Covid restrictions abroad: updates & observations

[bengley]

I've been in Sweden and Denmark today, neither of which mandate the use of masks (anywhere, I think, but certainly not on public transport). I don't think I've seen anyone wearing a mask. Things seem to be back to "normal" here.

Scandinavians tend to be a lot more relaxed and level headed than us Brits!

 

[Richard Scott]

Absolutely no restrictions apparent in Romania, bar one or two wearing masks it's perfectly normal.

 

[rg177]

I'm currently in Poland where they've gone from being one of the last countries to require a pre-entry test to having no restrictions at all.

Not a single mask in sight. All feels very normal.

 

[kristiang85]

Yeah, if you hate masks don't come to Portugal. I love this place, but the constant mask wearing is ruining the experience somewhat.

 

[yorkie]

You can easily get away with a fake mask in Portugal
No-one in Portugal has ever seemed to care about social distancing; there have been no one-way systems, no entry limits.
It's all about being seen to wear a mask; any mask will do. It's not about effectiveness or logic anything like that, it's about compliance.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 17 Apr 2022 ==

Yeah, if you hate masks don't come to Portugal. I love this place, but the constant mask wearing is ruining the experience somewhat.

Agreed but I found it tolerable as you can easily get away with a breathable 'fake' mask in Portugal; no-one in Portugal has ever seemed to care about social distancing; there have been no one-way systems, no entry limits. It's all about being seen to wear a mask; any mask will do. It's not about effectiveness or logic anything like that, it's all about compliance. I simply wore my breathable mask and other than masks, Portugal is normal.

Good news from Czech Republic:

End of Requirement To Wear Face Masks On Public Transport From Thursday

English News and Events in Brno

brnodaily.com

Czech Republic, April 11 (BD) – The obligation to wear respirators on public transport will cease to apply from Thursday morning. Health Minister Vlastimil Valek (TOP 09) said the main reason was the decreasing number of new Covid-19 cases and the stable situation in hospitals.

I am due to go there later this month, so that is most welcome.

It would be good if Slovakia would stop victimising public transport, but I am not in Slovakia for long and I don't think there is any enforcement.

 

[island]

A judge in Tampa, Florida today overturned the national mask requirement on planes and public transport.

 

[VauxhallandI]

A judge in Tampa, Florida today overturned the national mask requirement on planes and public transport.

Good on them

 

[Cdd89]

It’s notable that among the reasoning was that it was arbitrary and capricious (i.e. to apply this to public transport settings while not applying it to other indoor contexts).

Other places continuing to impose mask requirements on public transport could learn from this.

 

[Jimini]

Full story here

Judge Throws Out Federal Mask Mandate for Public Transportation​

Federal judge in Florida says the Biden administration’s Covid-19 mandate exceeds the CDC’s authority​

Passengers at Florida’s Tampa International Airport last month.PHOTO: ARIELLE BADER/TAMPA BAY TIMES/ZUMA PRESS
By Jacob Gershman
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Updated Apr. 18, 2022 3:15 pm ET


A federal judge in Florida on Monday declared that the Biden administration’s Covid-19 mask mandate for public transportation is unlawful, invalidating a regulation that required travelers in the U.S. to wear masks on airplanes, trains, taxis, buses and other forms of public transit.
U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle in Tampa said the mandate exceeded the authority granted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under federal public health law.
Judge Mizelle, a President Donald Trump appointee, said Congress had never clearly given the CDC the power to issue population-wide preventive public-health measures like the mask mandate.
Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the scientific understanding of its transmission and prevention has evolved. WSJ’s Daniela Hernandez explains what strategies have worked for stemming the spread of the virus and which are outdated in 2022. Illustration: Adele Morgan
Because the CDC acted beyond its authority, “the court must hold unlawful and set aside the mask mandate as an agency action that is not in accordance with law,” Judge Mizelle wrote in a 59-page opinion.
The judge’s ruling came days after the Biden administration extended the transportation mask mandate through May 3 after it was set to expire Monday.
Travelers and commuters in the U.S. have been required to wear masks over their mouths and noses on nearly all forms of public transportation and inside transportation hubs since early last year.
The mask policy, like many of the Biden administration’s Covid-19 mandates, came under legal fire from Republicans and other critics. Opponents of the mandate have argued that the mask requirement is an unlawful and heavy-handed precaution that is out of step with a recent easing of pandemic restrictions amid declining rates of Covid cases and hospitalizations.
Judge Mizelle’s ruling came in a case brought by Health Freedom Defense Fund, an Idaho-based nonprofit legal group that advocates against mask and vaccine mandates, and two Florida residents.
The CDC has said wearing masks on public transit reduces the spread of the coronavirus. To support the emergency measure, the Biden administration invoked a federal statute dating from the 1940s that authorizes the surgeon general “to make and enforce such regulations as in his judgment are necessary to prevent the introduction, transmission, or spread of communicable diseases” from abroad or between the states.
A Justice Department spokeswoman said the department was reviewing the ruling but declined to comment further. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

[Mainline421]

...and within hours ditched by United, Alaska, and Amtrak!

