The President of the United States is said to be considering travel restrictions between California, Washington, and the rest of the country. I’ve heard rumors of this, and it is certainly not confirmed and not at this point certain to happen.
Donald Trump is considering extending travel restrictions to domestic travel between California and Washington. There is no confirmation and no details from the president on this yet.
Meanwhile it appears that travel restrictions haven’t been effective in stopping the spread of this virus. (HT: Marginal Revolution) They’ve been a ‘barn door already shut’ policy.
The travel quarantine of Wuhan delayed the overall epidemic progression by only 3 to 5 days in Mainland China, but has a more marked effect at the international scale, where case importations were reduced by nearly 80% until mid February. Modeling results also indicate that sustained 90% travel restrictions to and from Mainland China only modestly affect the epidemic trajectory unless combined with a 50% or higher reduction of transmission in the community.
In other words, since the virus is already out beyond the areas where travel is limited, restrictions won’t stop the virus. Slowing the virus matters so that health care resources aren’t overwhelmed with older patients in respiratory distress (the way that hospitals in Wuhan and Italy have been). What matters though is rapid testing and social distancing and the U.S. is still failing at testing.
Seems more like a way to hit at the economy of California and Washington (Democratic strongholds) more than stopping the spread of the virus…especially considering New York and Boston both have a lot of cases as well. Also, what about driving? They can’t close all the roads into and out of California and Washington.
An intra-national flying band sounds shortsighted at best and downright detrimental to the economy (which he cares so deeply about) at worst. I can’t imagine this would fly with the travel industry either.
Quite right, Gary. This whole travel ban business is classic Trump: deflect attention away from his own role in exacerbating this crisis and away from real solutions. I somehow can’t believe he’ll actually institute a domestic air travel ban for certain states, since within a week or two he’d need to ban all travel within the country. But he’s done stranger, stupider things.
100% right on Steve. Deflect from the serious lack of testing kits, months after this started.
Hmmm…flying to Orange County next Tuesday and leaving Thursday…what to do…
Steve — teleconference is the way to go. Stay safe.
Yup just another ridiculous haphazard “policy” with zero thought process – no surprise from the ever increasing swamp. Deflect deflect deflect.
Choosing state borders (as opposed to county, city, neighborhood) is so arbitrary. It’s like taking a buzz saw to a problem better handled with a scalpel. This, combined with the Europe travel ban, is the modus operandi of this administration’s approach to tackling the problem. Throwing up grand scale “walls” makes for great newscasts but it’s deceptive and distracts from more effective ways to mitigate the spread.
@ HT — If this is Trump trying to damage the CA and WA economies that just shows (again) that he is a total moron. The last time I checked they are part of the US and probably a very disproportionate share if its economy and his precious Dow. Another 6.5% drop in the Dow, and the increase over his presidency will be a big fat zero. That Obama economy sure looks good now, Donald.
Complete rumor and totally irresponsible to perpetuate it, Gary. Nice job.
Tried to cancel an existing award trip 5 days ago and requested a fee waiver and AS customer relations just now emailed and said : “call reservations”
On hold 35 min with no end in sight-oh such good CS. I hope the orange man shuts them down (after Pence lands at SEA- of course).
@kenny – I didn’t cover the rumor until it was being reported in major media. I am confident this has been discussed, and I am clear I don’t know whether it’ll be enacted. However it’s useful to throw into the calculation in planning current travel.
@Ed Most borders are arbitrary. 🙂
Anyway, I’m curious about the legality of such an action.
Steve is right just a Trump distraction. This stuff has spread far and wide a travel ban at this time is useless. I think i might fly to South Korea to get tested as it would be quicker than here in the US.
@cynnils – unfortunately I’m in engineering and I have actual hands-on work to do that cannot be adequately addressed via Skype. Maybe they have bigger fish to fry but when one of the branches of the military is yelling about their supply chain not delivering I kind of need to be involved…
I may just book a return trip on each flight out that same day and rolling cancel them as I need to :-\
Don’t understand why Trump (or his political advocates) didn’t see this coming–the poor handling of Hurricane Katrina left a lot of people soured on George W. Bush. These major events are a make-and-break for presidents.
And that ‘fiddling” Tweet–a la Nero, while Rome burns–does Trump not realize the symbolism behind that?
Does el Presidente own any resorts in California or Washington? Nope.
The U.S. government proclamation initiating the ban targets 26 European countries that comprise a visa-free travel zone known as the Schengen Area.
The United Kingdom, which is home to Trump Turnberry and Trump International Golf Links, and Ireland, which is home to another Trump-branded hotel and golf course at Doonbeg, do not participate in the Schengen Area. Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania are also not part of the Schengen Area. All three of the resorts are struggling financially.
https://digbysblog.net/2020/03/gotta-protect-that-bottom-line/
@ Gary — Mr G’s link should be removed. It is spam.
