Clara Ferreira Marques, Columnist

Traveler Quarantines Aren’t Going Away Soon

Covid-19 passports based on vaccinations are problematic. Immunity checks are a promising alternative, but still distant. Until we know more about the virus, expect only tighter restrictions.

January 26, 2021 at 11:00 PM UTC

By Clara Ferreira Marques

Clara Ferreira Marques is a managing editor for Commodities and Energy in Asia. Previously, she was a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and editorial board member.

Not that easy
Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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One of U.S. President Joe Biden’s first moves upon arriving in the Oval Office has been to require international travelers get a negative Covid-19 test before departing, then quarantine on landing; Britain too is considering tighter measures for arrivals. Both basic protective moves are long overdue. They are also an acknowledgement that carefree trips are still many months away.

In part, that’s because the virus is still advancing fast — aided by a new, more transmissible and potentially deadlier, variant — and vaccinations are not yet keeping up.