July 12, 2020

Barbados is calling out to remote workers during the pandemic

If you've been working from home during the pandemic, you may feel lucky to have a job, but maybe not as lucky to be staring at the same four walls every day without much human interaction.

Conde Nast Traveler reports on a possible remedy if you're willing to travel. To boost its economy, Barbados is creating a work visa for foreigners that would allow them to work on the island country for up to a year at a time. Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean.

Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley made the announcement about the 12-month "Welcome Stamp" last week, noting that it would "allow people from the United States, Europe, and Latin America to come and do their jobs digitally for a couple of months and then go back home, if they feel they can work better in a more relaxed atmosphere such as next to a beach." She added that this was a way for tourists to get around some of the hurdles of short-term travel, per a government website.

CNBC notes that Barbados has relaxed their coronavirus protocols in recent weeks, including cutting down social distancing to just 3 feet and permitting sporting events to take place (with fans), as well as other social events of up to 500 patrons.

There have been fewer than 100 COVID-19 cases overall in Barbados as of Friday, with just seven deaths, per Johns Hopkins University. Perhaps it has to do with few people traveling, or lack of testing, but we all know those numbers can change in a heart-beat. Good luck getting that dose of Remdesivire, or a ventilator.

A Barbados Tourism Marketing release that says all travelers from high-risk countries—those with at least 10,000 new virus cases in the previous week, along with community transmission—are "strongly encouraged" to take a COVID-19 test within 72 hours of their trip to the island.

If visitors arrive without a negative test result in hand, they'll be required to take a test and will be sent into quarantine. They'll have to pay for the test, and room and board until the results come back (usually a couple of days).