Corona Effects on Travel

Stay at home.. Flatten the curve..

Hello my lovely readers, I hope you are all holding up well amid this global pandemic. Please stay home and only leave if you have to, let us help flatten the curve, we are in it together. And please remember to wash your hands as well as sanitize them regularly.

When the Covid-19 epidemic broke out, I have to admit I just brushed it off as a flu that will be easily contained in Asia. I went ahead and prepped up for the start of spring time. I booked my flights and even got cute outfits to resonate with spring. But the last few weeks have made me realize this is now a pandemic and every responsible and prudent human being has to adhere to the government directives on having a lock-down in a bid to contain the spread of the virus as microbiologists and virologists work towards finding a vaccine. Life in China is slowly getting back to normal and we all saw they had a total lock-down that its citizens did not take lightly. As the rest of the world deals with this, my heart goes out to Italy.

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So, as the virus grew into a pandemic, travelers all around the world grew antsy as the airlines begun facing numerous requests for cancellations and refunds. Every time i logged on to my Air-France app, I was prompted to change my flight by either rerouting or changing my destination. Countries had not begun to close their borders so there was room to play around with my stopover, but I chose to neither cancel, reroute or change my booking.

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The situation was getting worse in parts of the world and most travelers were expressing concerns and fears whilst others seemed optimistic. I was sure that it would only get worse and I remember texting my friend who had traveled to Sweden expressing my fears but she was also not so worried, I kept googling different scenarios and finally it dawned on me that I may have to shelve my travel plans. So I logged in to the airline website and I had the option of cancelling my flights and request for a refund or have an open travel voucher valid until December 2020.

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I waited it out, a bit optimistic but also trying to be realistic. Countries shut down their borders worldwide and my country, Kenya, reported its first case of Covid19. This hit close to home and my priority was how i will follow through with the societal distancing the government was asking us to do. I stocked up on dry foods, long life milk and various household supplies- no, I did not and will not hoard tissue rolls. I do miss going out for a meal, meeting up friends and family for a drink and just doing simple errands. Nonetheless, I hope everyday that there is a vaccine found and that when we are all in it together, we can help flatten the curve. I now realize that there are far more important industries, institutions and markets that are heavily affected fiscally as well as the emotional and physical strain this is putting on the health workers who have to work so that we can stay home. This is not your chance to go on holiday and make merry, remember some of us have weaker immunity specially the elderly and some have underlying conditions whereby they cannot simply bounce back from this virus. Do not be a Covidiot, stay home and practice social distancing.

Let us echo what Martin Luther said during the Black Plague: “I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance inflict and pollute others and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me however I shall not avoid place or person but will go freely as stated above. See this is such a God-fearing faith because it is neither brash nor foolhardy and does not tempt God.”

Let us be kind and cautious. God Speed. We are now a global village.

Lotsa Love,

Shee.