NEWS WEBSITE OF THE YEAR
Subscribe now
Free for one month
Log in
See all Travel
Telegraph Travel Lists
Which countries haven't embraced mandatory face masks?
OLIVER SMITH
DIGITAL TRAVEL EDITOR
25 NOVEMBER 2020 • 4:30PM
62
"Ah, Sweden. The Marmite of the pandemic"
'Ah, Sweden. The Marmite of the pandemic' CREDIT: GETTY
There’s a startling lack of evidence to suggest face masks stop the spread of respiratory illnesses in the community, with the latest study from Denmark – the most comprehensive random control trial of its kind – concluding: “The recommendation to wear a surgical mask when outside the home among others did not reduce, at conventional levels of statistical significance, the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in mask wearers.”
No pandemic plan put forward by health authorities – until 2020 – contained the advice: “Make everyone, even the healthy, cover their face.” (Nor did any advise governments to lock up their citizens, but that’s another story).
Until less than six months ago, both the World Health Organisation and Public Health England did not recommend them, with Jenny Harries, deputy chief medical officer, even warning that they could increase the risk of infection (something seen in a 2015 Vietnamese study).
In March, chief medical officer Chris Whitty summed up the stance of most rational public health bodies around the world: “In terms of wearing a mask, our advice is clear: that wearing a mask if you don’t have an infection reduces the risk almost not at all. So we do not advise that.”
Since March, no new scientific studies have emerged that warrant abandoning decades of scientific consensus. We’ve seen drawings of men urinating on one another, and videos showing particles moving around a person’s head, but nothing in the realm of properly conducted clinical trials.
And yet...
Masks are everywhere.
In Spain, France and Italy, to name but a few, masks are obligatory whenever people leave their home (or hotel) – even in an empty park. In New York, such is their devotion to the cult, the “liberal” residents have taken to verbally abusing those who walk the streets bare-faced.
A nationwide mask obsession doesn’t seem to do much when it comes to tackling the spread of the disease. Spain, France and Italy have battled with some of the highest infection rates in Europe, despite the mask mandates. Furthermore, draconian mask rules turn once pleasant streets into a dystopian nightmare. When I’m on holiday, I don’t want muffled conversations and a sweaty rag glued to my face. I want to be greeted with smiles, not rows of fearful eyes.
So where can I go (after lockdown, that is)? Where are things relatively, dare I say, “normal”?
Short-haul
Sweden
Normal rating 8/10
Can I go? Yes, but you will need to self-isolate when you return to Britain.
Ah, Sweden. The Marmite of the pandemic. Some think it is the only sane country in the world. Others think it is conducting some dastardly experiment in herd immunity. Its status as Covid hero/pariah has taken a hit recently, with PM Stefan Lofven overruling state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell and introducing new stricter guidelines. However, most of these remain voluntary: shops and restaurants are still open, masks are rare, and hugs are exchanged.
Covid cases per 100,000 (last 7 days): 325.3
Where to go?
Sweden’s beautiful south. BA and SAS are offering regular flights to Stockholm and Gothenburg. See our pick of the best hotels in Sweden.
Norway
Normal rating 7/10
Can I go? Only if you are able to self-quarantine for 10 days on arrival.
Norway, like its Scandi neighbour, has not embraced face masks. Its health authority says: “The most important measure to avoid transmission is to keep a distance to others, maintain good hand hygiene and stay at home if you are ill.” Masks are only required on public transport and at the airport, and polling suggests 70% of Norwegians wear them rarely or never.
Covid cases per 100,000 (last 7 days): 69.3
Finland
Normal rating 7/10
Can I go? Not yet. Plans to reopen to tourists on November 23 have been shelved.
Finland’s mask policy mirrors Norway’s; they are required on public transport and in airports, but nowhere else. Polling also shows it has one of the lowest mask wearing rates in Europe, with 58% using them rarely or not at all. Alas, the country has not reopened its borders to tourists having mothballed plans to do so this month.
Covid cases per 100,000 (last 7 days): 47.9
Iceland
Normal rating 6/10
Can I go? Yes, with provisos.
