We aren’t being singled out

By Alex P. Vidal

 

“If all difficulties were known at the outset of a long journey, most of us would never start out at all.”—Dan Rather

THOSE who are expecting their relatives in the United States to visit the Philippines soon shouldn’t panic after the latest “do not travel” advisory released by the U.S. Government.

Contrary to fears of some misinformed Filipinos, the Philippines is not being singled out.

“This will be the third time that our vacation will be canceled,” lamented Honrado, 58, of Hinigaran City, Negros Occidental, who was scheduled to fly to Manila on April 26 together with his wife, a nursing assistant in upstate New York, and his 23-year-old daughter but decided to cancel their flight due to the advisory.

It would have been their first visit in the Philippines since 2004 after obtaining their permanent residency in 2020, the year the pandemic hit worldwide.

The Philippines is not the only country in Asia with an alarming rate of COVID-19 cases.

In fact, more than 116 countries have been added to the most recent “do not travel” advisory list now that more than three million people have died from COVID-19 worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

Nearly 144 million coronavirus cases have been reported globally, according to recent data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Aside from the Philippines, the same travel advisory was slapped as well against three countries in Southeast Asia: Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar.

The U.S. also maintained its level 4 warning against the Sulu archipelago and Marawi City on threats posed by violent extremism, as well as the level 3 alert extended to Mindanao due to the incidents of crime, terrorism, civil unrest and kidnapping in the island.

Only a few foreign nationals are authorized to enter the Philippines at present.

The government has enforced a travel ban against foreigners on leisure trips and has yet to show any sign that it will lift the policy soon.

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US Government issued a level 3 notice against Cambodia and Lao PDR, while a level 2 status was given to Brunei Darussalam, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

It was reported that U.S. State Department has added at least 116 countries  to its “Level Four: Do Not Travel” advisory list, putting the UK, Canada, France, Israel, Mexico, Germany and others on the list, citing a “very high level of COVID-19.”

As reported by Reuters’ David Shepardson, the State Department would boost the number of countries receiving its highest advisory rating to about 80 percent of countries worldwide.

Last week, the State Department listed 34 out of about 200 countries as “Do Not Travel.”

The State Department now lists 150 countries at Level Four. It declined to say when it would complete the updates.

The State Department explained that the move did not imply a reassessment of current health situations in some countries, but rather “reflects an adjustment in the State Department’s Travel Advisory system to rely more on (the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s) existing epidemiological assessments.”

Reuters said “the recommendations are not mandatory and do not bar Americans from travel.”

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Other countries in the “Do Not Travel” list include Finland, Egypt, Belgium, Turkey, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland and Spain. Some countries like China and Japan remain at Level 3: Reconsider Travel.”

Most Americans already had been prevented from traveling to much of Europe because of COVID-19 restrictions.

Washington has barred nearly all non-U.S. citizens who have recently been in most of Europe, China, Brazil, Iran and South Africa.

Also last week, the United States extended by a further 30 days restrictions in place for 13 months that bar non-essential travel at its Canadian and Mexican borders.

Nick Calio, who heads Airlines for America, a trade group representing major U.S. carriers, told a U.S. Senate panel recently that policymakers needed to find a “road map” to reopening international travel.

Earlier this month, the CDC said fully vaccinated people could safely travel within the United States at “low risk,” but its director, Rochelle Walensky, discouraged Americans from doing so because of high coronavirus cases nationwide.

 

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo)