Traveling post-pandemic (Sabong News)
Author
Dr. Edsel Salvana
Date
APRIL 19 2022
On April 7, 2022, I took a long-delayed trip to Vancouver, Canada as my first international trip in two years. The trip had originally been scheduled in 2020 when I received a senior fellowship at TED. Most people are familiar with TED Talks but may not be aware that a main TED conference occurs yearly in Vancouver where some of the best speakers in the world take to the stage. As a result of the pandemic, the physical conference was shut down for two years. This year’s speakers included Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Al Gore and I was excited to attend.
This being my first trip outside the country in two years, I had to navigate international requirements on testing and vaccination. Most countries already allow quarantine-free entry for fully vaccinated travelers. Some countries continue to require pre-departure testing and in some cases also do arrival testing. For Canada where I was going, starting April 1, 2022, predeparture testing for fully vaccinated travelers is no longer required. There is, however, the possibility of random testing at the airport. To facilitate this requirement, an app called ArriveCAN needs to be downloaded and filled up no more than 72 hours prior to departure. I uploaded my proof of vaccination, put my flight details in, and preregistered for random testing.
Proof of vaccination is required to be considered fully vaccinated. This can be in the form of a vaccination card, a vaccine certificate, or a WHO-certified International Certificate of Vaccination (ICV). Since vaccination cards or vaccine certificates may not be in a standard format that a country accepts, getting an ICV is the safest option. The Bureau of Quarantine issues ICVs to fully vaccinated individuals upon request and with the payment of a nominal fee. An online system to generate an appointment is the best way to obtain one. Schedule your appointment at
https://icv.boq.ph/.
It can be challenging to get an appointment, especially if your trip is near but check for slots frequently as some do open up from time to time. In the case of Canada, not all vaccines used in the Philippines are accepted. A full list of acceptable vaccines is available on the Canadian government website:
https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/covid-vaccinated-travellers-entering-canada.
After making sure my passport still had six months to go prior to expiration and that my Canadian visa was valid, I was all set to travel. On the day of the trip, I went to the airport four hours early. There were a lot of people in line, but I eventually made it through. My flight left from NAIA 1 and I noted that more than a few airport shops had gone out of business as a result of the pandemic. I accessed the PAGSS lounge and it no longer had a buffet. Instead it had QR codes on each table that had menus you order online. The food is brought to your table. The food was still pretty good and there weren’t very many people in the lounge at the time I was there. I used Japan Airlines for travel and the flight was on time. Japan Airlines requires that you keep your mask on at all times except during meals. I had no problem with this since our masks mandate in the Philippines is still in effect. The flight was nearly full and to me this meant that people are becoming more and more confident in flying long-haul again.
My flight landed at the Narita airport for a stopover. The passengers traveling home to Japan were offloaded first. Then the passengers with connections were allowed to deplane. There was a long walk to the connection corridor, after which we breezed through the security checkpoint. Masks were required at all times at Narita except when eating.
The connecting flight from Vancouver to Narita was on time but was once again full. Masks were still required except during meals. After a nine-hour flight, we touched down at Vancouver airport and I went through immigration. The first stop in immigration was an automated terminal which scanned your passport and printed out a ticket. I brought this to the immigration officer who asked a few questions regarding the purpose of my travel. I quickly showed my TED invitation, and I was allowed to proceed. I quickly collected my luggage. On the way out, I noted that some people were being shunted from the line for random testing. The person in front of me was asked to do a random test, but fortunately I was allowed to go through without any swabbing. I then proceeded to the hotel. I noted that masking was optional, and very few people were wearing masks, which felt a bit strange.
The TED fellowship program consists of a few days of fellow activities followed by the main program. The TED fellows’ activities were quite fun but tiring. One involved a visit to an old growth forest where we were asked to do breathing exercises. I was surprised that I initially had difficulty taking deep breaths and pausing my breath. I realized that this was because I had gotten accustomed to shallow breaths, especially with PPE, so as not to fog up the face shield. I also did not pause breathing since I usually wear an N95 when seeing patients where there is a lot of air resistance when inhaling. Pausing means you might not get enough air between breaths. After a few more tries I was able to do the breathing exercises and I felt much better.
As a senior TED fellow, I was not required to do a TED talk so there wasn’t much pressure on me. There is a new Filipino TED fellow this year though, and I was asked to mentor him. Ryan Gersava is the founder and CEO of Virtualahan, an online vocational school providing inclusive training to people with disabilities, recovering addicts, and others who struggle to find employment, while simultaneously empowering companies to become inclusive employers. Ryan was understandably nervous giving a talk on the TED stage. We gave him our advice based on our own TED talk experience, and we acted as cheer leaders. Ryan delivered an excellent talk and made the Philippines proud.
The rest of the TED conference was quite impressive, with world-renowned speakers and cutting-edge art and technology. The food was fantastic, and the entertainment was topnotch. I did get to meet Bill Gates after his TED talk, and we discussed how to prevent future pandemics. I’ve also had an opportunity to network with many interesting people who were intrigued by my work.
By the time this column is published, I will hopefully be back home in the Philippines. Since predeparture testing is required, I will be having myself swabbed within 24 hours of my departure. Barring a positive result or flight delays, I would have to say that this first international trip in two years is a resounding success. This has been a long time coming and is encouraging proof that we are moving to an endemic phase with Covid-19. As long as we continue to faithfully adhere to our public health standards, we safely coexist with the virus and resume living our lives.