All passengers arriving in Iceland can choose to either self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival or take two Covid-19 tests, one on arrival and another 5-6 days later. Test negative, and a land of relative normality awaits. Masks are only recommended when social distancing cannot be maintained – and not outdoors. Paul Sullivan went there recently for Telegraph Travel. He wrote: “It’s just a few hours since I was given the all-clear from a not-too-comfortable but blissfully quick Covid-test at Iceland’s Keflavik airport, and I’m neck-deep in the milky-blue, geothermally heated waters of the famous Blue Lagoon. In normal times, the lagoon pulls in around a million visitors a year, but today just a couple of hundred people are wading around with the venue’s trademark white silica smeared on their faces. And almost all the voices I hear are Icelandic.”
Covid cases per 100,000 (last 7 days): 23.5
Where to go?
Blow the budget at the dreamy Blue Lagoon Retreat. EasyJet, Wizz and Icelandair are offering flights to Reykjavik.
Now that looks very pleasant
Switzerland
Normal rating 5/10
Can I go? Yes, but you will need to self-isolate when you return to Britain.
The mask rules in Switzerland are similar to Britain’s. They are required in shops, restaurants (when not sitting down), and other indoor public areas. However, the country is clinging on to normality in other ways, keeping businesses open and prioritising the economy. It has even been dubbed the new Sweden, with finance minister Ueli Maurer warning a second lockdown would be “disastrous”. He accused the Swiss National Covid-19 Science Task Force of “short-sightedness and moralising”, branding its scientists as “know-it-alls”. “We have to live, we have to be able to earn money, to be able to shop,” he said.
Covid cases per 100,000 (last 7 days): 352.9
Where to go?
Our regular contributor William Cook is a big fan of underrated Basel (EasyJet and BA will fly you there).
Pretty little Basel CREDIT: GETTY
Estonia
Normal rating 8/10
Can I go? Not unless you are able to self-isolate on arrival.
Masks are recommended in crowded indoor spaces, but not mandatory. They trust people to make their own risk-based decisions. Sadly, if you’re arriving from the UK, you’ll need to self-isolate for 14 days, but you have the option of taking a test to reduce this.
Covid cases per 100,000 (last 7 days): 161
Best of the rest
Mask wearing is relatively rare in Gibraltar, Denmark, Latvia, the Netherlands and Germany, but required in indoor public spaces. Belarus is the Sweden of Eastern Europe (no mask), but its volatile political situation hardly makes it an enticing travel option.
Long-haul
I am struggling to find decent recommendations beyond Europe. The Foreign Office website contains little information on face mask rules for non-European countries, and much of what it has it out-of-date. This website has useful info and links but is not comprehensive. In the most part, they seem to be mandatory in indoor public spaces, but not outdoors. If you have any tips, leave them in the comment box below please.
Tanzania
Normal rating 8/10
Can I go? Yes, but you will need to self-isolate when you return to Britain.
A recent visitor to Tanzania, the so-called Sweden of Africa, Sarah Marshall wrote: “Borders have remained open, there are no testing requirements for entry, and anyone is allowed in. It sounds like a melting pot for a Covid casserole, but extraordinarily, official figures suggest there have been only 509 cases and 21 deaths – although those statistics haven’t been updated since May.
“In Arusha, I witnessed scenes I’d long forgotten in Europe: crowds squeezing through market stalls; bars spilling with noisy revellers; friends greeting each other with hugs in the street. No-one was wearing a mask.”
They are worn in airports and in public areas of hotels, however.
Covid cases per 100,000 (last 7 days): N/A (Early in the pandemic, President John Magufuli made the controversial decision to ignore lockdowns, and stopped reporting Covid infections after a papaya tested positive for the virus).
Cambodia
Normal rating 6/10
Can I go? Yes, but there are lots of hoops to jump through (including a test before departure)
A recent addition to the travel corridor list, Cambodia recommends masks in certain scenarios but this is only guidance. The FCDO website states: “You’re expected to wear a face covering when inside the airport and many airlines will ask for face coverings to be worn. While no penalties are currently being imposed by the Cambodian authorities for refusing to wear a face covering, our advice is to wear a face covering whenever requested to.”
