It's all about political ambitions (the ruling) not public health. I'll follow common sense and public health reccomendations.
Mask mandate expires for US flights!
- Thread starter Swanky
- Start date
Masking is the new normal for me. I will continue to double mask when attending concerts, sporting events, large shopping malls and when traveling on any mode of public transportation.
As of now, when you fly into the US you need to show a negative test taken within one day of arrival by an approved test (not your own rapid test, for ex)
See, I always though that was the case that you needed an approved test. Even though I advised against it, many of my family and friends boarded international flights into the US using their own rapid test. I haven't flown international since the pandemic, just domestic.
Ethical? Not at all. But, the airports let them through without even batting an eye.
My only problem is all of these mandates and requirements are in place, but the enforcers themselves don't follow them or care enough to properly require people to adhere to them.
Interesting. I live in Canada, there is a lot of hoops to jump through to travel..the airlines here wouldn't let you on with your own rapid test. You can take one at home and have it monitored online, then they send your results in a confirmation attached to your passport info. Or taken at an approved facility, etc.
Woohoo! I am thrilled. I was beginning to think we’d never see the day.
Oh that makes sense. My family in Canada actually had to get approved tests too. See, Canada did a really great job about being strict with the requirements and guidelines for travel.
The US on the other hand...yikes. But, the us has so much traffic going in and out, shortfalls are bound to happen here honestly.
How your describing entry from traveling from a international country is how my friend had to show proof of a negative test to get back into the U. S. The home rapid test for U. S. entry is the first time I heard of this.
For the US, most people did not use at home rapid test since it is technically not allowed. I honestly have no idea how my some of the people I know were able to do it. I guess they got lucky...
It's been in place for months. Testing was originally valid for 72 hours, now you have to have it within 1 day of landing in the US (this changed when Omicron became prevalent) We don't have to test to return home to Canada (nor do visitors) but of course show proof of vaxx
I’ve never heard of a home test being accepted, not by us or anyone I know traveling go into other countries or coming back home. I’ve been to 2 other countries since this all started and I have several friends working for a couple different airlines, this includes flying private.
The mandate expired yesterday, I’m sure other mandates will change… or not.
The mandate expired yesterday, I’m sure other mandates will change… or not.
Two years later, the virus has mutated into something more contagious and less virulent. This is a good thing for most of us. I understand that for people who are immunocompromised or very elderly, this is still a bad situation. They can also be in trouble from flu or colds, so for them, having N95 masks is important.
For everyone else, the young and relatively healthy, it makes sense to lift the mask mandates. We can't mask forever...it is not normal and young children are showing developmental delays due to not seeing peoples' faces. So much of communication is non-verbal and facial expressions are a part of that! I am happy for the children to be able to see faces again and continue their normal development. It must have been very, very hard to have children on planes with the mask mandates in place. For the children, this is wonderful for sure.
Dh and I have both had the virus twice in the past two years and we are in our sixties. We did fine. Both of our kids have had it. Multiple friends have had it. It seems that people who are at high risk are the same people who are at high risk from any infectious disease and they do need to take extra precautions as always. I know we still have to wear masks to enter the rehab where my FIL is now due to a bad fall in January.
I think some of the discrepancy in attitude regarding masking is due to where people live and how strict the mandates have been in each person's area, how many high risk people they are in contact with or how many people they personally know who may have passed from covid.
Where I live, hardly anyone has worn masks in a very, very long time. The only place masks are still required are in retirement homes or in medical centers, but even at some of the hospitals you only have to wear masks when passing through the common areas, once in a patient's room, you may remove the mask. Life is relatively normal here, with a few exceptions, so for me, lifting mandates on planes makes sense. For someone who lives in an area where everyone is still masking up regularly or someone who is immunocompromised this must seem very scary. I am so sorry. A really good mask, like the N95s, might make you feel more comfortable traveling.
