This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen
on .
It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
Is Travel to Italy and Asia Safe? Your Coronavirus Questions, Answered
Travel and the Coronavirus: Answers to Your Top Questions
(8 days later)
[This article was originally published on Feb. 20. It has been updated to reflect new developments. For the latest updates, read The New York Times’s coronavirus coverage here.]
As the coronavirus continues to spread across the globe, the question of whether to travel, and where it’s safe to go, has become increasingly complicated. Experts say you need to stay informed. Here, their advice on some of the most pressing questions facing people who might be considering traveling.
The coronavirus outbreak, which has sickened almost 80,000 in Asia and killed more than 2,600 worldwide, has also upended travel and commerce across the world. In light of the spread of the Covid-19 disease, would-be travelers to Asia and even parts of the world with few or no cases are wondering what to do.
[Do you have questions about the coronavirus and travel? Email us at travel@nytimes.com.]
The Times asked readers for their most pressing questions and got a flurry of queries: Should I cancel my trip to Asia, despite the financial penalties? Or go ahead? What about going to other parts of the world? How hard is it to disinfect an airplane, anyway, and is a mask enough to protect from the virus?
This is up to you, experts said.
For anyone planning to travel, the website of the World Health Organization is a good starting point. (W.H.O. has been issuing daily updates about the spread of Covid-19 and the status of cases.) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has advised Americans to cancel all nonessential travel to China, and said on Tuesday that Americans should brace for the likelihood that the coronavirus will spread to communities in the United States, also offers information and guides for travelers. The Times has a map of the number of cases reported in each country.
“People need to make an individual decision at this point, weighing the risks and benefits,” said Scott Weisenberg, an infectious disease doctor at New York University School of Medicine, and director of the university’s Travel Medicine Program.
In addition to those agencies, travelers should consult the websites of their home country and their intended destination to see what policies have been put in place.
Dr. Weisenberg said travelers should consult with a health care provider and monitor the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website for the most up-to-date travel notices before making a decision. The C.D.C. has recommended travelers avoid “all nonessential travel” to destinations with Level 3 travel notices. These countries include: China, Iran, South Korea and Italy.
“You should also be double careful to do the things we say everyone should always do, like hand washing with soap and water, especially after touching surfaces or coming in contact with someone who has been coughing,” said David Eisenman, director of University of California, Los Angeles’s Center for Public Health and Disasters, and professor of community health sciences at the university’s Fielding School of Public Health. “You should be avoiding close contact with others if you’re sick and you should have your flu shot.”
If you are an older adult or you have a chronic medical condition, the C.D.C. is advising you to avoid visiting Japan, which now has a Level 2 travel health notice.
Here are some of the most common questions and the current advice from health and travel experts. Questions have been combined and condensed for clarity.
If you are thinking about boarding a cruise, the C.D.C. recommends that travelers defer those plans — especially if they have an underlying health condition. Cruises group large numbers of people in very close proximity, which “promotes the spread of respiratory viruses, such as the virus that causes COVID-19,” according to the agency’s website.
Readers asked about destinations thousands of miles from Wuhan, China, where the coronavirus outbreak started, including Ireland, Argentina and Vancouver (the last city made one traveler nervous because of its close ties to China).
“For people who are at a higher risk, they should really think carefully about what is the risk of the coronavirus in the area that they are going to,” Dr. Weisenberg said.
Dr. Eisenman and other doctors said that from a medical standpoint, there isn’t any current reason to skip a trip to a country where few or no cases of the coronavirus have been reported.
It depends. Typically, you would have to at least pay a cancellation fee or booking penalty if you did not buy a fully refundable ticket, which is usually more expensive.
“You have to evaluate your trip week to week, if not day to day,” said Bernard Camins, medical director for infection prevention at the Mount Sinai Health System. “But if you’re looking at a place where there are no cases, there’s no question you should continue on your trip.” (Dr. Camins has trips to Europe planned for this spring and is not canceling.)
But the coronavirus has hit airlines hard, and many, including Delta, United and American, are loosening their booking policies and suspending cancellation or rescheduling fees.
