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The Maddening Persistence of Covid Travel Restrictions and Mask Mandates

by Dr Roger Watson
5 August 2022 6:05 PM

July was an unusual month, and it was almost as if the good times were rolling again. I took three flights within the calendar month, which would not have been unusual up to 2019. But the madness that has gripped the world since the emergence of a new, albeit relatively innocuous, virus from China in 2019 has grounded planes, closed airports, kept families apart and had people glued to computer screens for everything from online shopping to delivering keynotes at major international conference.

I had already taken a few flights this year to Slovenia and Italy which may be classified under different degrees of nightmare with Passenger Locator Forms, uploading Covid vaccination status or Covid test documents, having to wear masks for several hours on planes and then running the gauntlet of the mask police in various countries. Things have improved but vestiges of the Covid regime persist everywhere, either in relation to flying or within countries. The United Kingdom, apart from continued stupidity in hospitals over face masks, is an outlier with respect to Covid regulations along with Ireland, to which I have also flown.

Italy

July found me in Genoa, Lisbon and Nashville and each experience was different. Italy, with regard to flying, has seen the light and abandoned the necessity to prove Covid vaccination status, take a Covid test or—hallelujah—wear a face mask on planes, airports or in public buildings. But the traveller must be wary as masks are a requirement on public transport within Italy. My observation is that they are an absolute requirement on buses: no mask no ride. Taxi drivers wear them ubiquitously but never enforce wearing by passengers and on trains nobody seems to enforce them any longer as I went maskless between Turin and Genoa in both directions. However, masks remain very much in evidence as Italians love wearing them and students and staff nearly all continued to wear them at the university where I was teaching.

Portugal

Courtesy of Cathay Pacific and the environment-crushing number of One World airmiles (in the millions) I have accrued over the years, I booked a long weekend through British Airways in Lisbon with my wife. I was happy to note that Portugal had abandoned all Covid related requirements for flights and entry. But no sooner was the outward flight booked, and British Airways cancelled it and we were routed with Iberia through Madrid, which was extremely bad news. Spain does not allow the unvaccinated to enter but allows the unclean such as my wife and me (both now classified as ‘unvaccinated’ by the Spanish authorities) to transit without a test. But it is hard to describe our dismay at the fact – largely unknown – that the Spanish authorities mandate wearing face masks on all flights into and out of Spain.

At least we had a direct flight back to London from Lisbon. But British Airways also cancelled the return flight. A few frantic phone calls to Hong Kong later and we had flights back to London, but through Madrid with Iberia again. Nevertheless, if we stretched the Iberian hospitality in business class out long enough, we could spend most of the flight without a mask and on the flight from Madrid to London, once the pilot announced we were over Bilboa – and out of Spanish air space – I removed mine and was not asked to put it on again.

All was not well in Portugal, however. Despite some good sense over entry to the country, like Italy, it has retained mask-wearing on public transport. This included the famous elevator up to a viewing point. Approaching the elevator, the operator (let’s call him Adolf) made the irritating cupped hand over the mouth sign indicating that we should mask up. We continued to approach whilst fishing a couple of old masks out of our pockets. He started to shout at us to go away but calmed down once our masks were on. He continued ranting on the elevator about where to stand and where to sit and what not to touch. Once the elevator journey was over – bearing in mind that it takes approximately 15 seconds – my wife was less than impressed as I goose-stepped off saying “Heil Hitler”. Masks were also enforced on the famous trams but, incredibly, they had open windows and the wind blew through freely. Again, we found that even to approach the tram without a mask was to be shouted at by the operative, in this case a young woman (let’s call her Eva). This time it was my wife’s turn to get stroppy. Some expletives were exchanged, and we decided eventually just to get off and see Lisbon on foot.

United States

Finally, I visited Nashville for a conference. It was a joy to take a long-haul flight without the need for masks in-flight or at the airports. The United States does, however, require proof of vaccination status or proof of exemption which must be uploaded and approved prior to checking in online. You must also complete an attestation form to say you do not have Covid symptoms or have been in contact with anyone who has Covid (how would you know?). The remarkable thing is that while I am no longer considered vaccinated in Europe – I had two shots of the AstraZeneca vaccine early in 2021 – this was adequate proof that I had complied to allow me to enter the United States. Confused? I certainly was.

Dr. Roger Watson is Academic Dean of Nursing at Southwest Medical University, China. He has a PhD in biochemistry.

Tags: AmericaItalyMask MandatesPortugalPublic TransportSpainTravel RestrictionsVaccine Passports

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25 Comments
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transmissionofflame
transmissionofflame
3 years ago

I don’t have to travel for work and don’t have friends or relatives abroad that I am interested in seeing (they are all covidtards) so I only travel for pure pleasure. Therefore I won’t be visiting any country that has any Covid restrictions whatsoever, neither to enter nor within the country. I also doubt I will ever feel like visiting what I see as the worst offenders in this shitshow – China, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, Italy, France for starters.

167
-1
A Y M
A Y M
3 years ago
Reply to  transmissionofflame

“Covidtards,“

I’m stealing that one.

62
0
transmissionofflame
transmissionofflame
3 years ago
Reply to  A Y M

Please do – I myself stole it from the Lockdown Sceptics subreddit.

Alternative would be ronatards, and there are the more specific masktards and vaxxtards.

Crude but effective.

Net zero loonies would be warmtards.

44
-1
A Y M
A Y M
3 years ago
Reply to  transmissionofflame

Of course these all have the added benefit of being “ableist” slurs. (I had no idea how to spell this neologism but Apple saved me. Thank you fruit of Satan)
Sure to trigger in the right places.
Cheers!

16
0
True Spirit of America Party
True Spirit of America Party
3 years ago
Reply to  A Y M

Covidiots, Branch Covidians, Corona’s Witnesses also works, lol.

31
0
elsvan
elsvan
3 years ago

I find it interesting that there has been so little fanfare regarding the dropping of all travel restrictions to France – as the law that made them all possible has been voted down by French parliament – courtesy of Macron not having a majority anymore. I’ve found it fascinating that this has barely been noted in MSM – surely it cannot have anything to do with the fact that it was the parties led by Marine Le Pen and Jean-Luc Melenchon who voted down the law, against Macron’s wishes? This would then also help combat queues at Dover, as there is no more checking of Covid paperwork by the French customs – again, not mentioned at all. Overall, I’m just grateful that some parliamentarians can see the restrictions for what they are – useless.

121
0
John
John
3 years ago
Reply to  elsvan

Am I right in my thoughts here?
If you prove your vaccination status on entry to an EU country that is part of the Schengen area then you can travel anywhere within Schengen without further problem.
France is in the Schengen area, France no longer requires proof of vaccination. Therefore, entering the EU via France gives access to Schengen countries without the need to show vaccination status.

36
0
HicManemus
HicManemus
3 years ago
Reply to  John

Try Norway – no Covid restrictions and it is in Schengen…also a beautiful country.

18
0
True Spirit of America Party
True Spirit of America Party
3 years ago
Reply to  HicManemus

Does Sweden still require jabs to enter?

3
0
transmissionofflame
transmissionofflame
3 years ago
Reply to  True Spirit of America Party

No, they dropped that a few months ago. Completely open now and zero covid restrictions once you are there. Fewer mask wearers than in the UK and because they didn’t have much in the way of restrictions in the first place even less residual signage etc.

15
-1
Espedair
Espedair
3 years ago

I was in Portugal last month (Madeira). We took the cable car up the mountain above Funchal, where a mask nazi enforced muzzling but where a photographer then urged us to take them off briefly so that we could be snapped for the hard sell of a photo at the top. Hilariously grubby practise and exposed the ludicrous nature of lingering Portuguese covid rules.

