Travelers guided to caution about European trips

COVID-19 is affecting tourism and migration overseas. The movement of travelers across the world has been greatly affected by COVID-19. The outbreak is claiming lives around the world and is scaring a lot of otherwise willing travelers ready to make a trip. The immediate reaction of these concerned people is to cancel their trips abroad. This is applicable to every country, be it most or least affected.

96,782 cases were detected across the globe as on March 5, 2020. 3,308 of these cases have resulted in death. That leaves 53,975 cases of those who have recovered.

Also, 80,430 of the total cases have occurred in China alone. It was the center of the outbreak too. The second most cases were reported in South Korea - 6,088 cases.

The scare of the disease has clearly spread far more than the disease itself. It has caused people to consider canceling vacation plans to Europe too. But is it really necessary to cancel a trip to Europe now?

Check the facts

Except for Italy, every other EU/EEA member country has reported COVID-19 cases under 2000. When compared with the globally reported cases, this is just 2%. Hence, it may still not be necessary to panic.

Countries that have reported fewest number of cases in the EU/EEA include:

• Greece
• Croatia
• Finland
• The Czech Republic
• Portugal
• Ireland
• Estonia
• Romania
• Monaco
• Latvia
• Poland
• Slovenia
• Liechtenstein

Out of the 114 people who have expired, 107 were from Italy.

Preventive measures are widely introduced in the European Union. These include activating the Civil Protection Mechanism. The member states of the EU are urged to collaborate more in the efforts to battle the disease by sharing virus-related data.

The border checks that were in place are now been tightened. The airports are giving away information on the virus and ways to prevent it. To top these up, the health workers are checking travelers for any possible symptoms of the coronavirus. Symptoms such as fever and cough are diagnosed thoroughly.

The move to keep Schengen Agreement

The European Union has still not considered COVID-19 as a compelling reason to suspend the Schengen Agreement. The Schengen Agreement is a treaty that caused the creation of Europe's Schengen Area. The Schengen countries share their internal borders and do not need people to carry visas to travel across their borders. Border checks are also largely removed. It was signed on 14^th June, 1985.

The thought behind this decision is that the Schengen countries don’t see a point in reintroducing border checks. They believe suspending the Schengen agreement won’t really cause a slowdown in the spread of the virus.

A meeting was held by the EU Commission in the last week of February 2020. In it, the EU Commission decided to devote an amount of €232 million to improve global preparedness, prevention, and containment of the virus.

Suggestions to travelers

If you are planning a trip to Europe, you are advised to avoid non-essential trips to the infected areas if -

• You have an existing health condition viz. heart disease, respiratory disease, diabetes, cancer and hypertension
• Your journey is to an area where an outbreak has occurred
• You are above 60 years of age (older people are found to be more prone)
• Your immune system is weak

It’s best to avoid trips to a few areas that have registered outbreaks in Italy, Germany, Switzerland, France, and Spain. Also, while traveling to Europe, learn how much insurance coverage you can get against the disease during the trip.

If you are looking to Study, Work, Visit, Invest or Migrate to Europe, talk to Y-Axis, the World’s No.1 Immigration & Visa Company.

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