The question becomes more difficult the closer to the heart of the outbreak you are planning to travel, Dr. Camins said. In places like Singapore and Thailand, there have been cases, but there is no evidence that there is a lot of person-to-person transmission and the virus doesn’t seem to be out of control, he said. “The chances of you running into a person with it there is low, unless you’re a health care professional and you’re going to work in a hospital,” he said.
“At the moment, the airlines are being very helpful,” said Jonathan Breeze, chief executive of AardvarkCompare Travel Insurance, a travel insurance company. “These are not normal circumstances and the airlines are seeing that people are not booking flights, so airlines are offering commercial flexibility.”
He added: “The golden rule for travel right now should be this: If you’re the one who is sick, stay home, do not travel, wear a mask, even for the flu.”
“Obviously, the 800 numbers are overwhelmed,” said Michael Holtz, the founder and chief executive of SmartFlyer, a luxury travel agency. “Because of the coronavirus and the news, things have just spiraled out of control and a lot of people have questions.”
All 16 people who had Covid-19 have been cured and no new cases have been recorded since Feb. 13, the health ministry said on Tuesday. The country’s prime minister officially declared Covid-19 an epidemic in Vietnam on Feb. 1, and authorities closed land borders with China, indefinitely stopped flights to and from China, and instituted a 14-day quarantine for anyone coming from affected areas in China. The government is also encouraging people to avoid public gatherings at the moment.
On Tuesday, many of the major airlines in the United States informed travelers that they could expect longer wait times to speak to a customer service agent.
Get an informed guide to the global outbreak with our daily coronavirus
Get an informed guide to the global outbreak with our daily coronavirus
newsletter.
newsletter.
Although some cities that have registered infections have closed tourist attractions and heritage sites, the majority are still open to the public. Many festivals and events are going on as planned, but others have been postponed. For a detailed list, consult Vietnam’s tourism site, which has detailed information about traveling to the country.
“We are receiving more calls than we typically do and your hold time may be longer than usual,” a United recorded message said. The wait time was 90 minutes.
Until recently, Cambodia said it had only one case of the coronavirus and Prime Minister Hun Sen made a point of not wearing a surgical mask in public. But then a passenger on the Westerdam, a Holland America Line boat that had been blocked from docking in five countries over fear of the virus, was diagnosed with Covid-19 disease after disembarking from the ship in Sihanoukville, throwing into question how well the virus was being contained. The C.D.C. later said that the passenger’s diagnosis was a false positive.
Other airlines like Delta redirected callers to their websites and their apps, where they could find more information about rescheduling or canceling flights, a recorded message instructed. American had the option to leave your contact information for an agent to call you back in the next two hours, the longest you could hold your place in line.
The U.S. State Department has a Level 1 warning about traveling to Cambodia, which means that in its assessment there is currently no danger in traveling to the country. You can keep up-to-date with the department’s advisories at its website.
Mr. Holtz said the airlines’ websites and apps are travelers’ fastest way to answer their questions or change their travel plans.
Japan has reported more than 800 cases of coronavirus, with 674 of them coming from the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship that has been quarantined in Yokohama; two passengers on the ship have died. Japanese authorities allowed a number of people from the ship to leave, a decision that some health experts have questioned.
“My advice is to use technology,” Mr. Holtz said. But in the current situation, when customer service representatives are overwhelmed, he does not recommend resorting to Twitter. “It’s not necessarily going to make things faster,” he said.
The C.D.C. has a Level 2 watch for coronavirus in Japan, which advises travelers to “practice enhanced precautions.” The State Department raised its travel advisories for Japan on Saturday to Level 2, the second-lowest out of four grades, recommending that travelers “exercise increased caution” because of the coronavirus outbreak.
If travelers have the good fortune of having a travel agent, they should contact the agent as soon as possible, as many have direct connections with airlines, Mr. Holtz said.
Since Feb. 13, non-Japanese nationals who have visited Hubei and Zhejiang provinces in China within 14 days of arrival in Japan, or who have a Chinese passport issued in those provinces, are not allowed to land in Japan except under special circumstances.
Insurance companies have very specific circumstances under which they pay out if you decide to cancel or interrupt your trip.
Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, on Wednesday asked the organizers of sports and cultural events scheduled for the first two weeks of March to consider postponing canceling them. Some theme parks have closed, as have museums. Tokyo’s Nakameguro district is canceling its Cherry Blossom Festival and Okinawa is canceling its Azalea Festival, but the Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival is still scheduled to take place beginning at the end of April. Japan’s National Tourism Organization is maintaining a list of the attractions and events that have been canceled.
Choosing not to travel because you are concerned about getting infected with the coronavirus is not one of them, nor is a government advisory, said John Cook, president and chief executive of Quotewright.com, a travel insurance company.
The Tourism Organization is also advising travelers that medical expenses may be high in the event that you become sick or injured and need to go to the hospital in Japan. “Please do not forget to take out the necessary travel insurance,” the tourist board said in a statement on its website. It is also encouraging tourists to take the same precautions people take during flu season when traveling.
“Those covered reasons are very specific and they do not include being fearful of being exposed to a virus and the government telling you not to travel,” Mr. Cook said.
South Korea now has more than 1,200 cases confirmed; President Moon Jae-in empowered the government to lock down cities and restrict travel. The mayor of the city of Daegu asked residents to stay indoors after a group of people associated with a church contracted Covid-19. Authorities have announced sixth deaths related to the coronavirus, and the United States Army Garrison Daegu restricted access to its base, according to a statement.
The answer has been to buy what is called cancel-for-any-reason coverage, which costs more, but usually lets you recoup about 75 percent of your money, Mr. Cook said.
On Monday night, the C.D.C. raised its warning to a Level 3 alert for South Korea, and advised American citizens to avoid nonessential travel, saying that “there is limited access to adequate medical care in affected areas.” The State Department also has a Level 2 advisory for South Korea.
But that option may be disappearing. Jason Schreier, the chief executive of APRIL Travel Protection, a travel insurance company with yearly sales of more than $1.1 billion, said that his company’s sales of cancel-for-any-reason insurance had jumped 275 percent since the outbreak began. As of last week, APRIL stopped selling the upgraded policies, after its under-writers required the company to pull them from the market, saying that it was not meant to cover such a concentrated risk among travelers.
Eleven towns in the Lombardy region were locked down after cases of Covid-19 emerged in Codogno, southeast of Milan. Six people have died and more than 200 others have been infected, Angelo Borrelli, head of the country’s Civil Protection agency and the coordinator of the country’s coronavirus emergency response, said on Monday.
“We’ve never seen a spike in the any-reason purchases like we’re seeing now,” Mr. Schreier said. “It’s an unprecedented spike, which caused an unprecedented reaction.”
Mr. Borrelli said it is still safe to travel to Italy, but Codogno and 10 other towns in Lombardy, and Veneto are under lockdown and people are not allowed to enter or leave the area.
Other companies, like Generali and RoamRight, have also stopped letting purchasers upgrade to a cancel for any reason policy, according to letters they sent to insurance agents.
Cities like Florence are safe to visit, according to Italian authorities. In Venice, Carnival has been suspended. In the Veneto region, schools and museums were closed and officials in Milan closed museums, schools, nightclubs and bars. Catholic leaders canceled masses in the area.
But others, including Allianz Global Assistance, are going in the opposite direction and extending their coverage. Epidemics are usually not included in travel insurance coverage, but Allianz has said that for a limited time it will accommodate claims for trip cancellation and emergency medical care for travelers who become ill with the coronavirus. Those who cancel their trips to China, South Korea and the Lombardy and Veneto regions of Italy would also be covered, said Daniel Durazo, director of marketing and communications at Allianz Global Assistance USA.
The C.D.C. issued a Level 2 travel advisory for Italy on Wednesday, urging travelers to practice enhanced precautions. The advisory also warns people to avoid contact with sick people and suggests that anyone who has been in Italy during the past 14 days and is feeling sick with fever, cough or difficulty breathing seek medical attention and avoid contact with others.
Possibly.
Singapore has had 91 cases of coronavirus, but transiting through the airport is unlikely to bring travelers in contact with any of the sick. Earlier this month the airport implemented rules to help keep the virus at bay. Anyone who has traveled to mainland China within 14 days of arriving at Changi is not allowed to enter Singapore or to travel through it. Additionally, Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority suspended the issuance of new visas to people with Chinese passports. The airport also said it increased the frequency with which the airport is being cleaned and is using more disinfectants in the cleaning process.
