In what feels a little counterintuitive as more nations tighten up their borders thanks to the emergence of the Omicron strain of the coronavirus, Fiji is bucking the trend. The Pacific Island nation opened its borders to select foreign nationals for the first time since March 2020 on Wednesday. Nearly 90 percent of the island’s adult population are vaccinated and the country will now accept visitors from New Zealand, the United States, France, Japan, Australia, Canada, and Britain. Those arriving will have to prove they were vaccinated and have a negative COVID test and are required to stay in a designated hotel for three days and undergo another COVID-19 test before being allowed to enjoy the island. They must also provide a 14-day travel history. Incoming tourists were greeted with dancers in grass skirts, serenaded by a band in tropical Hawaiian shirts. “To see the Fiji Airways plane full up and for us to welcome those tourists today was so amazing,” James Sowane, director of the Fiji tourism company, Tewaka, told Reuters. “It was a great, great feeling and I’m glad to have been there personally.”
