Covid travel

In 2020, the disease, known as Covid-19, spread around the world. Everyone was very frightened of him, the countries imposed quarantines, curfews.

At the time, I was working in Germany, but because the borders were closed, the factories stopped, and we didn't have any orders. I went home to Hungary and started working from home.

The borders were closed, only those  who really wanted to travel

When the number of cases in Europe increased, the countries of Europe closed. What did that mean? Only those who went to work were allowed to cross national borders. As it happens, if you were an entrepreneur or you were in a truck, you could go. If you took an employer's certificate with you you could go wherever you wanted.

The restrictions were lifted for a while because the "first wave" was over, everyone could go wherever they want. Personally, I was genuinely surprised to see that Austria, for example, made such a concession that it no longer had to wear a mask in grocery stores.

"The epidemic will come back"

It's been a few weeks later they told we it wasn't over, the second wave was coming. The countries tightened up again, and in many places masks had to be worn on the streets. In Germany, for example, shops closed after Christmas, and until March only grocery stores and drugstores were allowed to enter.

Meanwhile, vaccines arrived

Those who wanted to received the vaccines. Society quickly split into two parts. There were the vaccinated and the unvaccinated. Vaccinated people began to fear the unvaccinated, they feared the  side effects of vaccines.

The borders were closed again

Everyone was informed from elsewhere, so different groups had different information. For example, our relatives living in Hungary thought that we were already in lockdown in Germany, that we could not even go to the grocery stores. And people living in Germany could not imagine that in Hungary, for example, an un vaccinated person could not go to the doctor without a PCR test.

When in most European countries the covid rapid test was free for the population, in austria even for travelers, in Hungary it cost about 9000 HUF.  

They said everywhere that vaccines would never be mandatory, while they tried hard to force the people to accept them.

By the middle of 2021, eu countries thought completely different solutions were right to deal with the pandemic. Austria, for example, was the first to introduce a universally mandatory vaccination over the age of 18 in 2022. According to the current position, it looks like they too will abolish this obligation.

Some countries would give the vaccine immediately after surviving a disease, but some say it should be given no earlier than three months after recovery.

In Hungary, for example, the status of recovered has been abolished, and the official position is that only vaccination can achieve immunity. This is, of course, refuted by most doctors, saying that it is a scientifically proven fact that the greatest protection is provided by so-called mucosal immunity, which can only be acquired by surviving Covid-19 disease.

Returning to travel

When the borders were closed, several of my acquaintances regularly traveled around Europe, they never had any problems with the border closure. I have been to Hungary several times, once in Italy, but only at the Austrian borders have I been asked where I am going.

Magic word: Transit

When you entered the territory of a state, that word always worked wonders, they heard it and said have a good way. They may have indicated that you can only stop refueling. When I arrived to Germany, of course, I was always prepared for the check, I always had a valid quick test, but no one ever asked for it. I had acquaintances who came to Germany, but at the Passau border crossing they said they were going to the Netherlands and the police immediately let them go. When even the Hungarian border was "closed" there they said they were going to Romania, hungarian police officers let them go on.

What else this epidemic might bring us, or perhaps another one, I don't know either, but I'm trying to think positively.

Many scientists believe that healing from the current omicron variant will provide adequate protection for enough people on earth to end the epidemic.

Let's hope

lead image: iaea.com