If you travel to a city that does not have a large number of confirmed cases — or perhaps no cases at all — but the number of confirmed cases rapidly increases during your stay, it could affect what happens when you return home, Dr. Weisenberg said.
Mr. Kuriga said that in his estimation, “Right now it’s safe to travel through there, but like with everything else, keep checking.”
“You might be restricted on your re-entry,” Dr. Weisenberg said, adding that you could be asked to quarantine yourself at home, or be placed in a special facility.
Planes are small spaces with a lot of people on them, and can be involved in transmitting diseases. While it’s not clear if most airlines are changing their cleaning procedures because of the coronavirus, we do know how they typically clean airplane cabins.
Even if you are not quarantined by health officials, some companies are requiring employees who have been traveling to work remotely, he added. And things are changing rapidly.
“At Southwest, aircraft undergo regular cleanings in between flights, and a comprehensive cleaning when the aircraft is parked overnight,” a spokesman for the airline said. When the plane is cleaned, surfaces — including tray tables, seats and carpets — are cleaned.
“Those answers may vary depending on ongoing public health changes,” Dr. Weisenberg said. “Once we have widespread testing available, then it will be easier for travelers to have a better idea of what the risk is in different areas.”
Curtis Blessing, a spokesman for American Airlines said planes are cleaned on a regular basis and the depth of the cleaning varies, depending on turn times and type of flight, but bathrooms are cleaned, floors are spot cleaned and visible trash is removed from seat pockets on all flights.
More than 10 states have declared a state of emergency or a public health emergency, including Washington, California, New York and Florida. As a practical matter, that does not affect travel — flights are not canceled and the C.D.C. has not issued any travel restrictions. States of emergency are used by local and state governments to help them shift funding, as well as to have the authority to close schools and other facilities.
READ: How to disinfect your space on an airplane.
“You can go there,” Dr. Weisenberg said. “The main risk would be to your health.”
“When ground time allows, galleys are cleaned, as are tray tables,” Mr. Blessing said. “Transcontinental, Hawaii and international flights see an even deeper level of cleaning that includes cleaning of lavatories, tray tables and galley areas, as well as any surface areas throughout the aircraft. Floors are also vacuumed.”
There could be other consequences, however. Your employer, for example, might decide that you have to self-quarantine once you have returned to your home state. Check and see what policies are in place before you travel.
Delta is supplying kits with hand sanitizer, gloves and surgical masks to passengers on all flights to and from Asia. A Delta spokeswoman said the airline’s planes are “thoroughly cleaned for the safety of our customers and crew.”
As of right now, Dr. Weisenberg cautioned travelers who might be tempted by a cheap airfare to put a lot of thought into whether they should book. Their safest option is to limit travel until the world has a better understanding of the virus, he said.
A spokesman for Alaska Air said that bathrooms on the airline’s planes are cleaned between every flight, and tray tables are cleaned when a layover is longer than an hour. A thorough cleaning of the plane happens whenever a plane stays at an airport overnight.
“Think it through, don’t go on a whim,” he said.
“Our existing cleaning and disinfecting chemicals are effective against viruses, and nothing about the novel coronavirus indicates that it’s resistant to these efforts,” he said.
Emily Palmer contributed reporting from New York
Cruise lines have learned how to combat the norovirus after more than two decades of outbreaks, but some passengers still get sick.
Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. And sign up for our weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter to receive expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation.
Ross Klein, a sociologist at Memorial University of Newfoundland who studies the cruise industry, said, “The cruise ships are well trained in ‘killing’ a virus and are quite proficient if they follow what they know and the protocols they have for norovirus.”
Those protocols don’t seem to have been followed on the Diamond Princess, the cruise boat that was quarantined in Yokohama, Japan, for two weeks. The quarantine has been criticized by experts for failing to keep Covid-19 from spreading between passengers and crew members, and two passengers on the ship have died. “But that doesn’t mean the ship can’t be sanitized before taking on new passengers,” Mr. Klein said. “It is no more difficult than a land-based hotel.”
