Opinion | Coronavirus ‘travel bubbles’ must be rooted in science, not politics
- As countries look to reopen borders amid the pandemic, safe lists can all too easily be weaponised to achieve foreign policy or economic objectives
- These nations must have frank private discussions followed by full transparency, and prioritise public health
Many countries have begun the process, calling their policies “travel bubbles”, “travel corridors”, “air bridges” or “green lanes”. Australia and New Zealand announced a possible trans-Tasman bubble in early June, but implementation could be as far away as September with parts of Melbourne entering a new lockdown on July 4. On June 8, Singapore started a “fast lane” arrangement with six Chinese cities, while Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand have also announced similar plans with other countries.
Farther afield, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania announced a “Baltic bubble” in mid-May. From July 1, the European Union is allowing travellers from 15 non-EU countries to enter the Schengen Area (including Australia, China, Japan, South Korea and Thailand).
As in previous decisions on movement restrictions for Covid-19, there is an absence of a global consensus on how, when and who decides which countries are allowed entry. The decision process will always nominally contain some science, such as “Covid-19 infection rates are low” or “testing capacity is adequate”.
The subjective nature of any decision-making criteria, no matter how scientific sounding, makes it more likely that policymakers and leaders will try to obfuscate these criteria. After all, “ensuring that countries have a proven pandemic curbing system” sounds great and responsible, but is impossible to measure, entirely subjective and easy to hide behind.
The decision makers are largely politicians, diplomats or economic actors, with a predictable tendency to use scientists and epidemiologists as props. Their decision process is opaque and subjective. It is prone to negotiation, lobbying, commercial pressure and geopolitics.
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POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC BUBBLES