It’s summer time, but holidays aren’t easy

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July 20, 2020

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It’s summer time, but holidays aren’t easy

Source: AFP | 00:05 UTC+8 July 20, 2020 |

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After months of working from home, stir-crazy Americans have finally reached the long, hot days of summer only to watch their vacation horizons dim, with travel options shrinking as the country’s coronavirus cases soar.

“All I’ve been doing this year is canceling trips,” 61-year-old Keith Gibbons said with a sigh, a new reality that the government contractor called “very frustrating.”

Trips abroad are mostly out: The overwhelming majority of countries now bar American citizens amid a sharp US resurgence of COVID-19.

The country’s caseload has climb to over 3.7 million, more than one-fourth the world’s total, and deaths have reached over 140,000.

As for domestic trips, it’s not that simple: In the vast US, laws on mask-wearing and social distancing vary dramatically, and sometimes confusingly, from one jurisdiction to another.

Some states are even imposing quarantines on visitors.

Hawaii, for example, has ordered those arriving on the Pacific archipelago to self-quarantine for 14 days. Its governor, David Ige, announced on Thursday that beginning September 1, visitors will also have to submit to a coronavirus test within 72 hours of departing for the state and present proof of a negative result upon arrival.

Meanwhile, New York has extended its list of US states to 22, whose residents will be required to self-quarantine after arrival.

In the city of Chicago visitors from 17 states must self-isolate for two weeks, or face fines of up to US$500 a day.

Complicating many Americans’ travel plans, the summer destinations of Florida and California are among the hardest-hit by coronavirus, even if the popular Disney World park in Orlando, Florida has partially reopened and a Disney-linked shopping district in California reopened earlier this month.

According to United States Travel Association, most Americans are now planning to travel by car and to stay relatively close to home, even if a few hardy souls are taking the chance of traveling to national parks.

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It’s summer time, but holidays aren’t easy

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