Covid cases per 100,000 (last 7 days): 0.02
62
FOLLOW THE TELEGRAPH
Follow on Facebook Follow on Twitter Follow on Instagram Follow on LinkedIn
Show comments
READ MORE
36m
Can I go on holiday? Latest advice as travel is prohibited in national lockdown
46m
What the new national lockdown means for travel
7:00
Your rights to flight and holiday refunds due to the new lockdown and bans on UK arrivals
7:00
Will cruise holidays make a comeback in 2021, and where will we be able to go?
6:53
How travel to Europe will change after Brexit, from passports to data roaming charges
Travel latest
36m
Can I go on holiday? Latest advice as travel is prohibited in national lockdown
46m
What the new national lockdown means for travel
7:00
Your rights to flight and holiday refunds due to the new lockdown and bans on UK arrivals
7:00
Will cruise holidays make a comeback in 2021, and where will we be able to go?
video: How travel to Europe will change after Brexit, from passports to data roaming charges
6:53
How travel to Europe will change after Brexit, from passports to data roaming charges
6:00
Annie Freud on writing and her warring parents: 'When you’re a kid, you're the tool, you’re the pawn'
07 Jan 2021
UK to ban travel from 11 more countries amid South African variant fears
07 Jan 2021
The 20 countries you can visit (after lockdown) without a quarantine when you get home
07 Jan 2021
Tishani Doshi: 'Italy has always reminded me of a sort of European India'
07 Jan 2021
The most romantic hotels in Wales, from candlelit fine dining to suites with history
07 Jan 2021
The best places to shop in Dubai, from traditional souks to gleaming malls
07 Jan 2021
Holiday quarantine: Which country will be removed from the 'green list' next?
07 Jan 2021
10 amazing things to do in Dubai
07 Jan 2021
New UK entry rules could price millions of Brits out of holidays
07 Jan 2021
48 hours in . . . Dubai, an insider guide to the City of Gold
07 Jan 2021
10 fabulous Dubai restaurants, from the underwater to the sky-high
07 Jan 2021
The best nightlife in Dubai, from rooftop bars to speakeasies
07 Jan 2021
8 fantastic family-friendly things to do in Dubai
07 Jan 2021
How Sandals – and its ebullient founder – reinvented holidays in the Caribbean
07 Jan 2021
20 ways to find 'La France profonde' this summer
07 Jan 2021
Hoping for calmer waters: Cruise industry looks ahead to 'the year of recovery'
Voucher Codes
The latest offers and discount codes from popular brands on Telegraph Voucher Codes
Travelodge discount codes
TUI discount codes
Lastminute.com discount code
Hotels.com discount codes
First Choice discount codes
STA Travel promo codes
Back to top
Follow us on:
Contact us
About us
Rewards
Reader Prints
Branded Content
Syndication and Commissioning
Guidelines
Privacy
Terms and Conditions
Advertising Terms
Fantasy Sport
UK Voucher Codes
Betting Offers
Modern Slavery
Manage Cookies
© Telegraph Media Group Limited 2020
se puede culiar o hay que
castrarse ¿ toda esta basura
me hace pensar en las mini usi de chuck norris
Polly
Nirvana
Polly wants a cracker
I think I should get off her first
I think she wants some water
To put out the blow torch
Isn't me, have a seed
Let me clip your dirty wings
Let me take a ride, cut yourself
Want some help, please myself
Got some rope, haven't told
Promise you, have been true
Let me take a ride, cut yourself
Want some help, please myself
Polly wants a cracker
Maybe she would like some food
She asked me to untie her
A chase would be nice for a few
Isn't me, have a seed
Let me clip your dirty wings
Let me take a ride, cut yourself
Want some help, please myself
Got some rope, haven't told
Promise you, have been true
Let me take a ride, cut yourself
Want some help, please myself
Polly said
Polly says her back hurts
She's just as bored as me
She caught me off my guard
Amazes me the will of instinct
Isn't me, have a seed
Let me clip your dirty wings
Let me take a ride, cut yourself
Want some help, please myself
Got some rope, haven't told
Promise you, have been true
Let me take a ride, cut yourself
Want some help, please myself
