World opens up

World opens up

With more countries allowing travel, there’s a need to be on guard against importing AY.4.2.

While most countries have either completely exited the second wave or are almost getting there — with India among the most notable countries bucking the trend — the aviation, tourism and hospitality sectors are still groggily finding their feet. These sectors in particular, as well as the entire gamut of the services sector in general, had borne the severest brunt in the immediate aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak. However, the final quarter of 2021 heralds good tidings for these industries, global business establishments, weary-at-home executives and Hodophiles. With an increasing number of countries easing travel restrictions, the list of destinations where vaccinated Indians can travel is steadily expanding. While Singapore recently relaxed the curbs, Thailand had in September reopened its doors under the ‘Phuket sandbox’ programme. Both these countries announced the removal of India and five other South Asian countries from their travel restriction list. The US, which had imposed extraordinary travel restrictions first in early 2020, has also announced that it would lift the curbs on India, China and much of Europe effective November 8. Similarly, fully vaccinated Indians are faced with no quarantine requirement in Nepal. Indians vaccinated with Covishield are eligible to travel to Italy, too.

In a fresh set of guidelines effective October 24, the UK Government has said that travellers vaccinated in over 100 countries and territories, including India, will be treated the same as returning fully vaccinated UK residents. However, the Government as well as frequent fliers would be best advised not to take these developments at face value and hop on to the first flight leaving the country. With over 100 crore Indians having been inoculated with at least one dose of the vaccines, a false sense of security seems to have enveloped our fellow countrymen, as was evident by the multitudes of crowds thronging public places during the recently concluded Dussehra festival and the ongoing festive season before Diwali which will last at least till the New Year celebrations subside. We must take care of our health individually, of our family’s, and of our society; only then can the nation become healthy and successful in its endeavour to halt the third wave of COVID-19 before it hits us with brute force. And, most certainly, we don’t want to import the AY.4.2 variant owing to reckless wanderlust.