Just a few short months ago, in markets from Hong Kong to Japan and Australia, coronavirus cases were falling and domestic travel was recovering. There was even talk of opening international travel corridors in Thailand and Indonesia.

But then, everything changed. Hong Kong’s third wave saw over 100 new cases per day; Melbourne and Auckland went into lockdown; surges were reported in Japan and Korea; and Vietnam experienced its first Covid-19 deaths after being virus-free for months.

With the new wave of infections, the Thailand and Indonesia travel bubble schemes were put on hold, mirroring what has happened in other regions. Where corridors had been allowed – for instance, between Spain and France with the UK – a sudden “popping” of the bubbles left travellers facing a two-week quarantine back home.

How can travellers make plans with confidence when bubbles continue to pop? Will travel bubbles be sustainable, or are they destined to be as fragile and temporary as their namesakes?

Continue reading:
https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3101131/covid-19-travel-bubbles-last-longer-their-namesakes-standard

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