The Seychelles has reopened its borders and dropped quarantine requirements to travelers vaccinated against Covid-19. Vaccinated visitors can now enter the island nation without having to quarantine for 10 days provided they present a negative PCR test result taken within 72 hours of travel. Travelers must also submit a certificate from their national health authority to verify both doses of the vaccine have been administered.

In September 2019, off the coast of California, a fire aboard the MV Conception, a 23-meter (75-foot) scuba diving liveaboard, broke out during the night, killing 33 passengers and one crew member. The captain and four crew members barely escaped. After more than a year of speculations and rumors, the NTSB (the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board) published the results of its investigation and the U.S. Coast Guard issued a new policy on a few topics, including the charging of lithium-ion batteries aboard small vessels and liveaboards.

Despite the media doom and gloom, some destinations have opened up, especially regarding dive travel. These include the Bahamas, most Caribbean countries, Cocos, French Polynesia, Galapagos, Malpelo, Maldives, Red Sea, Sea of Cortez and Socorro. Others, like Indonesia, have opened to domestic tourism but remain closed to international visitors. However, restrictions remain stringent; travellers must be tested prior to their departure and upon arrival. In some cases, you will be quarantined until test results are available. The good news?

Why does it seem we need a horrendous accident for common sense safety changes to be made? Looking back in history, two tragedies come to mind, which resulted in significant changes to safety protocols. One was the sinking of the Titanic and another, more recently in 2010, the “Station” nightclub fire in the US state of Rhode Island. It took the loss of 100 souls for the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to re-write policies, and issue new code provisions in 2006 for fire sprinklers and crowd management in nightclub-type venues.