Jamaica to charge travelers insurance fee amid coronavirus pandemic

Aruba, Jamaica, ooh I wanna take ya — despite the latest fees.

Visitors to Jamaica will soon have to pay a small, mandatory insurance fee for emergency medical and crisis response services as a precautionary measure amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Starting in November, all non-Jamaican passport holders must pay $40 per person for the “Jamaica Cares” program to visit, officials announced Monday.

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The initiative was made possible through a public-private partnership between Jamaican authorities and Global Rescue, the emergency services firm said in a news release. The compulsory fee will offer international health coverage up to $100,000 and on-island health coverage up to $50,000, plus "case management, transport logistics, field rescue, evacuation, and repatriation for medical emergencies" – including the novel coronavirus.

Hon. Edmund Bartlett, co-chairman of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Center, said that the program will meet an “unmet need” in the evolving travel industry by providing medical coverage and emergency evacuation services as the pandemic continues.

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“Jamaica Cares is a comprehensive, mandatory program to increase traveler protection from the time they leave home until returning,” Bartlett said in a statement. “The traveler knows they’re protected, and they know other travelers are, too. That’s what’s needed to give confidence to travelers when they are ready to travel.”

The mandatory fee will be bundled within the Travel Authorization application, Global Rescue said.

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As of Wednesday morning, 8,652 cases of coronavirus and 196 deaths, have been reported in Jamaica, according to the nation’s Ministry of Health.