Tourism Fiji chief executive Brent Hill says closure of borders will be the country’s last resort if cases of coronavirus are not contained again.
Hill said no tourists have tested positive for coronavirus so far, but relevant authorities are on alert and expect some visitors to carry the virus.
He said there are other measures authorities can put in place to help to contain COVID-19 if there’s another outbreak in the future.
“Closure of border is the last resort for so many reasons. There are a lot of things before you can get to the point like closing down an area if there are reported cases,” he said.
“The other factor we could put in place is extra testing of tourists and staff. The problem when you close the border is you void everybody’s travel insurance which is a catastrophe.
“Trying to restart again will cause catastrophe. We do expect cases of coronavirus and we have process in place if there are significant cases of coronavirus.
“The question is what constitutes a third wave of coronavirus. If its local cases, we can deal with it with our local health system. If its cases of tourists, we are relying more on the private sector.
“The private clinics and hospitals will deal with it. I think comfortable that we can deal with the cases of coronavirus if there are confirmed cases,” he said.
He said there are coronavirus safe restrictions in place which tourists and workers in the tourism sector need to adhere to.
SOURCE: FIJI LIVE/PACNEWS
