Dear Sir,

I have had to call the Covid “hotline” several times this year with questions about testing and about problems with the travel authorisation form. On one occasion I was No 3 in line and got through in about 20 minutes. Miracles do happen!

While waiting to board a flight at Newark airport in June, it was more than an hour on hold. Fortunately, we had time to spare before our flight. There were, however, people who didn’t make the flight waiting to get through on the phone — some of whom were visitors. I believe the majority of calls were about the TA form.

My query is two parts:

1, If I have in my possession a negative Covid test, a vaccination certificate and my passport, why is a TA necessary? Further, what do older people do who do not have iPads, smartphones or any other electronic device with which to get a TA. What do they do? Does anyone care about them? I fail to see a valid reason for the TA except that it’s bringing in $75 every time. And that’s per person. A large family pay dearly.

2, I recall some time ago we were told there would be more telephone operators put on the Covid hotline “444….” call centre to help cut down on the long times on hold. Today (September 7, 2021), I spent more than an hour on hold after being told repeatedly my wait time was nine minutes. The young lady who answered was very helpful. She told me she was working nine hours today. Crazy! Imagine our visitors having to spend their valuable time holding on the phone!

No one wants Covid in Bermuda, but can’t we make the rules and regulations more user-friendly? Does anyone out there hear me?

LIBBY MADEIROS

Devonshire