57
0
huxleypiggles
huxleypiggles
3 years ago
Reply to  Espedair

Madeira is a firkin dump.

5
-4
The old bat
The old bat
3 years ago

With my husband, I went to visit an old friend who has moved to a care home as he is no longer capable of caring for himself. What a farce! We had to take a ‘test’ (lft) and go and sit back in our car for 20 minutes before we could enter the premises. Neither of us has ever taken a covid test before, much to the amazement of the carer/guardian of the locked entrance door. When we arrived back with our negative tests we were then asked to put on masks (?) in order to be let in. I refused, having never worn a mask due to health issues – but, if you have just tested negative for covid, why do you need a mask anyway? This question was met with silence and confusion. Anyway, we were ushered upstairs through two key code operated doors – it felt like a prison/secure facility, which it isn’t, certainly not at £1500 a week plus extras. The whole point is, we had to go along with all this covid b****cks in order to visit a frail and isolated friend. If we hadn’t played along he would have gone without a visit. We had problems leaving because we were locked in, and it was only shouting ‘cooee!’ loudly and repeatedly I managed to get some attention. I said to my husband that when they give him to next booster (he has mild dementia so will go along with what ever they suggest) I really wouldn’t be surprised if he dies. I also said I would rather be dead than live like that.
The covid gestapo are alive and well and living in little pockets in your town.

123
0
RW
RW
3 years ago
Reply to  The old bat

Horrible.

That’s government sanctioned abuse of vulnerable people, one of the proudest achievements of science superpower Britain under the Johnson’s government. I’m really started to wonder how the mirror he uses for shaving can stand to look back at him.

60
0
A Y M
A Y M
3 years ago
Reply to  RW

It’s the globalist version of Logan’s Run in a syringe.

37
0
Lockdown Sceptic
Lockdown Sceptic
3 years ago

I saw a woman wearing two masks this morning in Aldi. One of them might as well be a blindfold. She is walking us all into totalitarianism.

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37
-2
RW
RW
3 years ago

A historical remark: So-called goose stepping refers to the way Prussian soldiers had to march on parades and public guard duty, presumably since the times of Frederick William I. It has absolutely nothing to do with Hitler, just with English prejudices about Germans.

10
-22
A Y M
A Y M
3 years ago

Dr Watson. With a name like that you (or Mrs Watson) must have endless Sherlock jokes…

You are very patient with the masks and it must have been annoying to have had the jabs in the first place (let’s hope just annoying). Thanks for sharing your travel experience.

I have two recent ones. Tunisia/Libya & Greece

Tunisia was a transit country which I dreaded as they required a PCR test which I have never done and refuse to do. Wifey found a way to test our dogs saliva send it away and fortunately she was negative and I had a certificate of cleanliness. The added bonus that if indeed my genetic material was ent to Genebank for future processing, there would be a very weird result in the database.

All was well until we got to boarding the plane and we’re asked to put on masks. We shrugged our shoulders and kept walking. Then we got to the plain where the flight attendants said do you have your masks?
We replied no and kept walking as they looked at us bemused. It’s strange when all the people on the plane are wearing masks but I had read the Tunis air rules and there were no mask requirements so I was waiting to show them this if they went to our seats and got more aggressive but they just gave up, Several other passengers began to drop their masks. From there on it was home free. Libya didn’t care about anything except my dog’s Covid status and on our exit they didn’t even bother checking the elapsed date of the test.

And Greece…well Greece is absolutely nada covidian free heaven. Sure there’s about 1 in 50 maskers but hey. And already met a Taverna owner completely awake to the great reset and the evil plans afoot as well as a Canadian Greek couple who had escaped and were also wide awake and convinced this was all an attempt “to break us.”

