COVID-19 Updates

Updated: January 1, 2021

Welcome back, dushi friends!

Soaking up the sun on our tropical beaches, enjoying our hospitality and laidback island vibe; we know you can’t wait to feel it for yourself again. Curaçao is reopening and we’re thrilled to welcome back our dushi friends from abroad.

The number of COVID-19 infections in Curaçao has remained very limited and the spread of the virus is under control. All the more reason to make sure we reopen in a safe and controlled manner.

The Curaçao Tourist Board is working in close collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health, Environment and Nature, the Ministry of Economic Development, the Curaçao Civil Aviation Authority and government agencies to guarantee a safe reopening. Guidelines have also been created and implemented in the tourism industry to avoid the spread of COVID-19.

It is important that you stay informed and adhere to basic hygiene and physical distancing measures that are in place for the locals as much as they are for you. This is where you’ll find the most recent updates on the general guidelines that take place on Curaçao.

For an update on the latest governmental preventive measures on the island, click here

Travel from low-risk countries

As of January 1, 2021 passengers traveling from the following countries are welcome to visit Curacao:

Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bermuda, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saba, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Eustatius, Sint Maarten, Saint Martin, St. Vincent, and Grenadines, Turks & Caicos

Travelers departing out of any of these islands have to take these 2 mandatory steps:

Complete the digital immigration card online before departure at dicardcuracao.com.
Within 48 hours before departure, you need to digitally fill out the Passenger Locator Card (PLC) and carry a printed document of proof with you. You may do so at dicardcuracao.com.

Travel from high-risk countries

As Curacao reopens to the world, we look forward to welcoming visitors as per January 1st 2021. Prior to departure, all visitors must follow these 3 mandatory steps on dicardcuracao.com:

Complete the digital immigration card online before departure at dicardcuracao.com.
Within 48 hours before departure, you need to digitally fill out the Passenger Locator Card (PLC) and carry a printed document of proof with you. You may do so at dicardcuracao.com.
Each visitor entering Curaçao will need to show a negative result from a certified COVID-19 PCR-test (Please note: PCR tests based on Gargle samples will not be accepted.) and carry a printed document of proof with them. The test is taken max. 72 hours prior to departure at an accredited laboratory. You may contact your general practitioner for a referral to the nearest institution. You will be required to upload the negative test results of the COVID-19 PCR-test on dicardcuracao.com before departure.
Children 6 years and younger that show no symptoms, and whose parents can show proof of a negative PCR test, are not required to undergo a PCR test. In this case children, 6 and younger do not need to complete a PLC.

Please note the following entry conditions apply to all travelers (from low- and high-risk countries):
Regardless if you are traveling from a low-risk or high-risk country these general requirements will apply. Please see the risk area sections for additional requirements.

You have been in contact with a person who tested positively for COVID-19 within 14 days prior to arrival. If this is the case, you will be placed in mandatory quarantine.
You must carry a printed document of proof of the mandatory steps at all times during your travel.
You must be adequately insured for medical care and any additional costs if you are quarantined or become ill during your stay.
No cruise passengers are currently admitted.
If you do not meet the above conditions, you may be quarantined on arrival. This is entirely at your own expense.

Click here for additional information.

During the months we have been closed, we have studied the protocols suggested for the "new normal" and have trained our staff to ensure that they deliver a safe experience for our guests and themselves.

We will be adopting the following, but please note that these are ever-changing procedures which we will update as new information becomes available about COVID-19.

Below are some of the measures we will be asking you to take:

Pre-Arrival Packing

Please pack extra masks in your carry-on luggage
Pack disinfectant wipes and sufficient hand sanitizer to supplement that which you will find in all public places. to ensure you always have these available when needed.
Pack defog for your mask as spitting is not appropriate.
Consider sanitizing your personal dive gear prior to packing.

Check-In & In-Shop Procedures

Whenever possible, all dive waivers will be completed outdoors.
Face masks must be worn inside the shop and people are expected to maintain 2m/6f social distancing.
Hand sanitizer is available at the doors and on the counter.
If possible, please pay with a credit card. The exchange of cash is discouraged.

During Your Dive Experience

Remember to wash your hands frequently, especially after a bathroom visit.
Maintain social distancing of 2m/6ft while gearing up, getting on or off the dive boats, and before descending into the water.
Restrict yourself from touching other people's gear.
Use defog (not spit) to clean your mask.

Boat Diving

The maximum number of people per boat has been reduced to 10 divers plus staff.
On the boats, face masks are required while onboarding and offboarding the dive boats.
Once the boat is underway and people are able to spread about the boat, masks can be removed while out in the fresh air.
Once you are seated, please refrain from moving about the boat as much as possible.
There will be no communal rinse buckets on the boat.
Foodservice is no longer offered, or if offered will be pre-wrapped such as granola bars.

Gear

All rental regulators, masks, and snorkels will be soaked in a bleach solution, then rinsed with fresh water.
Go West Diving sells a good selection of masks and snorkels in their shop should you prefer to use your own.
Regulator mouthpieces can also be purchased for those who prefer their own.
Rental BCD’s will be washed with an antiseptic wash.
Rental wetsuits will be washed with Wetsuit wash.
Personal dive gear can be washed in designated sanitizing rinse tanks.

Below are some additional measures Go West Diving will be taking:

All areas of the dive operation will be sanitized regularly, especially high traffic areas such as the bathroom, picnic tables, counters, the classroom, the dive retail shop.
At the end of each day, high traffic areas on the dive boats will be wiped with a bleach solution followed by the normal boat rinsing.

CURACAO REOPENS!