W.H.O. says that if you are healthy, you only need to wear a mask if you are taking care of someone with a suspected coronavirus infection. The organization also suggests wearing the mask if you are the person sneezing or coughing.
“Masks are only effective when used in combination with frequent hand cleaning with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water,” the organization says in its guide about how to best choose a mask, use it and dispose of it.
The type of mask also makes a difference. An N95 mask reduces a wearer’s exposure to airborne particles, from small particle aerosols to large droplets, according to the C.D.C., which has a guide for understanding the differences between a regular surgical mask and an N95 respirator.
Bizarre as it may sound, standard travel insurance doesn’t cover losses caused by a global health crisis — even one that’s been declared “a public health emergency of international concern” by W.H.O. and for which the C.D.C. has issued a Level 3 travel notice recommending that travelers avoid all nonessential travel to China.
When it comes to travel insurance, so-called Cancel For Any Reason upgrades are the best course here. But they’re also very expensive and tend to cover only 50 to 75 percent of your trip, said Stan Sandberg, an industry expert and co-founder of TravelInsurance.com, a site that allows travelers to compare and buy travel insurance online.
“It’s important to note that with Cancel For Any Reason coverage, the insurance policy must be purchased within a set amount of days — usually 21 days or fewer, depending on the plan — after making the first payment for the trip, and the entire prepaid and nonrefundable cost of the trip must be insured. The trip must also be canceled more than 48 hours before the departure date,” Mr. Sandberg said.
At Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection, for example, C.F.A.R. coverage costs an additional 40 percent of your total travel insurance premium.
The risk-reward ratio will vary by traveler. In addition to ratings and reviews of specific policies, TravelInsurance.com’s information about the claims process — and their respective outcomes — may be helpful in determining whether or not C.F.A.R. coverage is worth the outlay.
The short answer: Not really.
Trip cancellation and interruption insurance, designed to reimburse certain nonrefundable expenses when a trip is canceled or delayed, is a perk of many travel-focused credits cards, including the American Express Platinum and Delta SkyMiles Reserve, as well as both Chase Sapphire cards (Preferred and Reserve).
But what’s actually covered varies, and health crises are particularly unforgiving to consumers. Chase Sapphire cards, for example, will only reimburse you if you’re quarantined “due to health reasons by a competent governmental authority having jurisdiction” — but not a “disinclination to travel due to an epidemic or pandemic.” In other words, if you choose not to travel — even to quite reasonably avoid a region affected by the coronavirus — trip cancellation and interruption insurance won’t help. American Express doesn’t have explicit epidemic inclusions (or exclusions), but cardholders might have luck claiming reimbursement by getting a doctor’s note stating that “a covered trip is medically inadvisable.”
Older adults and people with underlying health conditions may be at increased risk for severe disease. According to medical experts, many of those who have died in the coronavirus outbreak had pre-existing conditions that weakened their ability to fight it. Travelers with an immune-suppressed system should talk to their health care providers before traveling.
Steve Kuriga, an independent travel adviser at Cadence, a San Diego agency affiliated with the Virtuoso network, said it was a good idea to reach out to a travel agent or the travel company you booked a trip with because some companies might be flexible in their cancellation and refund policies.
“Not all companies are coming up with broad policies,” he said. “Some companies are dealing with it on a case-by-case basis.”
The simplest precaution is to purchase medical travel insurance, in particular, a primary-coverage plan that substitutes for your existing United States health insurance while you’re abroad. Look for hefty emergency medical coverage (at least $50,000, according to most experts) and emergency medical transportation coverage (upward of $100,000, depending on how remote your destination is). Deductibles, waivers for pre-existing conditions, and pricing vary by a number of factors; you can comparison-shop on TravelInsurance.com, Squaremouth, and a host of other sites.
52 PLACES AND MUCH, MUCH MORE Discover the best places to go in 2020, and find more Travel coverage by following us on Twitter and Facebook. And sign up for our Travel Dispatch newsletter: Each week you’ll receive tips on traveling smarter, stories on hot destinations and access to photos from all over the world.
