Tarvel Restrictions in Mexico
Nowadays the entire world faces a new disease spreading around the world. It is an epidemic and dangerous. It's called swine flu and its scientific name is H1N1 influenza A. The world should be apprehensive of this epidemic because 179 people have died in Mexico, the epicenter of this virus. Meanwhile, the number of countries that have confirmed swine flu cases has grown to more than 20. This epidemic alert level has been raised to five, following the World Health Organization’s scheme (WHO).
The World Health Organization (WHO) announces that this situation is getting more serious and recommends everyone not to go to risky areas. According to the WHO’s recommendation, several countries have cautioned their citizens not to travel in Mexico during the swine flu situation. The governments advise people who need to travel to Mexico or the risky areas to follow local authorities ' advice and keep updated with information about the outbreak of swine flu in other countries, such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
Afterwards, the EU has warned travelers to postpone nonessential trips to the United States and Mexico because of the lethal swine flu situation. We still don't understand the functions of the virus and the symptoms seem more severe than the other flues. Therefore, travelling by public transportation such as bus or airplane should be avoided. Moreover, the WHO also warn the travelers that thermal scanners used at the airports to check for fever among arriving passengers are not always precise.
The drop in tourism in the U.S. and Mexico are causing a recession in the world stock market, as the investors are now worried about the global economy because the U.S. economic situation impacts on the world economy. In addition, Mexico City is also a popular tourist destination and is in one of the most popular family's vacation destinations, therefore, the outbreak of swine flu causes tourism businesses, such as vacation packages, travel agencies, travel insurers, hotels, resorts, and airlines, in Mexico to flounder because those people who have already booked the hotel or other services have cancelled their plans, therefore the tourism entrepreneurs have refused to refund the paid money for booking hotels or air tickets but they have offered a concession for rebooking for their customers instead.
All of the reasons above are a small part of the effect from swine flu. There are still lots of problem that are associated with the swine flu in other areas. But nobody knows whether some day this virus will get worse or will stop spreading, and be under control like the other diseases in the past. The best we, as a common people, can do to protect ourselves and our family is to update ourselves with the information of the swine flu, to understand the situation, to be concerned about the areas we should stay in or leave, and be concerned about our health.
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SOURCE
WHO not recommending swine flu travel restrictions
28 Apr 2009 10:05:00 GMT 28 Apr 2009 10:05:00 GMT ## for search indexer, do not remove
Source: Reuters
* Travel restrictions seen ineffective against virus spread
* Unclear why H1N1 swine flu has been so severe in Mexico
* Experts still looking for origin of outbreak
(Adds comments on Mexico severity, vaccines) By Stephanie Nebehay and Laura MacInnis GENEVA, April 28 (Reuters)
The World Health Organisation is not recommending travel restrictions and border closures to fight swine flu, a spokesman said on Tuesday.
Infected people may not show symptoms at the airport or when they reach a border crossing, so travel limitations like those imposed during the SARS outbreak are ineffective, spokesman Gregory Hartl said.
"Border controls don't work. Screening doesn't work," he told a news conference, describing the economically-damaging travel bans as basically pointless in public health terms.
Still, the WHO is urging people to think twice before travelling to and from affected areas, and to avoid crowds and public transport in the presence of any flu-like symptoms.
"If the virus is an efficient virus, if it spreads easily from human to human, it will probably continue to spread," Hartl said. "We are still at phase 4 because we do not have incontrovertible evidence this is an efficient spreader." (For more Reuters stories on swine flu, click on [nFLU]) (For more Reuters swine flu coverage, please click here: http://www.reuters.com/news/globalcoverage/swineflu ) (For WHO information on swine flu, go to: http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html ) (Additional reporting by Michael Kahn in London; Editing by Angus MacSwan) news
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LS307127.htm
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Swine flu prompts EU warning on travel to U.S.
Spain reports first confirmed case of swine flu in Europe.
LUXEMBOURG - The top EU health official urged Europeans on Monday to postpone nonessential travel to parts of the United States and Mexico because of the swine flu virus, and Spanish health officials confirmed the first case outside North America.
Russia, Hong Kong and Taiwan said they would quarantine visitors showing symptoms of the virus amid a surging global concern about a possible pandemic.
World stock markets fell as investors worried that the deadly outbreak could go global and derail any global economic recovery. Airlines took the brunt of the selling.
The virus was suspected in up to 149 deaths in Mexico, the epicenter of the outbreak with nearly 2,000 cases suspected, while 42 cases — none fatal — were confirmed in the United States and six in Canada, the World Health Organization said.
"Today we've seen increased number of confirmed cases in several countries," WHO spokesman Paul Garwood told The Associated Press. "WHO is very concerned about the number of cases that are appearing, and the fact that more and more cases are appearing in different countries."