It isn't a matter of not wanting to be respectful or careful for others. It is a matter of living a normal life again. We cannot mask forever. It is having detrimental effects on the children, many of whom have not been able to live a normal life for two years now. That needs to be taken into account, too.
For anyone very afraid of the mandates being lifted, maybe look into ways to build up your immune system. That is another viable layer of protection for all of us against any infectious disease.
I really do not wish harm on anyone. I am not hateful or disrespectful. I wish this whole thing had not become so politicized. I am hopeful that going forward, we can all learn to live a more normal life again. I do understand it cannot be like that for everyone and I am sorry for that, but for the young and healthy, I wish you a more normal life going forward. As an older person, I do not want the young and healthy to have to live masked forever to protect dh and myself. Go enjoy your plane trips now! I do not want to sacrifice the young for those of us who are elderly. It should be the other way around. We have had our time. It is your time now.
I understand there are young people who have health issues and they will need to be extra cautious for their entire lives. That is a tragedy. It would be nice if there could be exceptions made for them, flights where they could be isolated, so they do not come into contact with others for their own protection. I don't know how that could be implemented.
Everybody do the best we can. That is all we can do.
For everyone else, the young and relatively healthy, it makes sense to lift the mask mandates. We can't mask forever...it is not normal and young children are showing developmental delays due to not seeing peoples' faces. So much of communication is non-verbal and facial expressions are a part of that! I am happy for the children to be able to see faces again and continue their normal development. It must have been very, very hard to have children on planes with the mask mandates in place. For the children, this is wonderful for sure.
Dh and I have both had the virus twice in the past two years and we are in our sixties. We did fine. Both of our kids have had it. Multiple friends have had it. It seems that people who are at high risk are the same people who are at high risk from any infectious disease and they do need to take extra precautions as always. I know we still have to wear masks to enter the rehab where my FIL is now due to a bad fall in January.
I think some of the discrepancy in attitude regarding masking is due to where people live and how strict the mandates have been in each person's area, how many high risk people they are in contact with or how many people they personally know who may have passed from covid.
Where I live, hardly anyone has worn masks in a very, very long time. The only place masks are still required are in retirement homes or in medical centers, but even at some of the hospitals you only have to wear masks when passing through the common areas, once in a patient's room, you may remove the mask. Life is relatively normal here, with a few exceptions, so for me, lifting mandates on planes makes sense. For someone who lives in an area where everyone is still masking up regularly or someone who is immunocompromised this must seem very scary. I am so sorry. A really good mask, like the N95s, might make you feel more comfortable traveling.
It isn't a matter of not wanting to be respectful or careful for others. It is a matter of living a normal life again. We cannot mask forever. It is having detrimental effects on the children, many of whom have not been able to live a normal life for two years now. That needs to be taken into account, too.
For anyone very afraid of the mandates being lifted, maybe look into ways to build up your immune system. That is another viable layer of protection for all of us against any infectious disease.
I really do not wish harm on anyone. I am not hateful or disrespectful. I wish this whole thing had not become so politicized. I am hopeful that going forward, we can all learn to live a more normal life again. I do understand it cannot be like that for everyone and I am sorry for that, but for the young and healthy, I wish you a more normal life going forward. As an older person, I do not want the young and healthy to have to live masked forever to protect dh and myself. Go enjoy your plane trips now! I do not want to sacrifice the young for those of us who are elderly. It should be the other way around. We have had our time. It is your time now.
I understand there are young people who have health issues and they will need to be extra cautious for their entire lives. That is a tragedy. It would be nice if there could be exceptions made for them, flights where they could be isolated, so they do not come into contact with others for their own protection. I don't know how that could be implemented.
Everybody do the best we can. That is all we can do.
Two years later, the virus has mutated into something more contagious and less virulent. This is a good thing for most of us. I understand that for people who are immunocompromised or very elderly, this is still a bad situation. They can also be in trouble from flu or colds, so for them, having N95 masks is important.