Effective immediately, masks are no longer required on board domestic flights, select international flights (dependent upon the arrival country’s mask requirements) or at U.S. airports.


This change comes after a decision by a federal judge voiding the federal mask mandate. We will continue to closely monitor the situation in the event of changes.

UPDATE: United Airlines Will No Longer Require Masks Onboard - Live and Let's Fly

A federal judge struck down the CDC mask mandate. Even so, United Airlines will continue to enforce masks onboard its flights.

liveandletsfly.com

...Amtrak passengers and employees are no longer required to wear masks while on board trains or in stations....

https://twitter.com/davidshepardson/status/1516206610305073153

 

[Watershed]

...and within hours ditched by United, Alaska, and Amtrak!

UPDATE: United Airlines Will No Longer Require Masks Onboard - Live and Let's Fly

A federal judge struck down the CDC mask mandate. Even so, United Airlines will continue to enforce masks onboard its flights.

liveandletsfly.com

https://twitter.com/davidshepardson/status/1516206610305073153

The cat is well and truly out of the bag!

 

[Cdd89]

Best of all, it makes Biden look like an idiot. What an incredibly chaotic way for it to end.

“100 days to mask”, indeed.

 

[Mag_seven]

Hopefully other countries now will follow suit.

Where is the logic in "I don't have to wear a mask in a crowed bar but must wear one on an empty train"?

 

[Mainline421]

Wow, this has actually been implemented mid-flight on most airlines and received to cheers by passengers! https://twitter.com/i/events/1516235851910504448

Attitudes have well and truly shifted, which is great to see.

 

[duncanp]

Hopefully masks will be ditched on international flights to and from the United States.

I'm looking at you, Aer Lingus.

 

[island]

...and within hours ditched by United, Alaska, and Amtrak!

UPDATE: United Airlines Will No Longer Require Masks Onboard - Live and Let's Fly

A federal judge struck down the CDC mask mandate. Even so, United Airlines will continue to enforce masks onboard its flights.

liveandletsfly.com

https://twitter.com/davidshepardson/status/1516206610305073153

All major airlines and the TSA have followed suit overnight. Impressively quick.

 

[Urobach]

I'm looking at you, Aer Lingus.

And you BA

No change to obtaining a negative test before travel as far as I can see though...

 

[island]

And you BA

No change to obtaining a negative test before travel as far as I can see though...

BA’s policy is that masks are not required on flights where neither end has a mask requirement, so I assume once the ruling has filtered down they will not be requiring masks on US flights.

 

[Butts]

And you BA

No change to obtaining a negative test before travel as far as I can see though...

This will be gone within weeks !!

Is anyone still going to wear a mask when they become optional ?

 

[jumble]

Full story here

This will well annoy maskevsists who booked on Sunday believing the mandate would be in place till May.

Interestingly I have learned that a travel insurance policy to the USA that was quoted at £339 on the 3rd March dropped to £233 last week
This tells me more about the real vs perceived risk than any amount of uninformed pontificating could.

 

[Cdd89]

Uber have removed their mask requirement in the US, which I assume will mean it is shortly also removed in the UK (if they haven’t already!).

 

[Mojo]

Uber have removed their mask requirement in the US, which I assume will mean it is shortly also removed in the UK (if they haven’t already!).

Uber dropped its mask mandate in England on 27th January. The requirements were also dropped in NI, Scotland, and Wales, on the respective dates they ceased to be a legal requirement in those regions.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 19 Apr 2022 ==

With regard to the US mask mandate I’ve come across a few videos on Twitter made by airline staff and this one particular was my favourite, you can hear the emotion of relief, joy and happiness in the voice of the air hostess when she announces that effective immediately, staff and customers no longer have to wear a mask.

https://twitter.com/the_kyle_mann/status/1516205586119073798?s=21&t=5Mnjnmvbu3hVSRpDNvnGzw

 

[Berliner]

This will well annoy maskevsists who booked on Sunday believing the mandate would be in place till May.

