by Nick Taylor

Some Canada geese flew into New York to nibble on the grass this week, but the coronavirus is giving human travelers second thoughts about taking to the air.

We put our summer vacation trip to Scandinavia on hold. We’d have to fly there, and the best advice for people our age is not to fly. Even if we could get there, we’d want to board a ship to explore the fjords. Not happening. The only thing worse than flying with coronavirus in the air has got to be spending time on a cruise ship, even a small one. The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that “…travelers, particularly those with underlying health issues, defer all cruise ship travel worldwide.” They say that cruise ship passengers are at greater risk of . . . person-to-person spread of infectious diseases, including COVID-19.”

 

Concern goes beyond cruise ships and people our age. A younger neighbor put off a trip to the UK to visit her mother. And another neighbor, a physician who teaches, cancelled a flight to Sweden with her husband. Her university banned faculty from all non-essential travel. She’ll miss her husband’s big art opening and she’s worried about his health.  

President Trump’s ban against non-U.S. citizens flying from Europe (but not England and Ireland) puts another substantial crimp in air travel.

The airlines want us to keep flying, though, and they have been filling our in-boxes with reasons why we should. Delta Airlines assured us about their new cleaning and disinfecting procedures and their really fine air filtration systems. And some of them are doing the previously unthinkable. An email from United offered, “To give you the greatest flexibility, when you book any flight with us now through March 31, you can change it for free over the next 12 months – any ticket, any fare type, any destination.”

Jet Blue promised the same: “No change or cancellation fees with any fare if you book by 3/31 and travel by 9/8/20.”

But where would you go? Italy is on lockdown. The rest of Europe is worried. Asia is a concern and here in the United States, organizers are cancelling or postponing big gatherings. Austin, Texas, Mayor Steve Adler declared “a local disaster” because of the Coronavirus and ordered the cancellation of South by Southwest (SWXW), the popular film and music showcase. Coachella and Stagecoach, two popular arts and concert events,  postponed until the fall. The NCAA’s “March Madness” college basketball playoffs were first to be played in empty arenas and then cancelled altogether.  

The NBA suspended its games for the foreseeable future.

 

So did the National Hockey League, and Major League Baseball put the start of its season off two weeks.  Disneyland  and Disney World closed.

The governor of Colorado, Jared Polis, asked older people and those with underlying health issues to stay away from the mountain ski areas. 

In Boston, Mayor Marty Walsh also did something close to the unthinkable. In that most Irish of American cities, he canceled the St. Patrick’s Day parade.  

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio at first resisted cancelling New York’s parade, which typically draws 2 million spectators. But Governor Andrew Cuomo and the parade sponsors agreed to put it off until the coronavirus picture gets clearer.

De Blasio did call for New Yorkers to avoid other big crowds. “Those who take the subways at rush hour should consider commuting to work via alternative modes of transportation, like biking or walking, if possible,” he said.  Commuters groaned and we heard more than one person say, “That’s crazy.”

Day after day saw fewer people on the streets and on the subways.

Broadway audiences dropped off.  Shows grossed $27,700,956 the week of March 8, compared to $29,195,910 the week before, according to The Broadway League, the industry’s association. Fast Company reported that producers of five major shows including “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “West Side Story,” two shows we recommend, are offering discounts.  Then on March 12, after the governor banned gatherings of more than 500 people, Broadway announced that it’s shutting down for a month. The Public Theater, a downtown institution, and other Off-Broadway theater groups also announced month-long shut-downs. 

De Blasio declared the same day a state of emergency in New York City.

We don’t know everything that that will mean.  We had theater tickets for next week but we might have erred on the side of caution anyway by staying home. We’ll still get tickets for shows we want to see, but later.  We’re avoiding large gatherings, and are riding the subways cautiously.  The New York Post reports that subway ridership dropped 18 percent from the same time last year.

Restaurants are reaching out to stay in business. Carravagio, an Upper Eastside Italian restaurant we like, emailed to say, “Due to the Corona Virus, Carravagio is offering pickup and/or delivery service for both lunch and dinner in an effort to help everyone stay safe.” 

Right around the corner from us, star chef John Fraser caters to a younger crowd at The Loyal.

They emailed to offer a takeout menu on the apps Caviar and Postmates. “So you can enjoy all your favorites without lifting a finger,” the email said.

 

We like tourists in New York and we like to travel. So we hope for containment of the virus. We follow this closely. The overall infection rate and number of deaths from COVID-19 are low so far in the U.S. because testing is limited.  But while vigilance is important, we also need to keep our heads on straight.

But there’s also a lot we don’t know. This coronavirus is new, like SARS and Ebola were when they came on the scene. That’s why we need to take precautions. China’s isolation of entire cities and Italy’s closing of its borders may seem drastic, but we must learn more about the virus’s potential and our vulnerabilities it.

In the meantime, the CDC offers simple advice.

Avoid contact with sick people. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands. Clean your hands often by washing them with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains 60–95 percent alcohol.

Soap and water should be used if hands are visibly dirty.

It is especially important to clean hands after going to the bathroom; before eating and after coughing, sneezing or blowing your nose.

Avoid traveling if you are sick.

If you get sick with fever or new or worsening cough or difficulty breathing during your cruise, stay in your cabin and notify the onboard medical center immediately.

Did you have travel plans?

Share with us. We’d like to know if you had travel plans and cancelled or postponed.

And if you’d like to enjoy some armchair travel read this.