Abrichoco

1 hour ago, SWFLAOK said:

But the link to that news story is really over the top. For example:

 

"Epidemiologist Jean-Marc Ségualin said “nothing very significant is happening that shows an improvement.”

Anyone who has had Covid-19 and recovered, will be immune. In a small population, that is significant. I was also unable to find out who this person was. The only reference to his name was in this article. I believe France is trying to stop tourism to French Polynesia. And when they reopened tourism, the French government didn't like it, and bad publicity helps to stop that.

Do you have more information than in the article that you referenced?

There's a typo in the article; his name is Jean-Marc Ségalin and he works in Tahiti.

Esther Cunéo is mentioned as the author of this article in association with the AP and she's a Tahitian journalist.

I've read the full report; it's just a summary of what the local media have recently published — no fabrication here. The tone is very alarming, sure (not that the situation isn't), but the included quotations and data are accurate.

For anyone wanting to closely follow the situation, I suggest regularly checking Tahitian media and using an online translator:

- https://www.tntv.pf/

- https://www.tahiti-infos.com/

- In English, RNZ has regular updates: https://www.rnz.co.nz/tags/French Polynesia

The government confessed a few days ago that they couldn't prevent people who don't have a certificate from boarding the plane. They just don't have the authority to do that (the information in French can be found here).

That's why, as it states at the bottom of the form available on the website, you can just show up without a certificate but a check-up will be performed to make sure you don't have any symptoms.

Flying from Paris to Tahiti roughly takes 24 hours. You can shower before leaving your home but after going to the airport (which as you know may mean taking a train or a plane), waiting several hours before boarding, spending 10 to 11 hours travelling between Paris and Los Angeles, finding your way at LAX and going through all the security checks (not always a smooth process), then you might not be as fresh as somebody who's just boarded the plane in Los Angeles. You may be tired and you may smell (though it's not a problem I've often experienced). It may pertain more to the length and the conditions of the journey than to the nationality of the passenger.

That said, all Air France flights to Tahiti start from Paris. Some (not all) Air Tahiti Nui flights only travel from LAX to Tahiti and vice versa, so there may be less risk to encounter a smelly / grumpy / French passenger when flying with this company.