Coronavirus Outbreak Travel Guidelines

To help you make an informed decision about the safety and wellbeing of your travellers during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak, Stage & Screen have prepared the following information.

It is your responsibility to ensure your travellers comply with any government travel restrictions.

Overview:

• On 11 March (12 March AEST) the World Health Organisation declared COVID-19 a pandemic. 
• The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is a flu-like virus. Like the flu, it can have a significant impact on people who contract it, particularly those who are old/fragile or have a compromised immune system (such as newborns and infants).
• The global death toll is currently over 4,600 with more than 124,900 cases confirmed. Total recovered cases are 66,000.
• The Australian government has activated its emergency response plan.
• WorldAware has a COVID-19 Intelligence Hub that is being updated regularly.  
• You can track confirmed COVID-19 global cases here. 

Impact to Travel:

National governments and major airlines in Europe continue to announce flight route suspensions and flight cancellations in response to widespread travel restrictions and a sharp decline in demand as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Ryanair (FR), British Airways (BA), Alitalia (AZ) and Lufthansa (LH) have announced the most severe disruptions, with dozens of routes suspended and thousands of flights cancelled as of March 12.

Additionally, numerous major airlines have suspended all but emergency evacuation flights to and from Italy after the Italian government imposed a quarantine lockdown on the entire country March 9.

• India has announced that all visas, barring a select few categories, will be suspended for a month in order to halt the spread of Covid-19. Visa free travel afforded to overseas citizens of the country has also been suspended until 15 April. The advisory says that only diplomatic, official, employment and project visas will be exempt from the current restrictions, which will be reviewed again in a month.
• The USA has announced it is suspending all travel from Europe to the United States for the next 30 days, commencing 12 March. The travel restrictions will kick in at midnight on Friday local time but will not apply to the UK.
• Australia has now placed Italy on a full travel ban effective as of 6.00pm 11 March 2020. Australian citizens and permanent residents travelling from those countries will be able to enter Australia, but need to isolate themselves for a fortnight. Foreign nationals who have been in Italy, mainland China, Iran and South Korea will not be allowed into Australia for 14 days from the time they left those countries.
• SmartTraveller has changed its advice level for seven countries: China, Iran, South Korea’s Daegu Province and Italy's Lombardy province and other northern regions to ‘do not travel’. South Korea (rest of country), and Italy (rest of country) to 'Reconsider your need to travel'. Hong Kong, Japan and Mongolia to ‘exercise a high degree of caution’
• The Australian Government has announced that as of 1 February 2020, all travellers arriving from any part of mainland China, regardless of nationality, will be subject to enhanced border control measures to ensure the health, safety and well-being of the Australian community.
• Australia will deny entry to anyone who has left or transited mainland China from 1 February, with the exception of:
  • Australian citizens
  • permanent residents
  • immediate family members of Australian citizens and permanent residents including spouses, minor dependents and legal guardians
• Australia has now added South Korea to the travel ban list with a number of restrictions for travellers from Italy.
  • Foreign nationals who have been in mainland China, Iran and South Korea are not allowed into Australia for 14 days from the time they left those countries.
  • Australian citizens and permanent residents will be able to enter Australia, but need to isolate themselves for a fortnight.
  • Prime Minister Scott Morrison said travellers from Italy would face "advanced screening measures", which means they will be asked more questions at check-in and have their temperatures checked on arrival in Australia.
  • The Government has also upgraded its travel advice to South Korea and is now urging Australians to reconsider their need to travel to the country.
  • It has offered stricter travel advice for Daegu, a hotspot for coronavirus in South Korea, and urged Australians to not travel there.
• Qantas has announced it's suspended their two direct services between mainland China and Australia (Sydney-Beijing and Sydney-Shanghai) from 9 February until 29 March 2020, due to the entry restrictions imposed by countries including Singapore and the United States.
• Air New Zealand has also issued a statement over the weekend regarding its China services, saying it will suspend its Auckland-Shanghai with immediate effect, until 29 March 2020. Flight NZ288 service (Shanghai-Auckland) departing Shanghai Pudong International Airport at 1410 local time on Sunday 2 February is the airline’s final service until 29 March.
• The Solomon Islands has issued a statement stating that any person who has travelled from or transited through China at any time during the 14 days immediately before the day on which the person arrives in the Solomon Islands will not be permitted to enter the country. Further, travellers originating from affected Countries and regions travelling through Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Kiribati, Vanuatu and Nauru will also not be permitted to enter Solomon Islands unless such person is able to provide evidence that they have not travelled from or transited through any affected country at any time during the 14 days immediately before the day on which the person arrives in the Solomon Islands. 
• Papua New Guinea has announced a ban on all travellers from Asian countries, temporarily suspending flights from China, Macau and Hong Kong for the entire month of February, and is also restricting its government workers from travelling to those destinations.
• Samoa has also announced travel restrictions - if you’re travelling from a country specified by the Samoan authorities, including Australia, you will require medical clearance at least 3 days prior to travel to Samoa.
• Singapore has announced that all new visitors who have travelled to Mainland China (not including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) within the last 14 days, will not be allowed to enter or transit through Singapore. This will include travellers who transit in Mainland China to Singapore regardless of the duration and whether they had cleared immigration in China. More information on this announcement can be accessed here. 
• A travel ban for foreign nationals coming from Iran to Australia has now been implemented, effective immediately, following a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases and deaths in the Middle East nation.

For the latest information on the Coronavirus please visit the Smartraveller website and the Australian Government Department of Health.

Supplied by Stage & Screen