Testing is a favoured solution for many. Victor A Forcenteain, our disgruntled corporate traveller, this month puts a spotlight on this issue.
"As someone who speaks from experience, having an extra long cotton bud thrust down your throat and up your nose to see if you have coronavirus is not a fun experience. However, I'd rather have that done every day than be forced to stay at home for 14 days just because I took a business trip to Spain or France or wherever the latest hotspot is identified with very little warning.
"One way through this dilemma would be to ensure all airports test all passengers on arrival. The virus is clearly still circulating widely so rather than wait until a certain number of people in a particular country are identified with the virus, it should be mandatory. Many airports are already testing on arrival, although some only test those arriving from a red zoned country.
"Then there is the fiasco of the recent TUI and Wizz Air flights in Europe where infected people were able to travel and force the rest of the passengers to self isolate for 14 days. And do they all self isolate? I have heard of a number of people who have been told to quarantine but just laugh at the very idea and carry on regardless, free to infect others.
"There's also the ridiculous issue of people from different countries being given different advice. For instance fly from Portugal to Cardiff, Wales and you have 14 days quarantine, but fly back into Bristol, England, less than an hour away, and you don't. A closer look at the rules and it makes even less sense as it is final destination based rather than airport so there are actually different rules for passengers on the same flight that come into effect when they cross the soft England-Wales border.
"The alternative, and in my opinion, much better way through this maze is to require everyone to be tested before departure so that they are confirmed clear of the virus before they even go to the airport. In the same way as you can't be admitted into a hospital without a clear test, then we should be forced to provide a certified negative result. Let's bring back the digital equivalent of the old yellow Vaccination Certificate.
"Some countries and island nations are already doing this. For some it depends on where you are arriving from but for others, such as Tahiti and St Lucia, they require a negative Covid-19 test from everyone arriving.
"I know it's all new science and we are still catching up, but the economy needs the travel industry to get back up to speed, let alone the economy of every country in the world. Can you imagine if we'd all stopped flying for six months after 9/11 just because they couldn't figure out a way to check our belongings for bombs or knives?
"I know it took a while for travel to get back to normal then because of nervousness, but once security checks became the norm we all just got on with it and accepted the extra need for searches, and then after a further threat, to having to put all our liquids into little bottles if we wanted them on the plane.
"The human being is nothing if not adaptable. Just look at how we've all amended our ways because of coronavirus. So many are never going back to commuting, companies are releasing large buildings and wearing masks is now (almost) commonplace all over the world, instead of just in Asia. We learn to adapt and accepting that we need to get a swab pushed down our throat in order to confirm we are virus free before we travel is surely no great hardship.
"There are airports offering tests before you travel, Vienna being one notable airport. Of course you have to get the test the day before you fly as they are not that quick - yet. Testing certificates could then be issued in the same way as visas are issued to provide you with a right to travel. Airlines would then just need to check you are in possession of a valid test certificate when you check in. Simple.
"So how then is it proving so hard? Once governments around the world require such a thing to happen then the logistics to enable such testing certificates will quickly follow. We all used to carry around the yellow cards showing what vaccinations we'd had and no-one grumbled. You still do when it comes to yellow fever. Who knows, once there is a vaccine for coronavirus then maybe that will have to come back anyway, but meanwhile a global agreement on what PCR certificate to accept has to be the way forward. Come on governments start talking to each other!"