6/09/2020

Headline, June 10 2019/ ''' '' REOPEN* TRAVEL RESOLVE '' '''


''' '' REOPEN* TRAVEL 

RESOLVE '' '''




IN DUBAI'S GIANT MALL OF AN AIRPORT - all arriving passengers are now scanned for fevers with thermal imaging technology, which is also being rolled out at transport hubs in Europe and the United States.

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL HAS ALWAYS BEEN a proxy for trust among countries and people, but the pandemic has poisoned the air.
Now relationships are being rebuilt under enormous pressure, with a wary eye on a pathogen that is not going away anytime soon.

The calculations of risk and reward vary. Some countries are eager to find ways to open doors to  people from places, like the United States, that are still struggling with the virus but are important sources of trade and tourism. Others are scanning the globe for safer, if less lucrative, partners.

The challenge for every country involves both epidemiology and psychology. Trips for business and pleasure must have enough restrictions to make travelers feel safe, but not so many that no one wants to bother.

''We'll all get back to moving again, but in a different way,'' said Scott Tasker, a general manager at  Auckland Airport in New Zealand. ''This is a global shock in the aviation and tourism industry, the likes of which we've never seen.''

Airport executives, tourism officials and travel analysts, along with investors, directors and government officials, described a momentous effort that is just starting to coalesce.

They predicted a mix of precautions and incentives. Masks, fever checks, contact-tracing apps and even coronavirus throat swabs will make travel more agonizing, even as discounts and smaller crowds soften the blow. A reduction in flights will mean more connections and longer journeys, testing travelers' patience.

The baby steps toward a reopened world start with the healthy - the nations that have low rates all around and few active cases.

The Baltic countries have gone first, and Australia and New Zealand are following a similar path. But even for countries with close ties, it is like starting from a scratch.

Border agencies, airports, airlines and health officials in Australia and New Zealand have spent more than a month trying to work out a proposal that would let travelers avoid the mandatory 14-day quarantine now in place for a smattering of international arrivals. They hope to have the system up and running by September.

Mr. Tasker, the Auckland Airport official, said the biggest hurdle was making sure that local transmission of the virus, which causes the disease Covid-19, was as close to eliminated as possible.

Beyond that travelers can expect new protocols, and constant reminders about social distancing, health and hygiene from booking through return. COVIDSafe, could also be used to share location data between both countries. If it works for the two neighbors, the bubble will grow to include other locations.

Many European countries are also starting out with a restricted guest list, Denmark and Norway are opening to each other on June 15, for example, but are excluding Sweden, where a looser lockdown has let the virus proliferate.

With every phase of reopening, officials said, more movement means more risk and more work, for governments but also travelers.

''It's just not going to be as free-flowing and spontaneous as it once was,'' said Margy Osmond, the chief executive of Australia's largest tourism association and co-chair of the group working on travel between that country and New Zealand.

''I don't know that it will be more expensive - the jury is still out on that - but it mill mean the average traveler has to take more responsibility.''
So will everyone else involved with travel.

At many of the world's busiest airports, which are just starting to see upticks in traffic after declines of 90 percent or more, all employees now wear masks and gloves.

Airlines are instituting their own forms of protection. All over the world, they are reducing food and drink service [further diluting its charms] and prioritizing masks for everyone. Ryanair, the popular  European budget carrier, now requires that passengers ask permission to use the bathroom so that lines do not form.

''The most important thing is for travelers to feel safe to fly again, and for the countries to receiving the travelers to feel that they have done a good job in protecting their borders,'' said Dr. Jason Wang, director for the Center for Policy, Outcomes and Prevention at Stanford Medicine.

With respectful dedication to the Leaders, Students, Professors and Teachers of the world. And with many thanks for the author, Damien Cave. See Ya all prepare and register for Great Global  Elections on The World Students Society : wssciw.blogspot.com and Twitter - !E-WOW! - The Ecosystem 2011 :

'''Travel - Times '''

Good Night and God Bless

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless

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