Covid and travel

I WAS debating between writing about another issue the next administration should consider or Covid, having read the New York Times article on May 19, "What's Going on With the Testing Requirement for Travel?" to the US and Ben Kritz column last Tuesday. Given my schedule this week, my apologies for taking the easier topic. Before I get to that, I recommend reading Paul Krugman's "The Perils of Plutocratic Pettiness" and "The Heat is Already On" in May 23 and 24's New York Times. And most of all please read or listen to Pulitzer Prize winner (and who I am honored to call my friend) Viet Thanh Nguyen's commencement address at Franklin and Marshall University. Very enlightening and insightful. It is on the school's website. The admiration many have for Viet's work is an example coincidentally of one of Paul Krugman's points on admiration in the column on plutocrats.

The New York Times Covid testing article's introduction is, "The requirement to test for Covid before flying to the United States is hated by many travelers and the US travel industry. But the government shows no sign of getting rid of it." Then it goes on to explain why it was imposed, does it work, and if yes or partially, how? Then why have many other countries like most of Europe, Canada and Singapore dropped it. I will add my views as well with some thoughts inspired by Ben's column on his Negros travel.