When will overseas holidays and global travel resume? This question, weighing on many people's minds, may soon have an answer if cross-border COVID-19 spread can be resolved. Existing protective measures at the borders will have to change even as governments create travel bubbles in a bid to restart international travel. To achieve this, two key questions need to be addressed: 

Firstly, can there be an alternative to the 14-day quarantine required by border authorities worldwide? The answer lies in extensive pre-departure testing. And not just any test, but a test that is fast, cheap, accurate and scalable for mass travel to be possible. In Singapore for instance, a start-up company is developing a breathalyser test that can diagnose COVID-19 in under a minute. 

Secondly, there needs to be a secure and globally accepted digital health passport for border authorities to ascertain an incoming traveller's health status. While many companies have tried to develop this, CommonPass, backed by the World Economic Forum (WEF), has gained the most traction and is currently being trialed in transatlantic flights from the UK to the US.

If successful, CommonPass could become the global standard for restarting international travel as it expands its reach to other airlines and travel routes. Critics on the other hand are quick to point out some ethical issues around data privacy and discrimination. Nevertheless, these developments present a hope for many, and we could just be at the brink of being able to travel 'freely' again.