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During the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries and territories imposed quarantines, entry bans, or other travel restrictions for citizens of or recent travelers to the most affected areas. [1] Some countries and territories imposed global restrictions that apply to all foreign countries and territories, or prevented their own citizens from travelling overseas. [2]
Travel restrictions reduced the spread of the virus, but because they were first implemented after community spread had established in several countries in distant parts of the world—they produced only a modest reduction in the total number of people infected. Travel restrictions may be most important at the start and end of the pandemic. [3]
The travel restrictions brought a significant economic cost to the global tourism industry through lost income and social harm to people who were unable to travel internationally. When travel bans are lifted, many people are expected to resume travelling. However, some travel, especially business travel, may be decrease in the long-term as lower cost alternatives, such as teleconferencing and virtual events have gained preferrence in the professional world. [4] Some countries with large domestic markets, such as the United States, were able to see a faster recovery from increased domestic travel. [5]
A study in Science found that travel restrictions could delay the initial arrival of COVID-19 in a country, but that they produced only modest overall effects unless combined with infection prevention and control measures to considerably reduce transmissions (this is consistent with prior research on influenza and other communicable diseases). [6] [7] [8] Travel bans may be most effective for isolated locations, such as small island nations. [8]
Researchers came to the conclusion that "travel restrictions are most useful in the early and late phase of an epidemic" and "restrictions of travel from Wuhan unfortunately came too late". [9]
Together with a decreased willingness to travel, the restrictions have had a negative economic and social impact on the travel sector in those regions. [10] Slow travel increased in popularity during the pandemic, with tourists visiting fewer destinations during their trips. [11] [12]
A possible long-term impact has been a decline of business travel and international conferencing, and the rise of their virtual, online equivalents. [13] Concerns have been raised over the effectiveness of travel restrictions to contain the spread of COVID-19. [14]
Many tourism venues such as museums, visitor centers, restaurants, hotel mandate COVID-19 vaccination for their staff or visitors, and such venues are known as "vaccinated venues". [15] Research has shown that tourists have varying levels of belief on COVID-19 vaccination in terms of its effectiveness and side effects, which has an impact on whether tourists prefer to visit or use these venues. [15]
Just under a quarter of all countries (45) have implemented measures that affect citizens of, or recent travellers to, a particular country or set of countries. Many of these countries later expanded their restrictions, with some later implementing global restrictions that may be listed above.
Earlier before the announcement of the pandemic by WHO, the European Union rejected the idea of suspending the Schengen free travel zone and introducing border controls with Italy, [84] a decision which has been criticised by some European politicians. [85] [86] After some EU member states announced complete closure of their national borders to foreign nationals in March 2020, [87] the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that "Certain controls may be justified, but general travel bans are not seen as being the most effective by the World Health Organization." [88] A few days later the EU closed its external borders. [89]
The European Council agreed on 17 March 2020 to ban incoming travel other than citizens from countries in the European Union, European Economic Area, Switzerland and United Kingdom, long-term residents and people with long-term visa or residence permits, family members of EU and EEA citizens, medical personnel and people responsible for transport of goods for 30 days. [89] [90] [91] Each country has to implement the decision on the national level. Ireland choose to opt out from the decision due to the Common Travel Area. The agreement was to close borders for 30 days starting at noon on 17 March, though enforcement did not begin immediately as planned. [92] By the end of March, all EU member states (except Ireland) and all associated Schengen states (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) had introduced the travel restriction. [93] The restriction was later repeatedly prolonged until 30 June. [94] [95] [96] These restrictions do not only refer to travel between countries from March to June. In Spain, for example, mobility has been restricted and public transport has been greatly affected by the lockdowns imposed by the government and only essential travels have been allowed under the most severe restrictions. [97] Some member states went even further and also prohibited EU and EEA citizens from entering, unless they are permanently living in the country or transiting to their home country, which is generally still possible. On 1 July 2020, global travel ban was replaced by non-global. [98] The EU Council recommends a gradual lifting of the temporary restrictions on travel into the EU (including Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) from 1 July 2020. The European Council has adopted a Recommendation on the gradual lifting of the temporary restrictions on non-essential travel into the EU on 30 June. Travel restrictions were lifted for countries listed in the recommendation. The list is updated, in principle, every two weeks. Several countries (Algeria, Canada, Georgia, Jordan, Morocco, Montenegro, Serbia, Tunisia and Uruguay) have been removed from the EU designated COVID-19 safe countries list since it was introduced on 30 June 2020, and no new country was ever added to that list. As of 16 December 2020, the Safe Countries list includes Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand. [99] Traveling citizens from China will be allowed entry based on the re-opening of its borders to European travelers. [100] British nationals are no longer considered EU citizens starting 1 January 2021 and are subject to each member state's travel restriction on non-EU nationals. For the purpose of the recommendation should residents of Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican also be considered as EU residents. The recommendation is not a legally binding instrument and the member states are responsible for implementing it. [98]
On 28 January 2021, the European Union has reinstated a travel ban from Japan due to an alarming rise in COVID-19 cases. Hence, Japan is no longer a part of the EU's safe countries list. [101] The following countries are listed as safe countries amidst the pandemic – Australia, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea, New Zealand and Thailand. The European Council has suggested member states to gradually remove restrictions for China, subject to confirmation of reciprocity. [102]
A majority of countries are open for tourism. Some entry restrictions may be in place, such as PCR test or proof of vaccination.