President Barack Obama said the threat of spreading infections is cause for concern but "not a cause for alarm."
The WHO set its pandemic alert level at level 3, which means there is an animal virus that occasionally causes human cases but that doesn't spread well between people. If the WHO raises it to 4 or 5, that signals that the swine flu virus is becoming increasingly adept at spreading between humans. That move could lead governments to set trade, travel and other restrictions aimed at limiting the disease's spread.
In Luxembourg, European Union Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou urged Europeans to postpone nonessential travel to parts of the United States and Mexico affected by swine flu, toning down earlier comments referring to all of North America.
"I meant a travel advisory, not a travel ban, for travel to Mexico City and those states in the United States where we have outbreaks" of swine flu, he said.
The EU health commissioner only makes recommendations to the 27 member countries; they must make a final decision to set travel advisories through their foreign ministries.
'These are early days'Dr. Richard Besser, acting head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, said the EU recommendation was not warranted. "At this point I would not put a travel restriction or recommendation against coming to the United States."
A top German holiday tour operator said it was suspending charter flights to Mexico City.
"These are early days. It's quite clear that there is a potential for this virus to become a pandemic and threaten globally," WHO spokesman Peter Cordingley told AP Television News.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30431245/
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Swine Flu Travel Refunds
Tuesday April 28, 2009
Packagers, Airlines: A quick look at the "Mexico Travel Update" for major vacation packager Apple Vacations shows a complex situation. For instance, passengers flying certain dates on Apple's USA3000 Airlines and charter flights can rebook on dates through December 15, 2009*, and Apple Vacations will waive its change fees: however, "hotel penalties may apply". Passengers flying on other airlines need to also check the policy of their particular airline. (Most are waiving change fees - see more.) Not all vacation packagers have info on display at their web site. Travelers may need to call a toll-free number (and be prepared to wait on hold.) Funjet does have an online Travel Advisory, but advises customers: "For the most up-to-date policy information, contact 888-558-6654 for bookings made online." At time of writing*, Funjet's Advisory says: "For anyone looking to reschedule their vacation see our special offers to save up to $150 per person off your new vacation at participating hotels." Seems that Canadian travelers have an easier situation with certain packagers. An overview at Targetvacations.ca summarizes policies of major tour operators; several are delaying all departures to Mexico and offering a switch to an alternative destination, or a travel credit. Hotels, Resorts: Meanwhile, many travelers these days book hotels/resorts directly online, and these travelers will need to check out the situation with their individual resort. Even though the Center for Disease Control has recommended that US travelers avoid non-essential travel to Mexico, resorts are interpreting and reacting in different ways. Also, regrettably, some major all-inclusive companies do not yet have information posted (or posted prominently) at their web sites.
Travel insurance: check your policy, if one has been purchased; also, some types of premium credit cards offer certain protections for trip cancellations. Read the fine print carefully! ConsumerReports.org notes: "Standard policies don’t protect against the present circumstances." Update, from Travel Guard insurance: "Most traditional travel plans will not provide trip cancellation coverage due to a health warning or a fear of traveling. However, these plans would provide coverage if an insured contracts Swine Flu and needs to cancel or interrupt a trip due to illness. The insurance would also provide medical expense coverage if the insured related to the swine flu while traveling. Some companies, including Travel Guard, offer plans with “cancel for any reason” benefits. These plans would cover trip cancellation for these and any other circumstances. This optional coverage must be purchased within 15 days of the initial trip deposit."
Travel Agents: Travelers who chose to book through a travel agent are probably glad they did. A travel agent with long-standing relations with a resort will know who to contact, and may have clout to get better concessions for customers. Keeping it in context: Keep in mind that Mexico City is taking dramatic fast actions to curtail the illness; that swine flu may be no more virulent than the seasonal flus we're accustomed to; and that the worldwide communications and health infrastructure of 2009 are vastly different than during the devastating flu pandemic of a hundred years ago.
Still, it's natural for parents to feel extra-cautious. At the moment, families with vacation bookings are in an uncomfortable zone of uncertainty, wondering "cancel, or go?" The luckier ones are those with a little time to "wait and see": even a day can make a big difference, both in the health situation and in the travel refunds offered by the vacation industry.
http://travelwithkids.about.com/b/2009/04/28/swine-flu-travel-refunds.htm
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Other Sourses
EU rejects swine flu travel ban
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/4/20090430/twl-eu-rejects-swine-flu-travel-ban-41f21e0.html
Travel Warnings and Advisories for Mexico
http://gomexico.about.com/b/2009/04/28/travel-warnings-and-advisories-for-mexico.htm
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