Having just returned from 12 days in France and Italy, I am even more amazed at the resistance that Oklahomans are putting up toward masking and vaccinations.
Where I visited, it was a nonissue. Everyone wore a mask into a restaurant, everyone was asked to provide vaccination proof before being seated, and many places even required a negative COVID-19 test in addition to the vaccination proof. I saw no one having any problems with this.
Planes, trains, museums and restaurants all required a vaccination certificate before entering. Life is continuing on pretty much as usual where we visited. One might think that masking and vaccinations work.
To return to the U.S. from visiting abroad, a COVID vaccination and a negative COVID test are required. We felt much less exposed to COVID in Europe than here.
Letters to the editor are encouraged. Send letters to tulsaworld.com/opinion/submitletter.
Featured video:
The European Union recommended Monday that its 27 nations reinstate restrictions on tourists from the U.S. because of rising coronavirus infections there. The decision by the European Council to remove the U.S. from a safe list of countries for nonessential travel reverses advice from June, when the bloc recommended lifting restrictions on U.S. travelers before the summer tourism season. The guidance is nonbinding, though, and U.S. travelers should expect a mishmash of rules across the continent. The EU has no unified COVID-19 tourism policy and national governments have the authority to decide whether they keep their borders open to U.S. tourists. The EU also removed Israel, Kosovo, Lebanon, Montenegro and North Macedonia from the safe list.
