In-person learning will be given for Pre-Med 2, 3, and 4 students on campus in Antigua for the August 2021 semester. All students in these semesters are required to attend. Pre-Med 1 students will receive remote learning in the residence of their choice, although they may attend classes if they are on the island. Laboratories for pre-med semester 1 students will be offered remotely.
Effective on 1/31/21, Canada’s main airlines will be suspending flights to the Caribbean and Mexico until the end of April. To find out more information about the travel suspension from Canada, please visit here. If you are a Canadian student and have declared your intention to study on the Antigua campus for the Fall 2021 semester, please contact your New Student Coordinator, or your Associate Director of Admissions for Canada at msanii@auamed.org.
In addition to your immunization form, the Antiguan government and campus require both a negative PCR COVID test within 7 days of travel to Antigua, as well as 7 days of self-quarantine upon admission to the country.
All students coming to campus will be required to be vaccinated for COVID -19. Exceptions will be made for medical situations only and require documentation. Students must follow any guidelines set down by the Antigua government, or AUACAS. Failure to do so will result in not being able to participate in the educational program.
Students will have the ability to contact their faculty by email and request a zoom or other video conferencing meeting.
All students, regardless of where they are doing remote learning, will have full access to our library’s extensive collection.
Though students may participate in learning from anywhere—including their own homes—they can also elect to travel to Antigua. There are several advantages to coming to Antigua:
AUACAS’s gymnasium, library, food court, study areas, and small group rooms are all available to students on campus. These areas are maintaining strict social distancing guidelines.
If you start displaying symptoms, call the 24/7 COVID-19 hotline at Mount St. John’s Medical Centre at 268-462-6843. Medical staff answer calls at any time and can direct you to the appropriate resources. You can also contact the AUACAS Health Clinic via email at clinic@auamed.net for guidance.
All students that opt to continue their students on campus will be required to provide a certificate, that is no more than 7 days old prior to travel, showing they have tested negative for COVID-19. Secondary testing may be conducted on campus later in the academic period.
The latest travel info can be found here.
The best sources for new updates include the Antigua News Room and Observer Media Facebook page, as well as websites 268today.com and Angiuaobserver.com. The most important information is to make sure to get a Covid-19 PCR test within 7 days of travel-this is mandatory to board a flight to Antigua. Rapid antigen or antibody tests are not accepted.
This can be done in several ways, depending on where you live. Some local government facilities offer testing, some CVS/Minute clinics/CityMDs offer tests. You can do the tests at home via a LabCorp test that requires no funds up front (takes insurance or is federally funded). https://www.pixel.labcorp.com/at-home-test-kits/covid-19-test Other options are https://www.everlywell.com/products/covid-19-test/or https://www.letsgetchecked.com/us/en/(this cost 119$)
Prior to flying into Antigua you are required to have a negative PCR test within 7 days of travel. Once you arrive in the Antigua airport, your temperature will be checked, and you will be questioned by a government health personnel. They will determine whether you can complete your 7-day quarantine in your own dorms or in a government housing if you are vaccinated. If everything is in order, you will come on island with the agreement that you will quarantine for 7 days in your housing. You may be required to record temps 2 x a day and send the readings to the authorities.
PLEASE BRING A THERMOMETER WITH YOU – as they do not give you one and they are expensive on island. We do have a limited supply of disposable ones for those who were unable to bring one. There are sporadic location checks and there is a fine and/or sentence for non-compliance. There have been a few cases where arriving passengers are asked to wear a quarantine bracelet for the 14 days. Please follow all instructions given from the airport personnel. Masks and social distancing are required countrywide as well as campus-wide.
There are apps where you can order groceries and have them delivered.
a) Chase Distributors – roomservice268@gmail.com
Telephone: (268) 726-1114
WhatsApp: 786-1114
Contact – Jamahl Chase
b) Cospro –
Telephone: (268) 781-5403
WhatsApp ONLY Office: (268) 562-9090
c) AllMart – Local Marketplace App in Play Store
d) PayMeal/Packed – Download app, uses US cc and delivers from Epi
e) Goddard Catering Group – available for meal deliveries and pickup.
WhatsApp or call: 4648951
Email: colin.gordon@gcggroup.com
f) Brydens – Place orders online for delivery
Website: https://brydensantiguahomechef.com
g) Quik-Serve – Delivers from 40 restaurants
Website: https://www.quik-serve.com
Please contact the clinic after arriving on the island so they can schedule you for a COVID Antigen test after your quarantine is over. On the day of the appointment, you are required to complete the COVID web-based training video online (You will need to go to the AUACAS portal. Enter your wifi login credentials to gain access.)
You also need to complete the online AUACAS Covid Self-Test here. Please take the questionnaire seriously and answer truthfully. DO NOT EXPOSE OTHERS IF YOU HAVE ANY SYMPTOMS OR EXPOSURE RISKS. It is imperative for the safety of those on campus.
When you arrive on campus, the guards will check your temperature, confirm that you have done the self-test, and direct you to the testing area. Once you have a negative test result, you will be able to go around campus while wearing a mask and maintaining social distance.