92
0
Bella Donna
Bella Donna
3 years ago

Its clear now who we should be blaming for the hell our lives have been for the past 2 or more years and it lies with our so called buddies across the Atlantic!

https://bioclandestine.substack.com/p/russian-mil-declares-ukraine-origin

21
0
Dave Angel Eco Warrior
Dave Angel Eco Warrior
3 years ago

Me and my equally sceptical brother had this this conversation earlier today in that there is still far too much Covid restrictions in force which are gleefully policed by Warden Hodges types. “Put that mask on. Don’t you know there’s a virus about?”

25
0
True Spirit of America Party
True Spirit of America Party
3 years ago

The fact that the USA still requires visitors to be jabbed to enter the country in mid 2022, despite having lifted practically all other restrictions both domestically and internationally, is really quite ridiculous. At least they only require two doses (or even just one for J&J I think) though, unlike some countries that require three or even to be “up to date”.

It is every bit as silly as Sweden requiring jabs to enter the country. Which they actually did for a while despite lifting all other few restrictions they had, not sure if they still do.

Last edited 3 years ago by True Spirit of America Party
15
0
Jon Mors
Jon Mors
3 years ago
Reply to  True Spirit of America Party

Sweden dropped all restrictions on 1 April. I’ve been there since with my family and we’re all purebloods. The “pandemic” as some people know it is very much talked about in the past tense.

18
0
sophie123
sophie123
3 years ago

You can travel to Spain as unvaccinated. You need a negative LFT though, or proof of recovery within 6mo.

Everywhere else is currently fine in Europe. Apart from the Netherlands where technically the unvaxxed cannot enter, except with proof of recovery. But nobody checks anything and it’s fine.

I have travelled over the past few months to Switzerland, Belgium, France, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden and am off to Spain next week. No problems so far. And no test needed either (i have one for Spain sent to my house for £11.99 for the kids, and I have a recovery cert, £59).

The Americans won’t let me in though, because they are asses.

19
0
elsvan
elsvan
3 years ago
Reply to  sophie123

The travel requirement for Spain is only if you arrive from a non-EU country. Travel via another EU country and you’re fine, nothing needed.
For The Netherlands, any restrictions are only if you arrive from a non-EU country AND on a non-EU passport AND you are not travelling together with anyone with an EU passport (yep, me neither). Although I’ve not heard recently of anyone checking this, but it’s still the rules! And currently no info on when thise might be dropped.

3
0
ellie-em
ellie-em
3 years ago

I too will not travel to countries who still subscribe to elements of covidmania.

I recently had a lovely unrestricted 5 day short break to Gibraltar, memories only tarnished due to the terrible mismanaged checking in / security arrangements, courtesy of Manchester Airport terminal 1 and EasyJet.

I read recently that Malta have dropped all restrictions and I briefly considered going there. However, I’ve been once many years ago and I didn’t particularly like it. I have memories of so many buildings that looked either half demolished or half built – I couldn’t tell – and it rained, every day! Plus, the memory of a certain meal served at the hotel, described as fish and chips.(I still ate fish at the time) The waiter put the plates on the table with a flourish, saying ‘lampuki’. The sight of that – quite large – poor, dead fish, sprawled across a few chips and staring up at me, put me off eating any more fish – ever – shudder.

No, I don’t think I’ll lose any sleep at the thought of not going back. Sorry Malta.

The different travel policies are confusing and do deter travel but they will be strengthened with a vengeance from May next year.

‘They’ are just biding time for the next 12 months, whilst waiting to unleash the next thrilling (not) instalment of dictatorship.
The EU jab passport – recently extended for a further 12 months – expires in June 2023 but in May 2023, the Etias visa waiver scheme will be introduced for travellers to Europe. Online applicants have to submit passport and health details – no doubt, jab status will be required – and travel permission can be denied / rescinded dependant on some health circumstances.
More sinister surveillance of the public.

https://www.etiasvisa.com/etias-news/etias-role-protecting-public-health

transmissionofflame posted an excellent link recently re travel restrictions which I’m working my way through.

https://www.kayak.co.uk/travel-restrictions

Last edited 3 years ago by ellie-em
12
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