Interestingly I have learned that a travel insurance policy to the USA that was quoted at £339 on the 3rd March dropped to £233 last week
This tells me more about the real vs perceived risk than any amount of uninformed pontificating could.

My travel insurance to the USA, with a pre existing conditions was only about £170 for 2 weeks last month. A bit more than usual, but I also didn't choose the cheapest option.

Uber dropped its mask mandate in England on 27th January. The requirements were also dropped in NI, Scotland, and Wales, on the respective dates they ceased to be a legal requirement in those regions.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 19 Apr 2022 ==

With regard to the US mask mandate I’ve come across a few videos on Twitter made by airline staff and this one particular was my favourite, you can hear the emotion of relief, joy and happiness in the voice of the air hostess when she announces that effective immediately, staff and customers no longer have to wear a mask.

https://twitter.com/the_kyle_mann/status/1516205586119073798?s=21&t=5Mnjnmvbu3hVSRpDNvnGzw

Having flown extensively in the US last month on several different airlines and through different airports, the staff certainly didn't want to be enforcing it but they and to. They often apologises profusely for having to enforce the ruling and you could hear the unhappiness in their voices when making those announcements.

 

[initiation]

There have been some proper meltdowns on social media from masktavists at the removal of the mandate in the US. Examples include:

 

[danm14]

The lifting of the federal mask mandate seems to have led to quite a few people in the US that only wanted a mask mandate "until it's safe to stop" admitting that they do in fact want a permanent mask mandate, that it'll never be "safe" to stop.

The quiet part is finally being said out loud.

 

[Watershed]

Unfortunately most of the publicly controlled transport operators in New York (MTA, Port Authority, LIRR) are keeping a mask mandate in place, citing state health officials' guidance and the fact they're waiting to see whether the federal government appeals. A mask mandate was also reintroduced on Monday in all indoor spaces in Philadelphia "due to a rise in cases".

This really demonstrates the nakedly political nature of the mandates. That said, Biden has stated that people are now free to choose whether to wear a mask, which gives me the impression the federal government won't reintroduce the mandate, even if they appeal and are successful. Now just the stupid air travel testing rule to go...

 

[306024]

Quick bit of advice for anyone curreently wanting to do the Centovalli (Locarno to Domodossola). While Switzerland is as England, Italy isn't. Masks required, and FFP2 were being insisted upon by the guard. Hasty trip to Avec, a shop by Locarno Station, saved the day.

Needed to show the NHS Covid travel document on a train from Milan to Zurich before we got to Chiasso. Guards phone device read the QR code fine. Also did Italian locator forms for entry into Italy from Switzerland but haven't been asked for those.

Mask wearing on trains in Milan close to 100%, cross the border to Switzerland nearer 0%. Wonder when Italy will relax their dress code.

 

[D6130]

Mask wearing on trains in Milan close to 100%, cross the border to Switzerland nearer 0%. Wonder when Italy will relax their dress code.

Current estimate is 1st May, but that's still by no means certain. The change in the rules has still to be ratified by the Italian parliament. We're keeping our fingers crossed, as we're going to Italy on 8th May for six weeks.

 

[MikeWM]

Unfortunately most of the publicly controlled transport operators in New York (MTA, Port Authority, LIRR) are keeping a mask mandate in place, citing state health officials' guidance and the fact they're waiting to see whether the federal government appeals. A mask mandate was also reintroduced on Monday in all indoor spaces in Philadelphia "due to a rise in cases".

New York are hinting at the reintroduction of a general mask mandate *and* vaccine passports too. That's in addition to their continued requirement for 2- to 4-year olds (!) to wear masks. There's something really not quite right about New York at the moment.

Conversely, the two US cities I'm most familiar with - Boston and Seattle - have removed their public transport mask requirements, in line with the court ruling striking down the federal mandate. (In both cases they are still 'encouraging' masks, of course).

 

[306024]

Current estimate is 1st May, but that's still by no means certain. The change in the rules has still to be ratified by the Italian parliament. We're keeping our fingers crossed, as we're going to Italy on 8th May for six weeks.

Hope you can enjoy it freely. In Milan it was the usual mix of masks, although FFP2 is supposed to be mandatory. Only on the Centovalli were FFP2s essential, all the crews had them too.