Norman
Diamond Member
- Sep 24, 2010
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Orange Man Bad folks!
Who Says It’s Not Safe to Travel to China?
The coronavirus travel ban is unjust and doesn’t work anyway.
The coronavirus outbreak seems defined by two opposing forces: the astonishing efficiency with which the travel industry connects the world and a political moment dominated by xenophobic rhetoric and the building of walls.
Respiratory infections, however, know no borders. The virus has spread regardless of extreme measures taken by governments around the world, which include the cancellation of flights, the shutting down of borders and the issuance of travel advisories usually reserved for conflict zones.
Time and time again, destinations perceived as “Western” benefit from a kind of cultural familiarity and presumption of safety that so-called foreign or exotic places do not. When we, as travelers, decide what places are too unsafe to travel, those decisions are determined not just by actual conditions on the ground but also by perceptions shaped by the media, the travel industry and the foreign offices of governments. Whether travelers realize it or not, that is subtly informed by the same power structures that underlie much unfairness in the world.
Valid arguments may exist for shutting down the world to travelers originating in China — and shutting down China to the world — as a reasonable public health response. But the World Health Organization explicitly did not advise that any restriction of trade or travel was necessary when it declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern last week, and it still doesn’t. Instead, it has called for exit screening in international airports and domestic hubs in China.
The United States State Department is denying entry to foreign nationals who have recently been to China, is screening American citizens who arrive home from China as well as asking them to self-quarantine for 14 days. It has told American citizens not to visit the country at all. Major airlines including British Airways, Lufthansa and all three major American carriers have halted all flights to China, while the cruise line Royal Caribbean is denying boarding to any person who has traveled to, from or through China or Hong Kong in the past 15 days. Travel companies such as those airlines are motivated both by pressure from employees and by the falling demand for flights. Flying empty planes to and from China is, after all, not profitable.
But what has motivated the response from governments? It doesn’t appear to be evidence. Measures like screening at airports, quarantining cruise ships or flights with confirmed cases and isolating communities at the center of an outbreak can be effective, said Erin Sorrell, an assistant research professor at Georgetown University who studies emerging infectious diseases. However, she and other experts say the available evidence suggests that total border shutdowns are not an effective means of containment of respiratory viruses. Resources are better used, she argued, treating sick patients and developing vaccines and other countermeasures.
www.nytimes.com
The nonsense continues for few more paragraphs. Not only were we supposed to let in the virus carriers, we were supposed to go out of our way to travel to China in order to catch the virus. Foreign place being unsafe is basically impossible anyway.
Aged like wine.
Who Says It’s Not Safe to Travel to China?
The coronavirus travel ban is unjust and doesn’t work anyway.
The coronavirus outbreak seems defined by two opposing forces: the astonishing efficiency with which the travel industry connects the world and a political moment dominated by xenophobic rhetoric and the building of walls.
Respiratory infections, however, know no borders. The virus has spread regardless of extreme measures taken by governments around the world, which include the cancellation of flights, the shutting down of borders and the issuance of travel advisories usually reserved for conflict zones.
Time and time again, destinations perceived as “Western” benefit from a kind of cultural familiarity and presumption of safety that so-called foreign or exotic places do not. When we, as travelers, decide what places are too unsafe to travel, those decisions are determined not just by actual conditions on the ground but also by perceptions shaped by the media, the travel industry and the foreign offices of governments. Whether travelers realize it or not, that is subtly informed by the same power structures that underlie much unfairness in the world.
Valid arguments may exist for shutting down the world to travelers originating in China — and shutting down China to the world — as a reasonable public health response. But the World Health Organization explicitly did not advise that any restriction of trade or travel was necessary when it declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern last week, and it still doesn’t. Instead, it has called for exit screening in international airports and domestic hubs in China.
The United States State Department is denying entry to foreign nationals who have recently been to China, is screening American citizens who arrive home from China as well as asking them to self-quarantine for 14 days. It has told American citizens not to visit the country at all. Major airlines including British Airways, Lufthansa and all three major American carriers have halted all flights to China, while the cruise line Royal Caribbean is denying boarding to any person who has traveled to, from or through China or Hong Kong in the past 15 days. Travel companies such as those airlines are motivated both by pressure from employees and by the falling demand for flights. Flying empty planes to and from China is, after all, not profitable.
But what has motivated the response from governments? It doesn’t appear to be evidence. Measures like screening at airports, quarantining cruise ships or flights with confirmed cases and isolating communities at the center of an outbreak can be effective, said Erin Sorrell, an assistant research professor at Georgetown University who studies emerging infectious diseases. However, she and other experts say the available evidence suggests that total border shutdowns are not an effective means of containment of respiratory viruses. Resources are better used, she argued, treating sick patients and developing vaccines and other countermeasures.
Opinion | Who Says It’s Not Safe to Travel to China? (Published 2020)
The coronavirus travel ban is unjust and doesn’t work anyway.
The nonsense continues for few more paragraphs. Not only were we supposed to let in the virus carriers, we were supposed to go out of our way to travel to China in order to catch the virus. Foreign place being unsafe is basically impossible anyway.
Aged like wine.