International tourism is tourism that crosses national borders. Globalisation has made tourism a popular global leisure activity. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes". The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that up to 500,000 people are in flight at any one time.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Thailand was the first country to report a case outside China, on 13 January 2020. As of 2 April 2022, the country has reported a cumulative total of 3,684,755 confirmed cases, with 25,318 deaths from the disease, and currently ranked fourth in the number of cases in Southeast Asia, behind Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The first confirmed case in the United Arab Emirates was announced on 29 January 2020. It was the first country in the Middle East to report a confirmed case.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019. It is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Most cases over the course of the pandemic have been in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta. Confirmed cases have been reported in all of Canada's provinces and territories.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Israel is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The first case in Israel was confirmed on 21 February 2020, when a female citizen tested positive for COVID-19 at the Sheba Medical Center after return from quarantine on the Diamond Princess ship in Japan. As a result, a 14-day home isolation rule was instituted for anyone who had visited South Korea or Japan, and a ban was placed on non-residents and non-citizens who were in South Korea for 14 days before their arrival.
The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached Cyprus on 9 March 2020. Data released by the Cypriot government includes cases in the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, but does not include cases in Northern Cyprus due to the long-running Cyprus dispute.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Cambodia was a part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The first imported case in Cambodia was detected in Sihanoukville on 27 January 2020. Although a number of imported cases and transmission to direct contacts were confirmed throughout 2020, no community transmission was detected until 29 November 2020. As of July 2021, Phnom Penh has been the most affected province with the majority of infections and deaths. Banteay Meanchey has the second-highest number of infections, whereas Kandal has second-highest number of deaths.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Samoa is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have reached Samoa on 18 November 2020. The country reported its second case on 27 November.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Seychelles was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached Seychelles in March 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Saint Lucia was a part of the ongoing global viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which was confirmed to have reached Saint Lucia on 13 March 2020. As of 2 September 2022, there are a total of 28,894 confirmed cases, of which 28,369 have recovered and 391 deaths have occurred.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Belize is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have reached Belize on 23 March 2020.
Guam, one of the external territories of the United States of America confirmed its first case of the COVID-19 pandemic on March 15, 2020, and the first death on March 22. The Government of Guam ordered the general lockdown of the island in mid-March. Governor Lou Leon Guerrero announced the implementation of a four-step "Pandemic Condition of Readiness" (PCOR) on April 30, 2020. Travelers to Guam from designated high-risk areas must provide a recent negative COVID-19 test or undergo mandatory quarantine in a government-approved facility. Guam moved from PCOR 1 to PCOR 2 on May 10, allowing some business activity with restrictions, and then to PCOR 3 on July 20. An outbreak in mid-August was not controlled for several months, resulting in the 7-day rolling test positivity rate to spike above 15% in early October 2020, as well as infections in both the Governor and Lieutenant Governor. Guam announced a return to the lockdown conditions of PCOR 1 on August 14 to control the outbreak, which was not loosened to PCOR 2 until January 15, 2021. It was further relaxed to PCOR 3 on February 21, 2021. From December 2020 to July 2021 cases stayed very low until a surge in August 2021 largely as a result of the delta variant. By October 2021, 90% of the population was vaccinated.
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the tourism industry due to the resulting travel restrictions as well as slump in demand among travelers. The tourism industry has been massively affected by the spread of coronavirus, as many countries have introduced travel restrictions in an attempt to contain its spread. The United Nations World Tourism Organization estimated that global international tourist arrivals could have decreased by 58% to 78% in 2020, leading to a potential loss of US $0.9–1.2 trillion in international tourism receipts.
The COVID-19 pandemic in the Cook Islands is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. As of 30 October 2021, 12,841 first doses and 12,498 second doses of vaccine had been administered, which represents over 97% of the eligible population (12+) fully vaccinated.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Niue is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Niue reported its first confirmed case on 9 March 2022.
The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore in 2020.
Events in the year 2020 in Samoa.
Vaccination requirements for international travel are the aspect of vaccination policy that concerns the movement of people across borders. Countries around the world require travellers departing to other countries, or arriving from other countries, to be vaccinated against certain infectious diseases in order to prevent epidemics. At border checks, these travellers are required to show proof of vaccination against specific diseases; the most widely used vaccination record is the International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis. Some countries require information about a passenger's vaccination status in a passenger locator form.
The Health Protection (England) Regulations 2021 is a statutory instrument (SI) made on 14 May 2021 by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The regulations aimed to reduce the possibility of infection spreading from travellers from overseas. They revoked and replaced the Health Protection (England) Regulations 2020, and introduced a new set of requirements for international travellers who arrived in England having begun their journey outside the Common Travel Area (CTA), as well as travellers arriving from within the CTA who had been outside the CTA in the 10 days preceding their arrival. Travellers arriving in England who had remained entirely within the CTA during the preceding 10 days were mostly not affected.
Zero-COVID, also known as COVID-Zero and "Find, Test, Trace, Isolate, and Support" (FTTIS), was a public health policy implemented by some countries, especially China, during the COVID-19 pandemic. In contrast to the "living with COVID-19" strategy, the zero-COVID strategy was purportedly one "of control and maximum suppression". Public health measures used to implement the strategy included as contact tracing, mass testing, border quarantine, lockdowns, and mitigation software in order to stop community transmission of COVID-19 as soon as it was detected. The goal of the strategy was to get the area back to zero new infections and resume normal economic and social activities.
Immediate family members cannot travel by themselves. They must travel with the New Zealand citizen or resident family member on the same flight to New Zealand.
'Foreign nationals other than immediate family of U.S. citizens and permanent residents who have traveled in China in the last 14 days will be denied entry into United States,' Azar said.
... effective February 2.