Originally published November 2021 in The Tecumseh Herald
The pandemic has created a few new wrinkles in the fabric of travel that impact overseas travel, but these are minor compared to the rewards that come with visiting a place like Italy.
Last Thursday, I returned from a highly-anticipated 10-day pilgrimage to Stivale, Italian for “the Boot,” with a group from St. Elizabeth Church. For those who are wondering about the safety of traveling overseas in the pandemic, I can say I did not feel at all concerned or worried. I have traveled to several countries in Europe over the last 10 years and while this was a very different experience, it was not onerous or prohibiting.
First, everyone wears a mask. From the time you step into the terminal at Detroit Metro Airport until you step outdoors in Rome, you must wear a mask. There are no exceptions. Our flights were aboard Lufthansa, the Germany-based airline and they are strict–the mask must be either the N-95 or surgical style version (no cloth masks allowed) and it must cover the nose and mouth. If the mask happened to slip off your nose, a helpful flight attendant was right there to remind you–sometimes sternly–of the requirement. Since most of us have been wearing masks in different places for more than a year, it was really not that much of an inconvenience.
In Italy, masks must be worn at all times inside or on public transportation. Masks are not required outdoors, but there are still a fair number of folks wearing them. Remember, Italy was the first country in Europe to experience the devastating impact of Covid-19 and had draconian lockdown requirements. About 75 percent of Italy’s population is vaccinated, which brings me to the second condition of traveling there–vaccinations are strongly recommended. If you choose not to get vaccinated, you must present proof of a negative test result, and then quarantine for five days before taking another test, which also must be negative. The vaccine is just the easier way, especially if you are only planning to be there 10 days–which was the duration of our trip.
Finally, you must have a PCR test and the result must be negative within 72 hours of arriving in Italy before you can board your flight. At the Lufthansa counter, we presented four documents, passport, proof of vaccination, proof we did not have Covid (the PCR result), and the ELF, the European Locator Form. This is the contact tracing form, which most of us are familiar with by now. All are required for entry into Italy.
We were advised that we would be asked for our proof of vaccination card. This was the case at places like the Vatican, the Papal audience, Vatican Musuems, St. Mark’s Cathedral, and other locations where we had tickets for a tour. Sometimes, we had to show the paper with our negative test results. It was somewhat inconsistent–most restaurants did not require it, for example, but if it was requested, we had to show it.
All of the literature available online indicates that social distancing restrictions remain in place so when we visited the Sistine Chapel, I expected many fewer people. When I first visited Italy in 2017, there was a complete crush of folks stuffed into the church with about 5 minutes to look at the ceiling. Really, it’s one of the most treasured and famous works of art–and it almost took more than five minutes to walk the length of the chapel, let alone get a look at Michelangelo’s most famous paintings. This time through, there were a few less people but it definitely wasn’t a situation where we were forced to stay six feet apart!
The night before our last day in Italy, we were required to take another Covid test–this was a rapid test and was administered to us in the hotel by an Italian EMT. Both the inside of our mouths and our nostrils were swabbed. When we prepared to leave on Thursday morning, we all received a sheet showing the results of our tests–we all were negative, so that meant we would be able to return to the U.S.
All things considered, it may seem like a lot of additional work, and in a way, it is. But like everything else in our world, the pandemic has changed the way we do things and for some things, there will be no going back. I fully expect we will be masking on planes for some time to come, and at physicians’ offices, the dentist, and the hospital. It’s much like the seismic shift travel took after the Sept. 11 attacks.
The world will never be the same as it was, but it still is an amazing world and if you have the opportunity to see even a small part of it, don’t let a minor inconvenience like wearing a mask get in your way.
May 2022
SQUIBS 