International travel in the Covid19 world

New mutations of Covid virus, travel requirements post pandemic and impact on travel etc..

The Covid19 pandemic has brought international travel to an unbelievable low. Governments across the world have worked hard in improving the traveling experiences for travelers. The vaccination drives have re-fueled the desire to travel again. Several countries have travel advice and requirements for entry at their borders, however international travel during the COVID-19 pandemic is possible now.

Most countries need travelers to produce a negative report of covid 19 test taken 72 hours prior to the departure date. Fully vaccinated travelers may not require to take the covid19 test or quarantine unless specified by the destination country. All travelers who have contracted Covid19 need to produce the Covid19 recovery report and a positive test prior to boarding the flight. Airlines should check for all valid documents while boarding the flight and deny travelers if they fail to produce the required documents.

Travelers who are not vaccinated need to take the Covid19 test 72 hours prior to the departure date and quarantine upon arrival in the destination country. Travelers should also follow the entry requirements mentioned by the destination country. All travelers should follow safety and preventive measures like getting a vaccine, wearing masks at all times, maintaining social distance, frequent washing of hands and avoiding crowded places.

During all international travel, travelers should take all travel precautions and be prepared for situations that may arise due to the surge of Covid19 variants. Having good travel insurance has become essential at this tie. There are various travel insurance plans covering covid19 illnesses at American Visitor insurance. Travelers can call or email and one of their licensed agents will assist travelers.

Covid pandemic which originated from Wuhan, China has wrecked globally and it is considered as the most critical global health tragedy faced by humanity since the 2nd world war disrupting the global economy, massive health and social wellbeing of humankind.

The fight against the virus gave a positive hope with the launch of vaccines for Covid19 in the month of December 2020, at the same time United kingdom signposted a flag that a new mutation variant B117 has emerged which is likely to be more vulnerable and more infectious than the original strain .This new mutation has now been identified in many countries. South Africa has also identified a new mutation 501.V2 which has spread to several nations.

Since the appearance of the first virus in China in 2019 scientists have identified multiple mutation of Sars-CoV-2 (Covid19).The new mutation variant B117 is considered to be with a reproduction rate ranging from 0.4 and 0.7 greater than the unmuted virus which makes it more significantly transmissible. There is no proof that the new variant is more dangerous than the original strain but the increased percentage of transmissibility alone is a bigger problem.

Once the UK announced the transmission of the new variant and imposed 3rd lockdown in the country thousands of people had already flown from the UK to many countries even before countries could take precautions to close their borders for travellers from the UK. France, Spain, Portugal, Germany and Italy have identified that they have been locally transmitted with the new variant.UK, USA and South Africa witnessed the highest rise in the Covid cases in the first week of January 2021 which included patients infected with a new mutated strain of virus.

The world is witnessing several mutation of the Covid -19 SAR’s virus. The most recent variants Omicron and Delta is considered the most contagious variant than any other variant in the past and is also affecting fully vaccinated individuals. Vaccination drives are on the rise and travel has slowly begun. Countries around the world have eased the ban and have stricter border rules with a negative Covid -19 report, vaccine certificates and quarantine rules.!). If the covid -19 coverage is included in the travel insurance cover, irrespective of the variant the insured travelers will be covered for Covid illness during the trip.

The economists and scientists hope that the society will gradually meet the requirements of herd immunity for social wellbeing of the nation. May all of us practice everything that we can to avoid the spread of the pandemic and be positive. Stay safe during your future travels.