It is with a heavy heart that I must say ciao to Italy. Due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus (COVID 019) across Italy, my university arranged for the return of all students, faculty, and staff from the United States in Italy. Yesterday on Saturday, February 29th 2020, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) raised Italy’s travel health level to a level 3 travel advisory. This advisory urges individuals to avoid non-essential travel to Italy. I am just one of the 59 students that were forced to return to the United States immediately, or sign a travel release and waiver. The waiver looked something like this:
- I fully recognize that there are dangers and risks to which I may be exposed by voluntarily choosing to remain in Italy. Among other things, I understand and acknowledge that travel of all types generally involves a wide variety of risks and that COVID-19 in particular poses risks including upper-respiratory illness, hospitalization, and loss of life. I further recognize that entry and exit control measures in Italy could change, and that quarantines may be implemented, with little notice, impacting my plans and/or delaying my return home at personal cost.
- I appreciate the character of the risk taken and voluntarily assume all risk of harm.
- I agree and assume to take on myself all of the risks and responsibilities in any way associated with voluntarily choosing to remain in Italy. I release, acquit and forever discharge the university of any and all liability whatsoever for any and all damages, losses or injuries (including death, mental anguish or emotional distress) to persons and/or property, including but not limited to any claims, demands, actions, causes of action, damages, costs, expenses (including hospital and medical expenses or deductibles) and/or attorney’s fees, that occur during, result from, arise out of or relate to my decision to stay in Italy.
By signing my first and last name on the dotted lines in ball-point pen like I had many times before, I would be making the decision to sign off my life. I was not ready to do that just yet. After taking one look at the waiver, I read that three healthy 29-year-old medical professionals in China lost their lives to the same disease they were trying to save people from. I decided that I could not take the risk.
I booked the first flight out of Rome on Norwegian Airlines on Wednesday, March 4th. On Wednesday afternoon, a car will pick me up from my apartment. I will be given a mask, and put on a plane to the JFK airport in New York City. Once I get to New York, I will go through customs and may be subject to intense screening.
Already, many countries have either closed their borders or considered closing borders to travelers from Italy and other nations affected including:
- China: Level 3 (Avoid Nonessential Travel)
- South Korea: Level 3 (Avoid Nonessential Travel)
- Italy: Level 3 (Practice Enhanced Precautions)
- Iran: Level 3 (Practiced Enhanced Precautions)
- Japan: Level 2 (Practice Enhanced Precautions)
- Hong Kong: Level 1 (Practice Usual Precautions)
France is among the nations to consider closing their borders to Italy. It is one of the 7 European nations including Spain, Greece, Croatia, France, Switzerland, and Germany, that were affected by Europe’s largest outbreak in Italy. Italy has reported over 1,000 cases of coronavirus. All schools and universities in northern Italy are set to close for the second consecutive week to contain the virus. As of March 1st, the CDC raised the travel advisory from a level 3 to 4 for the Lombardy and Veneto regions. The CDC recommends not to travel to Lombardy and Veneto due to the level of community transmission of the virus and imposition of local quarantine procedures. As of right now over 12 towns and 55,000 people in northern Italy will remain quarantined through this week.
The Government of Vietnam was one of the first nations the first to make their stance against travelers from Italy. Effective immediately, the Government of Vietnam has directed passengers on all inbound flights from not only Italy, but South Korea and Iran, as well as those who have transited through these countries in the last 14 days, to be subjected to intensive screening upon arrival. Travelers entering Vietnam may be subject to quarantine or return to point of departure. The directive may expand to flights from additional countries with prior notice. Other governments in the region may take similar measures.
So what does this mean for individuals like me traveling from affected countries like Italy to the United States? Within the next couple of days, the United States may take similar measures to be subjected to intensive screening including quarantine or return to point of departure. Even though I am not showing symptoms myself, and I have not come into contact with anyone with the virus, I could still be at danger to screening, quarantine, or worse, with little or no warning. Even if I don’t get quarantined by the US government after screening, I will still have to voluntarily self-quarentine from my family. After the first and largest outbreak in the United States at a Seattle nursing home, we cannot risk the further spread of the virus to the most vulnerable populations: those with breathing difficulties and the elderly.
Overall, deaths are at least 5 times more common among individuals with breathing problems. The death rate among individuals 80+ years old is 21.9 percent, which means over 1 out of 5 people over the age of 80 diagnosed with coronavirus will die if infected with the deadly virus.
Even if I get home safely and don’t have the virus, I still cannot see my family for more than 14 long days, as I run the risk of infecting my family, who works in healthcare, my grandmother who is set to have surgery two days after I return, and my other grandmother with longstanding breathing difficulties. My own mother, who was supposed to pick me up from the airport does not even want to run the risk of being in close quarters with me in a car for 6 hours as we drive from New York City to my home, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I now have to arrange transportation from JFK to my hometown in Pittsburgh, PA, where I might have to stay put in a hotel for 14+ days with little or no connection from the outside world other than food and supply runs. Please stay tuned to see how this situation progresses, as I am still getting updates from the CDC by the hour!
To stay updated on the coronavirus spread, where most of the information above was provided via email, enroll in the Department of State’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) for the latest information for U.S. citizen travelers.
