IS TRAVEL DURING CORONAVIRUS SAFE ? COVID-19 UPDATE

 IS TRAVEL DURING CORONAVIRUS SAFE? COVID-19 UPDATE

 With many countries beginning to ease their lockdown measures for the first time since the global Coronavirus shutdown. It's only natural to wonder when can we start traveling again? My name is Kristin and I've traveled to more than 62 countries in the past 15 years.

 Like you, I absolutely love traveling and I've been thinking about when we can start traveling again. In this video, I'll give you international and domestic travel advisories and recommendations. Plus, my personal opinion about when it's appropriate and safe to travel again. 

Plus, where I'm going first and when. The most recent World Health Organization statement on COVID-19 was only on March 11th. It's been a long time since they said anything. And in that March 11th statement, basically, all they did was reiterate their January 30th position that the COVID-19 outbreak was a public health emergency and of international concern. So they haven't really updated much since then and I read their releases and it's a bit confusing what their actual position is.

 They talked about how having border checkpoints or taking your temperature at the airport is not an effective way to stop or slow the spread of the virus. In my opinion and they can't really have it both ways but it seems like they're trying to tell everybody to be really careful and only proceed with essential travel in trade. While at the same time saying that there's really nothing we can do to stop the spread of coronavirus when it comes to travel and border checkpoints. And although countries have loosened restrictions in the past few weeks and months, The World Health Organization has not changed its position on COVID-19 since January or March. In my research, I really have yet to find a country that is recommending that people travel. Almost all of them are telling citizens to remain within the borders where they have their land or air borders closed or their airports closed and they also have restrictions on international citizens and foreigners coming in. Of course the European Union has already started their reopening phases for June. 

But it's important to note that at first, it will only be applicable to tourists from fellow EU or Schengen countries. You can get more information on Europe's reopening plan and my other video linked here. But if you're an on-European citizen and you want to know where you can travel this summer, then check out my video on 10 countries that are open to visit right now. Including many countries that never officially closed during the pandemic. So what's my opinion? Will I be traveling and do I think you should travel right now? Well, the short answer is no. Because right now even though the restrictions on movement within countries is loosening up a little bit, very few of them have actually opened up for tourism purposes. 

However, if you want to travel short distances or travel domestically or within your region or a Travel Bubble, if those are opening in your area, then I think it's fine as long as you take local precautions established by your local government. I know that it can be tempting to book a cheap flight or start planning for later in the year but if you do that, you need to be open to the possibility, the very real possibility, of your travel plans getting canceled or postponed. 

So when am I traveling next? 

Well, I have been directly impacted like everybody has and I've canceled a lot of trips as I'm sure you have too. I've canceled conferences and speaking engagements from Austin, Texas to Los Angeles to Portugal and even Bulgaria. 

I've missed my cousin having a baby, I've missed visiting friends and relatives. I mean, we've all missed a lot of stuff. So right now, I have canceled all of my travel until September. Many countries, like Australia, have either closed indefinitely or through the end of the year. While others have closed until August or September, like Argentina, for example. And it's not outlandish to think that those countries might extend their border closures for even longer. So, yes, right now, there might be some good travel deals out there. And places like Sicily are offering incentives such as paying or reimbursing part of your flight or hotel if you go visit there in the future. 

So there are always exceptions to every rule. But the good news is it looks like more and more of us will be able to start traveling again very soon. Definitely check with your travel insurance, your health insurance, your airline policies, and with your Embassy or State Department or consulate, both at home and abroad to your destination country to stay on top of the requirements and regulations. You can count on me to monitor this situation accordingly. So make sure to subscribe and hit the bell for notifications on my next videos about Coronavirus travel. 

Where are you planning to go first as soon as the travel bans are lifted? Let me know in the comments below and see you in the next articles.