One benefit of all this – the MAGA trolls have mostly gone back into their holes with respect to commenting. Ever harder to defend the indefensible.
UA-NYC oh no my friend there still there.
Flash back 3 1/2 years ago… how could you defend “pussygate”? They did and voted him in.
Ever since then… other travel bans, stupid walls, threatening nuclear Armageddon on twitter etc etc
The Trump scum will defend anything with zero logic but fervent passion. These people are very low IQ low morality low integrity morons.
Hey Gary, I clicked on your link and was shown a photo of an allegedly empty subway car. Let me be clear this is FAKE NEWS. I took multiple subway trains today and all were full of people. Less than normal but still a number of people and not empty like this so-called photo. That suggests to me that the reporting is flawed and someone went on a train at 3 am at the very first station or some nonsense. I think you need to be careful about posting things without verification, because the media is prone to hysteria. Its highly questionable if under the constitution Trump could even take those types of actions with Washington and California, especially in light of the fact that travel bans DON”T work. Italy had a travel ban and look how that turned out.
That news story isn’t the only published source on this.
Italy vs South Korea is a clear example of what to do and what not to do.
South Korea was #2 in number of cases… Everyone initially thought it’s screwed… but it was because how fast they got the test kits out everywhere and set up drive-thru testing facilities. Instead of choosing to ban, it chose to rapidly develop the test kits… in 17 days from DNS strain release from China to producing millions of kits. Their belief was that it’s better to quickly identify who has it instead of quarantine everyone so that person can quickly be isolated and treated fast before he/she becomes too sick. Death rate? just 0.6% now. They tests 20k people per day.
vs how Italy is turning out. Closing doors and banning people is what a person in panic does at the end. We have no freaking idea who has the virus… so let’s just lock down everything and blame someone else.
US has so far tested less than 10k people since the outbreak. Washington state lab was close to getting the test kit developed but told by CDC to stop it because it’s illegal.
all while Trump was bragging about his smartness at CDC visit. We have no leadership.
There will be absolutely no way to restrict travel between CA/WA and the rest of the USA short of putting armed guards at all the crossings and cancelling hundreds of flights. Not to mention the constitutionality of such a move either
@Gene – Obama economy? Are you stupid or what? Another Kool-Aid drinker.
@UA-NYC – No…we don’t hide from people like you. You just make us all sick with your moronic tendencies…got it? After a while you become a laughing stock. We have no respect for you people.
@Andy – yeah sure Einstein. And you are the perfect one….hahaha…ahole. Go back to your mom’s basement and stop wearing her thongs!
This is exactly what needs to happen if people are serious about stopping the spread. The biggest clusters are in California, Washington and suburbs of New York. If non essential travel was shut down into and out of these states it would allow more likely containment of the virus. It’s not an Ebola level pathogen as it has a 3% death rate mostly for immunocompromised and elderly people although even healthy people are dying. Isolating these states can protect the rest of the country from the effects of this virus and since a lot of states are less densely populated than the cities of these aforementioned states, it is a good strategy.
The privileges and immunities clause of the US Constitution protects all interstate travel. It is unconstitutional to put a travel ban on any particular state.
@Emmanuel – stick to Fox News viewing you clown. I’m sure that will keep you healthy. After all according to them it’s just a Liberal hoax.
(Please oh please Darwin do your duty here with people like this troll…)
So does this mean when I go skiing in Lake Tahoe I can’t take the lift to the Nevada side?
@ tjp74
Korea is smaller than the state of Florida. Korea was in a dire situation being in regional proximity to China and took appropriate action. We are in a very different situation in the states and so far have the least problems compared to Italy, Iran, Germany, France, Korea, Japan, Thailand and a bunch of others.
Testing is now being done very quickly when needed. People may not be aware but given that the U.S. is 3000 miles coast to coast, state and local governments are the first responders and responsible for providing health care. CDC responds to areas with the virus. What works for Korea which is smaller square mile wise than Florida, just 1 state, isn’t going to work for the U.S.
The European citizen travel ban is the right move although I would prefer a total ban of all persons traveling into the U.S. from any country as we don’t have the sizable clusters like a lot of other European or Asian countries do. If Washington, California and New York had their roads blocked and train travel cut off only allowing essential personnel and truck drivers following hygiene protocols to move in and out of the states, it would be a lot easier to contain the virus.
“Is SAID to be considering? “I’ve heard rumors of this, and it is certainly not confirmed?” “There is no confirmation and no details from the president on this yet?” Are your sources Elizabeth Warren and Adam Schiff? Are the ‘major news media sources’ Gary is referring to CNN and MSNBC? Now Gary… you are aware that not all readers are partisan lemmings… correct? Once I view and hear the president actually say this – I will render my opposition at that time. Until then, like most informed reasonable thinking American citizens, this is only a rumor!
