TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin sorry to ask this covid test question again

Brain just not what it was so apologies as I know its been gone over to death, but want to make sure. Something just came up with miles for traveling this Sunday to SXM and will be staying on the French side in a villa. Walgreens do the PCR test which they state takes 24-48 hours to get the results. What would be the best day for us to get tested and download the forms for approval within their stated time frame, as I still get confused between the 3 day and 5 day approval times? many thx.

Travel TO SXM is NOT days, it is hours. 120 hours for a PCR test, for a US citizen. Staying on the French side, you may need to take another test when you arrive. Talk to the villa owner for info on that.

RETURNING to the US, is it three DAYS, for either type of test.

thx.

Bran I sent you a private off topic message/inquiry,

We took tests Monday afternoon and got results this morning. Sent in and got approvals already.

That's the way it SHOULD work

But trust me on this - it doesn’t always go that smoothly as I can personally attest. Just keep trying if you have any issues because in this case in particular, the ends definitely do justify the means. 🙂🙂

Which test are you doing the PCR or the more in depth test rt - PCR TEST I can’t seem to get an answer as to where to get this rt PCR done they don’t call it that . They did a second test on my wife two days ago the swab when way up her nose ,I’m assuming that is what they call the rt PCR is this correct or is it the normal PCR that SXM requires . Confusing to say !

SXM requires the RT-PCR test. As to how this is accomplished, apparently it varies by who does it.

We did the rt-PCR test through Walgreens. We made the appointment, drove up to the prescription pick up window, was handed the swab and vial to put it in. You swab both nostrils yourself, put in container, hand it back and drive off. 36-40 hours later we had our PDF results via email. Rather short swab. Then filled out EHAS form with PDF and wife was approved in 10 min and I in 2 hours. Printed everything. Was waiting for Pinter to run out of ink. LOL

Scubaman--I think we are going to do Walgreens also. For here, it looks like there is no upfront cost for it, if you have insurance. Was that your experience? We're still over 30 days out from our trip. How far in advance were you able to schedule your appointment?

Thx Scuba. That was the complete info I have been looking for that explains it utterly and clearly.

Yes. When we applied for the test online they ask if you have insurance. When we went to get test, instructions said to bring proof of insurance but they never asked for it. There was no cost so far and I doubt there will be any. Three days in advance. For our Monday appt we applied Friday morning and picked our time. You'll get a confirmation via email.

That's kind of odd that they didn't even ask for the insurance. Is Walgreens where you normally have your prescriptions filled, so they already had that information??

At Walgreens you can enter your drivers license number instead of insurance info for a no-cost test.

OK, I assumed it was a no cost test only if you have insurance? Do you mean, if you say you have symptoms? Walgreens already has my insurance info, but not my DL, and I'm not sure I want them to have it..

On the request for appointment it asks if you have insurance and a place to put it. I don't recall them asking for my drivers license number but you needed to show picture ID at time of test. No, we don't have an insurance card of file with them and they didn't want to see it at time of test. We answered NO to every question about symptoms and contacts with others on the request form.

OK, thanks. Not sure how they can get paid if they don't have your insurance info, but there's obviously something I'm missing!

You either input your insurance info or your DL number when you make the appointment. So, I'm assuming they get paid by the insurance company or the federal government (if no insurance info is provided). I simply didn't feel like going for my insurance card when I made the appointment so I used my DL info, which I had close by.

Yep. That's what I figure too.

OK, surprised that the feds would pay for any test for Covid, even if no symptoms.

Thanks to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act

Regarding the terms PCR and RT-PCR, here's what I've been able to glean from some on-line research:

• A "standard" PCR procedure can only detect DNA, not RNA. An RT-PCR test can detect RNA. The RT (reverse transcription) step transcribes the RNA sequence to DNA, which is then amplified and detected in the PCR step.
• The SARS-CoV-2 virus (the virus that causes COVID-19) contains only RNA, not DNA.
• Therefore, the only type of PCR test that can detect SARS-CoV-2 is RT-PCR.

I believe that "PCR" is sometimes used as a shorthand for "RT-PCR", and that creates some confusion. For example, this page from the Cleveland Clinic (link) only uses the term PCR, whereas this page from the CDC (link) only mentions RT-PCR.

Dan

Great informative explanation.

So I don’t want to sound dumb, what test do they want is it the one that goes up to the eyeball or the one used most everywhere for testing that only goes up about 2 inches ?

Both can be rt-pcr. We had both a brain tickler and self administered nasal swabs done (same facility, different dates) and both came back rt-pcr

They are both rt-PCR; the deeper one is the naso-pharyngeal swab. We had the shallower nasal swab rt-PCR test in November, and it was accepted.

"We had the shallower nasal swab rt-PCR test in November, and it was accepted"
Us too..

OK, dumb question. If the shallower test is not naso-pharyngeal, and the EHAS form specifies naso-pharyngeal, how is it that the shallower test is accepted?

Because they don't follow their own guidelines and thank God for that inconsistency.

Originally they had the word ONLY (their emphasis, not mine) ahead of naso-pharyngeal, but they've dropped that word. I know that doesn't answer your question, by the way; it's just the only explanation that I have

Jazzgal. All 4 of us had the rt-PCR self nasal swab at Walgreens Monday afternoon for our Saturday morning connecting flight. No problem with getting EHAS approval.

For those of you tested at Walgreens, did you find that you are able to schedule only three days prior to your desired test date?

Good question.

To test this, although I wasn't ready to travel, I submitted an EHAS form a few months ago with the swab type as AN Swab, which is Anterior Nasal, the 2" nose probe with a few swipes around. It was accepted, and I was not required to take the deep swab, which could possibly double as a Colon Cancer test (Just Kidding, I know how serious Colon Cancer is, I have friends who have died from it, and I get tested regularly.) Likewise, my wife was approved for the same AN Swab test, rather than the deep swab, which could possibly double for a Pap Smear (Again, Just Kidding, we both know how serious that form of cancer is, and she gets tested regularly).

The original requirement was for a deep naso-pharyngeal test. That was in the early days of COVID. That requirement has NOT changed. What I cannot say is whether or not the swab type is being checked, whether or not the approvers are fully informed on test types, if anyone cares anymore, or if I just got lucky.

Yes. Just saw this post from you after landing in Charlotte awaiting flight to sxm.