[This has been updated]
The U. S. is banning maximum travel from Europe to the U. S. for 30 days due to the coronavirus outbreak. The restrictions do not apply to U. S. citizens returning from Europe, but only to foreign nationals traveling in 26 European countries during a two-week period prior to their trip. Expected arrival in the U. S.
This, as actor Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson have tested positive for the disease in Australia and the number of cases in the United States remains over 1,200 (ten times more in a week) with at least 38 deaths.
The U. K. and Ireland were not included in the initial ban, which began at midnight on Friday. It will now be extended on Monday to both countries, as well as to citizens of the Schengen border-free zone in Europe.
The White House has since clarified that all U. S. citizens, lawful permanent citizens, and members of their family circle are exempt, likely on the condition that they pass enhanced screening at certain U. S. airports upon arrival. In a statement, acting Secretary of Homeland Security chief Chad Wolf said the restrictions would be similar to those in place for other people who have been in China and Iran, The Guardian said. “Americans who have been in the Schengen domain would possibly have to go through express airports with increased screening procedures. “
According to The Independent, the ban “also excludes anyone travelling to the U.S. on certain specialised visas aka crewmembers, foreign government officials, NATO and UN visas.”
So far, there has been no communication about the application of bans to other people traveling from the United States to Europe, despite the increasingly slim chances of getting a flight for weeks. The document also suggests that the rule will apply to EU citizens who own a U. S. painting. visa and return from your country.
As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Europe reached more than 22,000 on Wednesday — an increase of a quarter in one day — the United States has taken the drastic step of imposing a blanket ban on Europeans heading to it, which equates to about 500 million citizens. of the mundo. la EU.
For Europeans, most holidays and business trips planned for March and much of April are off. Thousands of transatlantic flights will be affected, and hundreds of thousands of passengers. There will be mass cancellations of American vacations organized through travel agents and online travel agents/OTA’s such as Expedia, Booking.com and Hotels.com.
It is still unclear how the travel suspension will work–for example will there be a ban on flights from the continent?
With the coronavirus crisis, airports are cutting off many routes and planes and airports are emptying. Now, with the U. S. 30-day ban on European citizens entering the country, the foreign departures terminal at John F. Kennedy (JFK) will welcome thousands fewer passengers as tourism takes a hit.
The move to ban much of incoming travel from Europe also comes as the U.S. warns all of its 327 million citizens to reconsider going abroad at all Bloomberg reports. Meantime, according to the Washington Post, the State Department is considering lifting its travel advisory for the whole of Europe to an alert Level 3: “Reconsider Travel,” as it has already done for Italy (France, Europe’s second worst hit country, remains at Level 2, ‘Exercise Increased Caution’).
The consequences for the tourism industry on both sides of the Atlantic are enormous, with profit losses already suffered by operators due to hotel cancellations. The consequences for the airline industry, which is already suffering huge losses from the coronavirus, are staggering.
Since Italy swept in a nationwide lockdown on Tuesday, to battle its deadly outbreak of COVID-19, many airlines began cancelling all flights to and from Italy until the end of April or beyond, leaving hundreds of travelers stranded and confused. Within a day, Delta Airlines called off all Italy flights due to the quarantine. Some airlines are offering refunds and waivers on change fees depending on ticket conditions and no doubt they will do the same for masses more Europeans to be affected by the U.S. travel ban from Europe.
Italy is the epicenter of the coronavirus in Europe with more than a fraction of the total cases: around 12,000. Despite the adoption of an emergency national quarantine measure, more than 2,300 new cases were still recorded on Wednesday, while the death toll from COVID-19 in the country stood at 827.
Travel to Italy has become increasingly precarious since the first case of the virus became known on Feb. 26. In just two weeks, vacationing in the country suffering from the world’s second-worst epidemic after China has a complicated business.
The sign reads “Closed due to stress”, as if to clarify a serious situation, as restaurants and barsArray. . [ ] in Italy they had no consumers on the first day of the national quarantine, March 10. Now, all bars and restaurants, the maximum and businesses will close as the death toll from the disease continues to rise. Only pharmacies, food retailers and banks, as well as public transport, will remain open.
The situation has become so serious, that on Wednesday the government decided to shut down restaurants, cafes, bars, businesses and all shops, except supermarkets and grocery stores until March 25. This extended the previous nationwide closure of museums, monuments, archeological and historical sites, as well as cinemas, ski slopes, bingo rooms, nightclubs and discos.
From now on, only “essential services” (pharmacies, grocery stores, banks and public transportation) will be allowed to operate. As all lines of general daily life disappear for Italians, tourism has become almost unsustainable in the quarantined country, with an increasing number of hotels closing their doors in recent days.
France, the world’s No.1 tourist destination, is the second worst hit place in Europe after Italy, with 2,281 cases and 48 deaths reports BFMTV, up from 38 cases at the end of February.
Update [March 15, 2020]: This article has been edited to include data on the extension of Trump’s ban to the United Kingdom and Ireland.
You can also follow me on Instagram, and my website.