March 11, 2021

New York Lifting Domestic Travel Quarantine Requirement As Of April 1

Source: CBS New York

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – The days of the COVID-19 travel quarantine requirements are coming to an end.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday that as of April 1, domestic travelers into New York state will no longer be required to quarantine.

Mandatory quarantine will still be required for international travelers arriving into the state.

Nonetheless, all travelers – domestic or international – will still be required to fill out a traveler health form. Mask wearing, social distancing, and avoiding gatherings will remain as safety guidelines for all.

Read more: https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2021/03/11/new-york-travel-quarantine-requirement/

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Another welcome sign that we're (slowly) getting back to normal.

March 6, 2021

My father passed away a couple of hours ago.

As soon as the phone rang at 12:30 at night, I suspected it, and then saw it was from his care facitility. He'd had an ankle sore that that had gotten very bad in the last few weeks, and actually went to the hospital around a week ago, where they discovered it was infected with MRSA. He went back to the care facitlilty yesterday, and when I spoke to him a few hours ago I was shocked at how weak he sounded.

My mother passed away early last year on the exact date their 60th anniversary. Between missing her and not being able to have any visits because of COVID, the last year was very hard on him.

Woke my sister up to tell her, emailed all my friends and family. It's going to be a rough week.

March 5, 2021

Air France 777 Vandalized By Greenpeace

https://onemileatatime.com/air-france-777-vandalized-greenpeace/

Today a group of Greenpeace protestors spray painted an Air France 777 green at Charles de Gaulle Airport. It’s not known how exactly they managed to bypass security and get onto the tarmac (but that seems like a safety concern, and someone should be held accountable), but they did manage to do so. They spent quite a while spray painting the plane, wearing white suits that said “greenwashing in progress.”

The plane that was spray painted was an Air France 777-200ER with the registration code F-GSPB. The plane was delivered to the airline in 1998, and hasn’t flown for nearly a year. The last flight for this plane was on March 17, 2020, from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.

For those of you not familiar with Greenpeace, it’s a non-governmental environmental organization that describes itself as using “non-violent creative action to pave the way towards a greener, more peaceful world, and to confront the systems that threaten our environment.”

Greenpeace is angry because the organization believes a significant reduction in air traffic is needed to address climate change. Here’s how Greenpeace’s website describes its actions and stance:

(excerpt)

March 3, 2021

Thailand Tourism Sector Has Its Sights Set on a July 1 Reopening

https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/thailand-coronavirus-reopening-tourism-campaign

Thailand's tourism industry launched a campaign on Tuesday, hoping to persuade the country to welcome visitors back by July.

Launched Tuesday, the #OpenThailandSafely campaign hopes to welcome international tourists back to Thailand by July 1, campaign organizers shared with Travel + Leisure, a date which they believe provides enough time for vaccines to make their way around the world.

In addition leaving enough time for travelers to get vaccinated, organizers argued the July 1 date would give Thai medical authorities the opportunity to vaccinate front line staff and vulnerable citizens, and would give the tourism industry (like airlines and hotels) time to prepare to welcome visitors.

Organizers estimate it will take at least a year to return to pre-pandemic tourism numbers in Thailand.

(Excerpt)

Have my (refundable) flight booked for October!