Masking and social distancing are required everywhere. The island currently has a curfew in place from 8pm at night until 5 am in the morning. Restaurants are open for take-out only and bars are closed. This will be reevaluated on Friday Feb 19, 2021.
Complete the online COVID self-test prior to arriving on campus. On arrival, you will be asked about the self-test and your last test date, along with a temp check. You must test every 2 weeks in order to come to campus, which may be increased in the near future. It is imperative that everyone coming onto campus test every 2 weeks. If you do not test as required, you will not be allowed on campus.
The testing is covered by the AUACAS/UHC insurance. Otherwise, it is self-pay. (We will give you receipts/letters to submit to your own insurance company if needed)
If it is an emergency, please call 911 and go to the hospital.
Otherwise, call or email the clinic. Do not just stop by, we do not take walk-ins. Email is checked in the evenings and on weekends and will be responded to within 12-24 hours. A decision will be made as to whether you should come to the clinic for evaluation or go to the isolation area to be tested prior to being seen.
If we conduct a confirmatory test for COVID that is positive, we will arrange for you to get a PCR test by the Health Ministry. You will need to remain in self-quarantine until the results are back. If you are positive, we have special housing arranged for you to quarantine in and will assist with getting supplies etc. Once you are without symptoms and completed your quarantine-currently the Health Ministry requires a repeat neg PCR prior to returning to your apartment/campus.
We will get in touch with anyone you have had contact with in the 48 hours preceding the test and will follow the below CDC protocol:
COVID-19 Specific Practices
As you know, most people have minimal symptoms. We have all recommended OTC meds for symptoms associated with Covid and we will be in daily contact with you to see how you are feeling. Should you develop symptoms requiring more aggressive treatment, Mount St John has over 40 ventilators, IV steroids and the physicians there have successfully treated many Covid patients. We can also arrange to have you air-evacuated to the US, however that is contingent on there being a hospital in the US with open ICU beds that can accept new patients.
1) Employees, students, and visitors must always wear their AUACAS ID Badge on their outermost garment.
2) To access the campus employees, students, and visitors must pass through a daily screening station.
3) The screening stations will consist of:
4) Persons who do not complete and follow the screening guidelines will not be allowed to enter campus.
5) Only persons who meet the screening guidelines will be allowed to enter campus.
6) While the island has a curfew in place of 8pm-5am, the campus will be open from 6 am until 6 pm.
7) While the curfew is in place, only AUACAS faculty, staff, and students will be allowed on campus. We ask that you do not bring friends or family onto campus. The only exception is if the family member/friend has an appointment in the clinic.
1) Upon entry to the property, main building, classrooms, homerooms, Labs etc. all are asked to adhere to wearing of a mask, physical distancing, and proper hygiene protocols.
2) All personnel on the AUACAS compound must remain six feet apart, whenever possible, and abstain from physical contact, including shaking hands. Where possible, workstations should be separated by at least six feet.
3) All personnel on the AUACAS compound must observe good hygiene and wash hands frequently and cough or sneeze into their own elbows.
4) The AUACAS community is encouraged to wash their hands frequently, soap and water are available at all restrooms. Hand sanitizer is available at high-traffic locations.
5) Anyone on the AUACAS compound (including buildings, grounds, shared laboratory areas, conference rooms, elevators, shuttles, etc.) must wear a face covering or mask that always covers both the nose and mouth. We need to be diligent about wearing masks properly.
6) Residents of campus housing are not required to wear a face-covering while in their own units, but face coverings should be worn in all common areas of AUACAS housing buildings.
Masks will be strictly required on campus. It must be a surgical mask or a cloth mask with 3 layers. Please add an additional filter layer if it is a cloth mask. For more information on best practices for masks, please visit here.
Though policies vary from airline to airline, we recommend that you first contact the carrier with which you booked your flight. We encourage students in this situation to reschedule their flights for our Fall 2021 academic period.
Your housing deposit will be applied as a payment against your tuition and fees due to CAS for Fall 2021
All students are encouraged to review our Scholarships page on the website. Also, please work with your Admissions ADA on finding a scholarship that you may qualify for.
The government of Antigua and Barbuda has granted permission for the campus to reopen with safety measures in place in order to facilitate learning. Access to other areas—including the gymnasium, library, and study areas—is maintaining strict social distancing guidelines. We may make other modifications to the academic programs based on how the pandemic develops. We expect these restrictions to be lifted sometime within the Fall 2021 semester.
Social distancing will be enforced and highly encouraged on the campus to ensure the safety of our students.
We are encouraging all faculty, staff and students to adhere to CDC/WHO/PAHO and local public health precautions. This includes routine handwashing—no less than 20 seconds— physical and social distancing, and facemasks in public places, particularly when distancing is limited.
For more information about COVID-19 precautions, please visit CDC/WHO’s official page.
Yes, students can choose from a wide variety of options, including single-unit housing. However, AUACAS has a number of different housing options and not all are single occupancy.
No, there have not been any delays in shipping.
