I don't agree with some of the criticism, and there's quite an uproar on Wikipedia about the entries.

I have to say I'm not surprised that people coming at the epidemiology of the pandemic from different sides / with different agendas are are able to cherry pick statistical information to suit their case. I've just been reading an article in this week's British Medical Journal looking at the numbers of people dying with Covid / from Covid / because of Covid / where its tipped them over the edge etc and how the differing effects of the various different strains have impacted those numbers.

It's very multifactorial, with 'some novel trends' according to one academic. Under such circumstances it's probably inevitable that simplifications for social purpose will emerge. In the way of all such simplifications they're open to criticism.

Factchecking 101:
https://youtu.be/lMf-Zq7xJcY

In Switzerland we are back to normal life since thursday :scooter:

No masks, no certificates, no frequent vaccinations anymore. Not shure if you can get an update for vaccination for free (tax payed) anymore.

starting from march too the two left rules like wearing masks in public transport, and in hospitals are cancelled.

How is the situation in your country?

Surfy

I believe all four countries of the UK have now dropped most or all mask requirements and the last remaining rules around isolation may be scrapped next month in England, although I am not sure about the other three countries.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-60324928

Hopefully travel restrictions will be lifted soon

That's been a long running argument, and like dyno testing the value of any particular measure is less relevant as an absolute and more as a yardstick, to evaluate the increase or decrease caused by particular factors. Personally I prefer "excess deaths" as a measure because it also takes into account deaths caused by associated causes, such as failure to treat other conditions due to covid clogging care systems.

However you measure it the fact remains covid is an extremely dangerous disease that we should not take lightly. The UK seems to have normalised 2-300 people a day dying (within 28 days of a covid diagnosis, for the pedants), which is equivalent to a 9/11 scale death toll every 2 weeks. This staggers me in a country that is still trying to reduce road deaths from an average 4/day. And while people may see this as an acceptable price to pay for not having to wear masks on public transport (yes I'm being sarcastic) building up that sort of endemic situation is storing up trouble for the future until long lasting vaccines are developed, while the NHS has the biggest backlog in its history and chronic staff shortages, and an increasing number of people are suffering from long covid.

For us, I guess the day is coming closer when we can once again go on our extended holidays (let's not kid ourselves we are intrepid explorers) and frankly border closures are irrelevant while the virus is running rampant by community transmission due to inadequate public health measures and low vaccination rates. I reckon by next year fully vaccinated and boosted travellers will find their progress largely unimpeded, but for the world - particularly the poorer parts - the crisis is far from over.