People were happily engaged in living their normal lives as they should, till a horrifying time arrived which we will be discussing here. Novel coronavirus or SARS-CoV-2 or Covid-19, it spread like a wildfire and destroyed literally everything in the most critical way possible to this whole wide world. A severely contagious disease that nothing but affected the respiratory system of every other patient in the immensely toughest way possible, the year 2019 was the initial stage for the Covid-19 surge. Some of the major symptoms for coronavirus were said to be fever, difficulty in breathing, fatigue, cough, loss of smell as well as taste; and then there were some who were asymptomatic too.
With these given symptoms, there were then numerous complications too which had the possibility to arrive in the human body which goes like acute respiratory distress syndrome, cytokine release syndrome, kidney failure or issues, pneumonia, pulmonary fibrosis, and respiratory failure. After the exposure of your body to the novel coronavirus, at least it takes a minimum of one day to fourteen days for the symptoms to show up. With the people who were diagnosed with the covid-19 virus, most of them or say 81% were stuck to mild to moderate symptoms, some of them which will be around 14% were said to be in critical conditions such as multiorgan dysfunction, respiratory failure, or shock, and then the remaining with again severe hypoxia, dyspnea, and involvement of 50% lung capacities.
Recovery and spread of Covid-19
It was certainly not sure that when one will be completely healed in a manner all strict and fine after the diagnosis and treatment of covid-19, it took a good stretch of months even after the recovery stage to be fully fit and fine yet again. Studies are still going on with respect to knowing the actual time period to be taken for the effects of the disease to vanish in a precise way.
The main transmission of coronavirus was through the presence of air, hence airborne. Not only by air but also by contaminated fluids which could be via either nose, eyes, mouth, or by surfaces as well. Even if one is asymptomatic, they are eligible to transmit it further and can remain contagious for like 20 days and therefore higher precautions had to be undertaken.
Talking about methods that are processed to diagnose covid-19, there are mainly 3 testing methods which are RT-PCR, TMA, and RT-LAMP, where RT-PCR is defined as the standard test.
Preventive measures for safety purposes
Several preventive measures which were advisable to be taken irrespective of diagnosing of coronavirus or not, this pandemic asked every other person to be attentive towards their respective health while including physical and social distancing in the most sincere manner, covering the faces with a mask, and vigorously washing hands with sanitisers and hand wash. The usage of masks was strictly advised and made a rule though when engaged in and about a social gathering as it plays a vital role to restrict the transmission of the covid-19 virus.
Vaccines and their doses
Looking at the intensity of the virus, the time taken to come up with a solution in the form of vaccines from countries took a bit longer than expected. There are a total of two doses that need to be taken and came after prioritizing the risks and complications for the people around the world. Till November 2021, there is a worldwide 7.62 billion doses given to the citizens for the prevention from this deadly covid-19 virus and which itself is a huge number.
During this whole pandemic, many major countries opted for lockdowns and quarantine systems to fight this virus and its spread. There were shutdowns of major facilities where there is a must social gathering such as that of official spaces, amusement parks, cinemas, shops and showrooms, railway stations, airports, etc.
With the leading ban on travel with respect to flights and trains, there came several physical and global restrictions too in order to control this wildfire which was burning badly. The restrictions imposed for travel purposes affected the tourism industry in a much greater way than expected through the loss of income. Some countries such as the United States, with bigger domestic markets, saw a swift and faster recovery rate with respect to only domestic travel. In November 2021, there is an ease in travel restrictions for the travellers who were vaccinated in the United States, and here we will be discussing the changing rules by the US government on international travel.
Rules by the UN Government
The United States has hereby finally allowed international travellers to cross their boundaries whether it is by airways or by the land itself. It has now been more than a year since there was a proper surge of covid-19 which not only concerned the US but also every major country in existence. In early 2019 itself, the United States closed its territorial boundaries with countries which included China, India, Brazil, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and a part of Europe, and now it’s solely based on vaccine statuses with minimal exceptions.
Not only limited to these countries, but the US has also opted to reopen its in-house land boundaries connecting Mexico and Canada for the people who are vaccinated as mostly the citizens of given countries prefer road trips to the United States.
Europe and its link with the US
For setting much normal and real travel as it was before, now Europeans are properly allowed to travel to the US by airways. But before the pandemic surge, there were around 80 million visitors in the US who came from Europe and got stuck there as it is. Since then, European agencies have been pushing their command of the US government to open up their borders in every aspect.
Main Requirements To Enter The United States
As long as requirements to enter the United States are concerned, the people who are willing to travel from distinct countries to the UN have to be fully and completely vaccinated without any fault. Not only sticking to this, but one should also carry a copy of proof that he/she is negatively tested for covid-19 and for which the reports should have a span of 72 hours in between.
Approved vaccines to enter the US
As there is a requirement of the completely vaccinated status of travellers, what comes into the spotlight, for now, is what vaccines are acceptable at this given time. The answer to this is any given vaccine that is sincerely approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) will work, which includes Moderna, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, Sinovac. The only not approved vaccine by the US government, for now, is Sputnik V which is a Russian-based vaccine, to which WHO is still reviewing and then only the US will take a lead.
Travel from Canada to the US
If you are looking to travel to the US by Canada or Mexico, the land borders are basically opened for travels which are essentially needed. To the Customs and Border Protection agents, you just have to show your given proof regarding the vaccinated status of yours where children are not counted for now, and you are good enough to enter the premises either if it’s by a car or a ferry.
According to the statement put forward by the US government, the granting of permission to the unvaccinated people will only be in the case of any kind of emergency such as evacuation for medical reasons. Even for that, there has to be an official approval by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention strictly.
For taking domestic flights there is no application for testing within 3 days of the departure system, but if one is coming from America to be precise, or other countries, there should be a test report in their hands within a span of 3 days as it is an international trip and not domestic. These are all on airline faculties. They have the responsibility to check and verify the actual vaccination statuses of their passengers and carry it forward accurately or else there is a charge of $35,000 for every violation occurring.
Conclusion
Since all of this is reassuring to reopening of borders, there are some blocks which are in between such as a swift process like that of Visa issuance with major delays. Even if you are visiting for any business purpose for travel plans, a visa is a sure-shot necessity and because of the system being uneasy for a long time, it is proving to be kind of tough to get into the process. So for now, travel industry experts are in higher expectations from Europe and other countries’ tourists and citizens to speed back their travel to the US which will be beneficial to speeding up the US Visa process.