TESTING 1-2 -3

For now, COVID-19 tests are likely to be part of your travel experience. Here’s your guide to what to look for and where to find it

- DAN BOOTH

With the arrival of the first effective SARS-CoV-2 vaccines late last year, the end of the pandemic-induced travel slowdown appeared to be just on the horizon. Now, six months into an intense global vaccination campaign, nearly 1.5 billion doses have been administered worldwide and some countries and regions are already opening up. The positive impact on travel is thankfully beginning to show, with leisure bookings on the rise and bright spots glimmering in the business travel sector.

But wait a minute. With all this good news, why is so much of the world still in pandemic mode? In some regions cases are still spiking at alarming rates, even as the curve bends downward in many developed countries – most notably in the US, formerly the virus’ global hotspot. And even here, ever-changing mask mandates and pre-travel testing requirements are still in place, at least as we go to press, including for people who have received vaccinations.

Although a billion-plus shots have already been delivered and millions more are being administered practically every day, we still labor under the constraints put in place months ago when public health officials had no better options. The ambiguity has many travelers asking, “When can we ditch the masks and swabs and go back to a normal life?” The vaccines which were developed at lightning-speed were supposed to tamp down the raging pandemic fires, and eventually they probably will. But for now, that promise has not yet been realized.

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