The nerve-wracking part is the timing. If the report with the Covid test results is delivered later than expected -- as our reports were this time around -- the time window gets narrow. And applying for an EHAS can take many extra hours if the first application is denied. It's not always easy to reach a helpful human being on the phone at a Department of Health -- they're pretty busy these days -- so once the clock is ticking and getting closer to the time your flight is ready to take off, the stress increases.

Perhaps the government of St. Maarten was worried that the report from the Department of Health was a forgery. But frankly, the lab report that they accepted could also be a forgery. In this case, both reports were authentic -- but the government of St. Maarten erected an unnecessary roadblock to tourism.