Flying home in a pandemic

2020 began well for me. I had started a new job, got an apartment in Lincoln Park, Chicago and joined a yoga studio. I made plans to come to Nepal in the spring, and I was ready to start a new chapter in life.

My yoga studio shut down. My plans to come home was shelved, and I spent many hours staring at the walls of my apartment, while working from home.

Yoga in the time of Covid-19, Anjana Rajbhandary

Every state and city in the United States came up with its own set of restrictions regarding Covid-19. Chicago went back and forth between closing and re-opening businesses, depending on the number of people who tested positive. Many establishments had to shut down permanently and millions lost their jobs.

Most countries around the world were under lockdown. Nepal had also most international flights from March 2020.

Fast forward to when flights resumed in Nepal, but with the new protocols in place, I would first need to do my research on the new rules and precautions.

When I bought my tickets, only Nepali citizens, ex-pats, and mountaineers were being allowed to fly in. No one else. Everyone had to submit a negative PCR test result, done within the last 72 hours before boarding.