For everyone else, the young and relatively healthy, it makes sense to lift the mask mandates. We can't mask forever...it is not normal and young children are showing developmental delays due to not seeing peoples' faces. So much of communication is non-verbal and facial expressions are a part of that! I am happy for the children to be able to see faces again and continue their normal development. It must have been very, very hard to have children on planes with the mask mandates in place. For the children, this is wonderful for sure.
Dh and I have both had the virus twice in the past two years and we are in our sixties. We did fine. Both of our kids have had it. Multiple friends have had it. It seems that people who are at high risk are the same people who are at high risk from any infectious disease and they do need to take extra precautions as always. I know we still have to wear masks to enter the rehab where my FIL is now due to a bad fall in January.
I think some of the discrepancy in attitude regarding masking is due to where people live and how strict the mandates have been in each person's area, how many high risk people they are in contact with or how many people they personally know who may have passed from covid.
Where I live, hardly anyone has worn masks in a very, very long time. The only place masks are still required are in retirement homes or in medical centers, but even at some of the hospitals you only have to wear masks when passing through the common areas, once in a patient's room, you may remove the mask. Life is relatively normal here, with a few exceptions, so for me, lifting mandates on planes makes sense. For someone who lives in an area where everyone is still masking up regularly or someone who is immunocompromised this must seem very scary. I am so sorry. A really good mask, like the N95s, might make you feel more comfortable traveling.
It isn't a matter of not wanting to be respectful or careful for others. It is a matter of living a normal life again. We cannot mask forever. It is having detrimental effects on the children, many of whom have not been able to live a normal life for two years now. That needs to be taken into account, too.
For anyone very afraid of the mandates being lifted, maybe look into ways to build up your immune system. That is another viable layer of protection for all of us against any infectious disease.
I really do not wish harm on anyone. I am not hateful or disrespectful. I wish this whole thing had not become so politicized. I am hopeful that going forward, we can all learn to live a more normal life again. I do understand it cannot be like that for everyone and I am sorry for that, but for the young and healthy, I wish you a more normal life going forward. As an older person, I do not want the young and healthy to have to live masked forever to protect dh and myself. Go enjoy your plane trips now! I do not want to sacrifice the young for those of us who are elderly. It should be the other way around. We have had our time. It is your time now.
I understand there are young people who have health issues and they will need to be extra cautious for their entire lives. That is a tragedy. It would be nice if there could be exceptions made for them, flights where they could be isolated, so they do not come into contact with others for their own protection. I don't know how that could be implemented.
Everybody do the best we can. That is all we can do.
YES to all of this! It's been 2 full years. I'm ready to get my life back. And please don't come at me. I understand all the deaths and long term issues. I am someone who had Covid before vaccines were available and still got my vaccines and boosters. I've done everything asked of me. I just don't want to wear a mask anymore. I split my time living in the US between the North and South and it's drastically different. I spend all of Nov- Apr living in a state in the South without getting another Covid variant in a state that doesn't have any mandates. Bars are packed, no masks, no social distancing. In those same months back "home" in the North, 4 of my family members got Covid. And this is living in a state with strict mask mandates, etc. You can't escape a virus. I have no problem if people want to mask or not. All I'm saying is that at this point in time, it should be a choice, not mandate.
I agree that it should be a personal choice. But I'll wear an N95 on a plane regardless because I don't want to catch COVID or any other surprise on the way. I haven't gotten sick in years since I started masking in congested areas when I lived in Japan.
My only gripe with this is the fact you still need a PCR test to get on a plane and the US testing centers take this chance to make massive profits by charging ~$200. Whereas where I'm going, the test is something like 25 euros. It's still very confusing to figure out if you need it or not for international visits with the rules changing constantly and need to check what the airline requires vs the the destination requirements and whatever else.
My only gripe with this is the fact you still need a PCR test to get on a plane and the US testing centers take this chance to make massive profits by charging ~$200. Whereas where I'm going, the test is something like 25 euros. It's still very confusing to figure out if you need it or not for international visits with the rules changing constantly and need to check what the airline requires vs the the destination requirements and whatever else.