and we really want to go.

The problem is that our local health department says that we could continue to test positive for 90 days. Has anyone heard of this type of scenario previously. I did email the contact info page on the SXM Government site today but have no reply as yet.

Thanks for any input.

Apparently SXM does not accept proof of antibodies, so you will have to test negative. And you have already been advised you could test positive for up to 90 days. I think the resolution is that you do not know. Since you are not due to travel until January 8, you maybe should take a test in 10 days or so, just to see if you are still testing positive and possibly adjust your dates, if so.

Friends of mine had it and their doctor told them they were only protected for 90 days, which I thought was strange. I would continue on, get your tests, I would probably get two tests a week apart just to make sure, and then submit to EHAS (assuming negative two times). They don't ask if you already had the virus, so I think you are good to go. Some people who have a virulent strain the symptoms can last longer, but if you are feeling better and you are outside of your isolation period, I would not hesitate.

As I noted here on TTOL a while back, my wife and I both had covid-19 starting with positive tests 10/16/20, thankfully we had "light viral loads" and were fine in 7-10 days. We were warned by our county health department and primary doctors that; we could test positive for 8-12 weeks which would affect our annual trip to SXM 01/17/21. Our local market was offering free tests and we tested on 11/7/20 and both tested negative on the rt PCR. So 3 weeks post covid we were negative. As for the antibodies protection, I have been following studies from around the world and many people are showing antibodies still rising 6 months later. Our primary said there is no definitive study yet on how long we will be protected.
Hopefully you will test negative in a short period of time and on the way to SXM.

The EHAS application asks if you've ever tested positive on the 2nd page...not sure if that's a deal breaker with their evaluation or not. That said, they are accepting certain rapid tests now, with the list of acceptable tests on their website. The rapid test is an antigen test, and only looks for active infection. Not the RNA "debris" or dead bits of virus left behind after you've recovered and cleared the virus...this is what an rt-PCR will often find and flag long after you've recovered and no longer infectious. Most sports now are using the rt-PCR for their daily testing, and if an athlete tests positive they use the rapid antigen to determine when he or she is safe to return to play.

Just a follow up to my original post that may be a benefit to someone.

As I had posted, my wife and I each tested positive in early December and were concerned that our scheduled PCR tests on 1/4 would be impacted by residual virus DNA. We tested Monday and received the results last night, both negative. My symptoms would probably have been considered mild and my wife's bordered on moderate. We tested 24-28 days from the start of symptoms.

We submitted the results to SXM this morning and I received my authorization in minutes. My wife's was approved about an hour later. We did state on page 2 of the application that we had previously tested positive, but they do not ask for a date.

There still is no page 3 to request the SXM insurance. We arrive Friday (1/8) and will try to get it when it becomes effective on the 11th.

We tested at Any Lab Test Now in Fort Myers, FL at an out of pocket cost of $119 each.

Thank you for that information.