Terenia Taras
FINALLY, the wheel seems to be turning as the majority of the world is getting ahead of COVID. I say the majority but there are still countries, India being the worst, which is battling to cope with the sheer volume of infections and deaths from COVID.
Boris may have been criticised throughout the crisis for getting things wrong, but the UK vaccination roll-out has surpassed expectations with more than 35 million people having received their first dose, which is pretty remarkable compared to the rest of Europe.
But it doesn’t matter who leads the race because the whole world needs the same level of protection against COVID, if we’re to finally beat it.
As we’ve seen recently the UK is reluctantly opening up international travel but with only Portugal one of the popular holiday destinations making the green list. Meanwhile, Spain’s placement on the Amber list means people who do go against the guidance will require two post-arrival PCR tests and also have to self-isolate at home for 10 days making Spain an expensive and inconvenient holiday destination.
For those of us living here hoping to finally be able to welcome family and friends, the wait persists! I’d hopefully at the time booked flights with Ryanair for my son Anton to visit towards the end of May, but the flights were cancelled and until Spain moves onto the green list, there’s no way he’s going to visit if it means taking another 10 days off his annual holiday allowance just to sit at home in the UK and self-isolate.
Living in Mallorca I’m well aware that it’s not just about holidays, but a matter of survival for millions throughout Europe.
My partner is employed by Jet2 but has still yet to return to work and he’s not alone. Like so many people working in hospitality, travel and tourism which are the majority in holiday hotspots, they’re all just hanging by a thread.
I fully understand that for other countries still in the midst of their COVID nightmare, they maybe a long way off yet with vaccinations. But those countries which are faring better should be doing whatever it takes to help other ones and that can only happen by getting the worldwide economy going again. We all desperately want to get back to normal and despite the UK leaving the EU, it shouldn’t be a case of ‘look how well we’re doing compared to the rest of you’, because there will be no real normal for anyone until we’re all on the same page.
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