Have you recovered from coronavirus?
Are you looking for a getaway now that some countries have lifted lockdown measures?
A paradise island in Brazil could be the one for you.
The archipelago of Fernando de Noronha – one of Brazil’s most popular tourist destinations – is once again opening up to visitors.
The only prerequisite is that they have already had the novel coronavirus.
From this week, visitors will be allowed into the island if they can provide evidence that they have been infected with the virus and recovered.
Hopeful visitors can submit one of two types of tests – PCR virus tests and IgG antibody tests which will be accepted if conducted at least 20 days before arrival.
The island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site – 211 miles off Brazil’s north-eastern coast – is desperate for tourists to boost the island’s economy.
Visitors can expect 21 idyllic islands, a national marine park and an ecological sanctuary with a jagged coastline and diverse ecosystems.
It’s hoped that if visitors have already had the virus, the chances of reinfection will be low, allowing tourists to move through the island without high risks of transmission.
Tourists had been banned since late March when the pandemic forced many parts of Brazil into lockdown.
Brazil has had one of the highest global death tolls, with more than 120,000 deaths.
Guilherme Rocha, an island administrator, said: ‘In this first stage of reopening, only tourists who have already had Covid and have recovered and are immune to the disease will be authorised [since] they can neither transmit it, nor be infected again.’
However, it may be too early to say whether those who have already had it are immune.
Last week, a man who had the virus was found to be reinfected with a different version of it.
But scientists cautioned against using the isolated case to jump to conclusions.
As the island of Noronha has been closed to outsiders since March, Rocha says it is safe for tourists.
He added: ‘We are aiming for the smallest possible risk. And what is the smallest risk possible right now? What is the safest way? It’s reopening tourism on the island only for people who have already had Covid.
‘People fall in love with Noronha because of its unmatched natural beauty, which you can’t find anywhere else on Earth. Fernando de Noronha is unique.’
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