'I'm worried that if I head to Inverness I will be stuck there', writes Diane Knox, an Invernessian in America

Every week I do my regular Google search - “Can Brits travel to the United States?”, writes Diane Knox.

And, I think, the answer is still “no”. I say that with a degree of uncertainty as, my gosh, it gets confusing. And with the Delta variant of COVID, increased cases and certain restrictions making an extremely unwelcome comeback, I don’t even know what I’m sure of right now. But I do know I can’t wait for my friends to be able to come and visit.

I’ve said it from the start, I am lucky to be in Florida. Lucky to be vaccinated and in a state which allowed normal life to resume relatively early compared to most. The governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, last week announced that he would be signing an executive order “protecting the rights of parents to make this decision about wearing masks for their children.” He added there would be “no school closures, no restrictions and no mandates” and that “Floridians have been and will remain free to choose what’s best for themselves and their families. We will protect their right to work, we’ll protect the right of businesses to operate and we will protect the right of our kids to attend school in person.”

So there you have it. While other states are talking of making the wearing of masks compulsory in all public places yet again, we won’t be going back there - for better or for worse. But cases are up, and the local hospitals in Jacksonville have been issuing warnings that they are frighteningly close to capacity, and to only go to hospital if it’s an emergency. Florida hospitals reported nearly 9,000 patients with COVID-19 on Thursday, not far off last year’s peak of 10,200 cases.

I have a friend here who is a nurse practitioner and she said the admissions of new COVID cases is only getting worse. She had a guy in his early 30s go to hospital last week with what he thought was a sinus infection; she told him it was most likely COVID. And it was. But by the time his test came back positive he had already passed it on to his girlfriend, mother and father, and last week his father passed away. That really got me, it’s devastating.

Double-jabbed Americans can now travel to Scotland and England without having to quarantine, which is excellent news for this Scot who misses her homeland! However, instead of rushing to book a flight, I’m hesitant incase it all gets turned on its head once again. The British Transport Secretary tweeted that the move is intended to help “reunite people living in the U.S. and European countries with their family and friends in the UK.” But the worry of traveling and getting ‘stuck’ is too great right now to jump in a plane with such a carefree attitude and be able to fully enjoy a trip back home. It’s crazy that my boyfriend has never seen Scotland!

It’s been a long 18 months. We’ve seen such light at the end of the tunnel, and I hope we continue to head in that direction. And my friends can head in the direction of Florida in the not too distant future.

READ: An Invernessian in America: Chance encounter thanks to Les Français!

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