TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Entry requirements for 5 to 18

With the latest entry requirements I am confused. My 5 year old granddaughter has two shots but is not eligible for a booster yet, does she need a test. Before the latest update she did not, now I don’t know. This is getting ridiculous. Older kids were approved for the vaccine way before 5 year olds. Any help or direction is appreciated.

Ages 5-10 without booster need a test...actually age 5+

EHAS requirements:

I can understand why it (EHAS) is confusing. I read the requirements for ages over 5 and under 18 differently.

First, they define fully vaccinated.......... 2 doses of an approved vaccine(s) Okay after 14 days from second dose
(Johnson & Johnson just one dose)

Second, there are those travelers with 2 doses (fully vaccinated) plus a booster (or third dose) Okay 14 days after the 3rd dose but no greater than 9 months

Once you have these defined, it appears that those older than 5 and less than 18 years old need only to be fully vaccinated ..No Booster. (No Test required).

This is noted in the chart (attached). However, I have attached the LINK as well.

The information posted earlier, where it talks about a swab for 5-10 age group, refers to those who are unvaccinated.

So it would appear if you are older than 5 but not older than 18, and you have 2 doses (fully vaccinated), No Covid test would be required, at least as of today's rules.

I don't want to muddy the waters but that is my interpretation.

LINK EHAS LINK


Dr Phil SXM
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Been watching this also. We will be traveling in April and my 12 year old son is fully vaxxed. His school is involved with a local university that is tracking the virus, working on vaccines, so they offer weekly testing at the school, which we opted in for. That being said, I'm just planning on getting my wife and I tested prior so the whole family has results to just cover our butts right before we go. Given the ever changing climate, I am just gonna err on the side of better to have and not need than need and not have.

Always best to do what gives you peace of mind.

Crossing the t's and dotting the I's and using an abundance of caution is never a bad approach.

Just don't want anyone to get over anxious about travel unnecessarily.

Sadly this is the era we live in currently.

I emailed EHAS this morning about my 6 year old grandson. He has 2 shots, but no booster. They replied they he is not required to be tested.

Great news. Always good to get it from the source.

I do believe that is what the EHAS site says but perhaps it could be clearer.

Enjoy you trip 😎

Be sure and carry that with you.

We too emailed them for clarification for our 4 year old daughter (who obviously is unvaccinated). They replied within just a couple of hours which was great turnaround.

"Your daughter will need a PCR test 48 hours, and then upload it to Ehas."

Always good to get the info straight from the source.

Now I have to find a PCR test locally that will get back results quick enough to get her EHAS in on time which is not an easy task. We haven't been PCR tested since January 2021 (when we had Covid) and it took over 48 hrs then.

Conflicting information- Here is the email I received regarding children under 5:

Thank you for contacting St. Maarten EHAS.
My name is Jacquelyn Walker I am one of the EHAS administrative assistant with the island of St Maarten.
Pursuant to your question below children under the age of 5 don’t require a test. Hoping that I have informed you adequately.
Regards,

St, Maarten Tourism Bureau,

Jacquelyn Walker,

Oh dear, thank you for sharing that. Well now this is even more confusing.

Just out of curiosity, when did you receive that email? I got the one telling us she has to be tested Jan 8th 2022. Our response came from an administrator named Sherry Richardson.

There is no reference to guidance for anyone under 5 in any of the current and updated info concerning travel requirements which is the whole reason I emailed them.

edit: I just sent them another email to clarify.

I just received that email today.
Scott

Thanks! I wonder if the person who responded to me made a mistake. Guess I'll find out when they respond.

It is confusing. But the rules are pretty clear for 5 and over, but not UNDER 5. I think that is the issue. It appears from reading the EHAS website, children can have a different TYPE of test, but children under 5, I think they qualify as NOT vaccinated at all and thus must test.

I would get the test and play it safe.

Walgreens IDNOW if it's available in your area, results within a couple of hours

Oh, I had no idea those are PCR tests. That is good to know. Thanks!

My local Walgreens lists PCR (with an unspecified return time which isn't encouraging), the IDNOW with a max 24 hrs return time, and then the BinaxNow antigen test 1 hour max return. I have looked several times and the appointments seem to book up fast. I wish I knew which day they releasde each weeks test availability. I'll just keep watching like a hawk to see if there is a pattern.

When we were tested for our Aruba trip the Walgreen's locations in our area opened up dates around 10 days in advance which was great. Results in juts over an hour (IdNow)

FatCat--here in Florida, they were only booking tests three days in advance.

After hunting around at various Walgreens locations nearby, 3 days seems to be the case here too Carol. Thanks everyone.

I stand corrected....testing appointments at the Walgreen's in my area is also now only able to be made three days in advance

Just looked (because I am a hopeless obsessive when it comes to travel planning :p ) at the Sint Maarten Travel Requirements page yet again https://stmaartenehas.com/travel-requirements/ and the chart looks UPDATED to say 0 to 5 years old as "no test required." Glad they updated that.

Thanks, yes it appears that it was updated today.