People dine at a restaurant following social distancing measures on September 13 as Langkawi prepared to open to domestic tourists in Malaysia from September 16. Photo: Reuters
Opinion
Vijay Verghese
Vijay Verghese
Pandemic’s persistence means carefree holidays abroad won’t be returning any time soon
We are being slowly but surely shoehorned into a highly restrictive travel regime that will become institutionalised, just like after the September 11 attacks
The rediscovery of home has its own rewards as those who go abroad will face increasingly tedious procedures, higher costs and long quarantines
Much has been written on travel bubbles, rapid antigen tests and vaccine passports. The English language has been greatly enriched by terms such as PCR and PPE, both among the latest acronyms now resolutely lodged in our vocabulary.
These acronyms spoon-feed science to us in bite-sized morsels. They make travellers sound like they know what they are talking about, hence the hasty adoption into living room conversation. PCR sounds so much better than polymerase chain reaction test.
Acronyms are here to stay along with Sars-Cov-2, Covid-19, N95, RNA, mRNA. There are worrying variants like Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Mu – all badges of shame in the egregious mishandling of this pandemic.
Hotels and national tourism offices have been predicting the speedy return of travel ever since the Wuhan outbreak. Things will be normal soon and travel will rebound, they say. Bubbles will save us. Every bubble – from Hong Kong-Singapore and trans-Tasman to football and cricket – has burst with unfailing regularity.
01:52
‘Vaccine bubble’ allowing Hong Kong bars and party rooms to reopen leaves many confused
‘Vaccine bubble’ allowing Hong Kong bars and party rooms to reopen leaves many confused
Now, the Lion City’s cautious, quarantine-free opening to vaccinated travellers from a few destinations is under threat from rising Covid-19 cases.
The more technologically nimble or suggestible have plunged deep into the depths of Google to emerge with fresh succour. Spicy South Indian rasam kills the virus. Eat sea lettuce. If detergent is unavailable, down ivermectin or simply slather your body with cow dung.
A sanguine air is part of the travel industry’s DNA. After all, travel has proved remarkably resilient. It has rebounded from catastrophic tsunami, volcanic eruptions, floods, wars and even nuclear disasters. Chernobyl tours are much the rage. Most of Japan’s Fukushima prefecture is deemed safe for visitors.
We remain in denial. Travel, that simple indulgence we always took for granted, has been rudely snatched away. It is time to drop the rose-tinted glasses and accept that carefree holidays will not return any time soon.
03:20
Meet the 85-year-old living in the Chernobyl exclusion zone
Meet the 85-year-old living in the Chernobyl exclusion zone
Scientists broadly agree that Covid-19 is here to stay. How this is to be safely managed is the key issue, not when we can get back to a Bacchanalian carouse. We are being slowly but surely shoehorned into a highly restrictive travel regime that will become institutionalised, much like the invasive security searches and airport delays in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
This time, unlike then, the enemy is invisible. A toxic mix of nationalist politics, online disinformation, religious obfuscation, vaccine hesitancy and plain apathy are conspiring to make this a long battle.
The 1918 Spanish flu pandemic officially lasted two years, though its effects were felt long after. Subsequent global outbreaks like the 1957 Asian flu, the 1968 Hong Kong flu and the 2009 swine flu pandemic all ran from one to two years. Some of these have become seasonal viruses.
Zoonotic spillovers like Covid-19 are a cause for serious concern. Though current vaccines have offered an extraordinarily stout defence, after almost two years, the pandemic shows no signs of abating.
01:39
China’s Delta variant outbreak in Fujian surges as Covid-19 cases hit 165 in a week
China’s Delta variant outbreak in Fujian surges as Covid-19 cases hit 165 in a week
The race is on to get to a point where the fully vaccinated and those with Covid-19 antibodies account for about 90 per cent of the global population before fresh variants arrive with the ability to dodge existing remedies. At current rates of vaccination, this could take from three to five years or longer.
This is nearly impossible given the monopoly over vaccines by wealthy nations and the absence of means, will or mechanisms for delivery in the developing world. The earlier 70 per cent threshold for herd immunity is an ever-shifting mirage.
Another factor altering the herd immunity equation is changes in the behaviour of fully vaccinated people. “If before the vaccine [assuming 90 per cent protection] you met at most one person, and now with vaccines you meet 10 people, you’re back to square one,” Dr Dvir Aran from the Israel Institute of Technology told Nature magazine.
But while international travel remains in doubt, domestic travel has rebounded and city staycations are keeping hotels afloat. The search is on for safer, healthier surrounds close to nature.
In a city like Hong Kong, hiking has exploded. The rediscovery of home has its own rewards. The few who venture abroad will need to put up with increasingly tedious procedures, quarantine, higher costs, masks and social distancing. This is unlikely to change any time soon.
