So I've just returned from a week in the United States and here are a few observations on Covid

1) By and large, people were very good with masks. To be fair, I was typically only in places like airports, stadiums etc. that mandated the wearing of masks, but compliance was generally good and I didn't see anyone throw a fit about being asked to put one on.

2) That being said, enforcement was incredibly lax at the baseball. You needed to wear one "unless eating of drinking" but staff were incredibly casual and warnings not taken seriously by fans. As long as you had an open drink nearby, they didn't seem to care.

3) The moment you walked into any bar or restaurant, the masks came straight off. It's crazy that you need to wear one "in public" but the moment you sit at a table, all bets (and masks) are off? To be fair, this is also consistent with what I've seen here in Dubai.

4) Domestic flights were ABSOLUTELY PACKED. There might have been 50 people on my flight from Dubai to Chicago but there wasn't a spare seat on any of my domestic flights in the US. It was actually insane how tightly they packed everyone in, including middle seats.

5) Further to this, they weren't doing F&B service for "health reasons" which was a bit of a laugh, as there was less than one foot separating passengers from one another. Someone spilling into you from the seat next door, but couldn't get water on a two-hour flight?

6) There was no hand sanitiser at immigration in Chicago when you had to use the fingerprint scanners. Most people seem to carry it with them these days, but you'd think that's a logical place to have some communal dispensers.

7) At the baseball, there were actually queues in the men's room to use the basins. It's disgusting, but in the past, all too often you just see guys walk out without washing their hands, so I guess you take the small wins where you can?

8) Overall, it just blows my mind that it's taken a global pandemic for people to take the most basic precautions and care of themselves. Washing hands, not holding escalator handrails, avoiding the use of cash and generally just affording each other basic personal space!

9) This whole episode has been an unmitigated disaster in the USA, but if one good thing comes from it, people are going to be far more aware about personal hygiene and we're going to see changes for the good with cashless technology and smart building design.

10) Next week's election shouldn't be anywhere near as close as it's ultimately going to be..