Visit any news site and all you read about is coronavirus. Open BoardingArea and there’s a stream of coronavirus posts in a variety of languages. I tried to avoid the subject altogether, but now I feel compelled to write about it.
The first reason is because I was living in Shanghai last fall (see TPOL in Shanghai) and have no sense of what life is like there at the present. Like natural disasters in Puerto Rico, it is difficult to know what is true and what is exaggerated (see “Puerto Rico Rocked by Earthquake”: Enough Dramatic Headlines). I hesitate to reach out to my friends living there for the same reason I didn’t want people asking me if I had electricity here. I am not a victim and distant acquaintances’ sudden, “Are you fine?” inquiries were not heartfelt.
The second reason is because I believe that coronavirus is a threat that should be taken seriously. My (former) friend used to criticize me about not traveling to countries where there was an alleged terrorist threat. My counter was that traveling to a place publicized as dangerous is not fun because the streets will be empty (see Would You Travel During the Rainy Season?). Seeing pictures of employees wearing masks in the Apple store in Shanghai or reading about the anxiety of residents in Milan is enough to convince me to stay away for the time being.
Finally, justified or not, I have a fear of what could happen if I, as a foreigner, am infected with the virus while I’m abroad. Would I have the same access to healthcare as I do if I were in the US? How could I contact my friends and family to inform them of my situation? Would I be quarantined and left alone wondering what happens next? Those concerns may be far-fetched, but the paranoia or discrimination that has come from this epidemic is already apparent (see Bloomberg’s article Virus Panic Devastates Chinatowns From New York to Sydney).
It seems like it is only a matter of time before this epidemic becomes a pandemic and hits the international community hard. Politics and blame must be put aside before coronavirus becomes more catastrophic than it already is. Until then, I am going to limit my travel as much as possible.
Sounds pretty smart to me,I have a trip to Japan that I started planning for from last April.Unless things change quickly we will not be going.
Sucks but sounds like the right move.
I know the feeling, even traveling in the US, have a trip to Las Vegas end of March that I am monitoring. Las Vegas has people from all over the world.
Can’t stop me for going for March madness!
The NCAA might – there’s talk of playing the games without fans in the stands. They are discussing this now and will decide based on how events surrounding the virus develop over the next few days.
Wow
We are asian Americans living in USA. We ( me and wife and our 5 years old kid) have booked flights to Asia, KUL from ORD in August. I booked the flights on UA a month ago. I am now wondering what I should do! Finish the hotel bookings or cancel the flights with UA. My return is from Sri Lanka to ORD . We planned a trip to Malaysia and Sri Lanka. Even if it remains like today, we will be subjected to secondary screening, questionings at airport in Asia and specially when we return to USA right?
Cancel or wait a month or two?
If there’s a penalty to cancel now, I would wait.