Poor UA-NYC and Andy… No thoughts or points of their own putting on full display their paralysis to actually have an intelligent debate… only the same old molded decaying left wing talking points that goes in the informed’s ears and out their ass! Back to media matters with the rest of you slimy lemmings! YAWN…
@Jackson Waterson “Testing is now being done very quickly when needed.” You clearly don’t live in an epicenter area where it’s pretty damn clear that tests cannot be administered fast enough.
You still think by blocking Washington, Cali, and NY you can contain this? Laughable. It’s everywhere. In your state too. There’s just no testing to prove it.
CDC data on swine flu 2009
From April 12, 2009 to April 10, 2010, CDC estimated there were 60.8 million cases 274,304 hospitalizations 12,469 deaths in the United States due to the (H1N1) virus.
Additionally, CDC estimated that 151,700-575,400 people worldwide died from (H1N1)
Globally, 80 percent of (H1N1)virus-related deaths were estimated to have occurred in people younger than 65 years of age!
CDC data on swine flu 2009
From April 12, 2009 to April 10, 2010, CDC estimated there were 60.8 million cases 274,304 hospitalizations 12,469 deaths in the United States due to the (H1N1) virus.
Additionally, CDC estimated that 151,700-575,400 people worldwide died from (H1N1)
Globally, 80 percent of (H1N1)virus-related deaths were estimated to have occurred in people younger than 65 years of age!
@Jackson Waterson
Trump administration is making you believe that test kits are all readily available, no issues and we will be fine as long as we block and ban ‘other guys’ issue. This is after a month of downplaying the seriousness of issue and bragging about how US is all prepared and best in the world.
I live in an epicenter area. Come and see it for your self. It’s a big joke and a lie.
This is a global crisis now… time to work collectively together to solve the issue.. not a time to make irrational decisions, criticize and blame others and burn the bridges.
Ohio Health official estimates 100,000 cases in Ohio alone- this is not going to be contained by a quarantine of Washington and California now.
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/487329-ohio-health-official-estimates-100000-people-in-state-have-coronavirus
@justsaying Sure. But there’s more to the history than just those numbers. By the time the 2009 h1n1 outbreak was detected in humans, it was already all over North America. Schools DID close where clusters developed. The 2009 h1n1 strain was quickly found to be susceptible to two antiviral medications. It primarily affected the younger population because the >60 population showed existing cross-reactive antibodies — evidence of earlier exposure to a similar strain. The bottom line is that the 2009 h1n1 outbreak was different and we have a LOT of experience with influenza. The biggest problem now is that there are so very many unknowns with covid-19, including the problem that there is literally no treatment, only symptom management.
What is needed is fast testing and NOW. This is insanity. A parent of a student at my daughter’s school is showing symptoms and received testing yesterday…the results will not be back until EARLY NEXT WEEK!
You people are idiots – why would you voluntarily get on a plane (closed air) and fly to a place you know is prevalent with something we have no cure for – just to prove Trump wrong. Stay home and stay safe.
Hey Gomer – keep watching your Fox News (or OAN) and good luck getting “medical advice” there…sure that will go great for you
The real issue here is trump spreading his blatant stupidity,. He knows how to sell Real Estate but on every important issue he stubs his toe or is it his bone spurs? How did this uninitiated moron get elected? Oh yeah I forgot he’s a scientific genius.
@The Masked Poster
There is Trump National Golf Club in Palos Verdes. Granted, it’s a slowly falling into the ocean and is largely ignored by the Trump Organization, but it exists
Horse/Barn Door. If you want a lockdown that slows the virus it has to be nation-wide. It’s way too late to just hit two states. Plus how are you going to enforce that? That’s another couple thousand miles of border. Sounds to me like more Trumpiness and less logic.
Gary, can we go back to the Russia investigation? This one isn’t working at all.
You people act like Trump himself is making the decisions. He is being counseled by the brightest medical minds and scientists in the country, all who back him up. It seems that some of you can’t get past your hatred to look at a situation critically. I can’t believe some of the stuff I’m reading here. “Trump has no hotels in CA and WA and that’s why he’s choosing those states to ban”. Seriously? Listen to yourselves!
@Cindy B. +1.
Yes counseled actually listening no. Have you listened to him he has a hunch this will be all over in a couple of weeks that warm weather will take care of this. While his advisors are going to congress and giving a completely different story. Most of the countries he banned travel from have fewer cases than the US. UK just jumped to over 800 cases from 400 a couple of days ago.
@Cindy B. Thank you!