The Guidelines for COVID-19 testing and quarantine of air travellers Addendum to the COVID-19 Aviation Health Safety Protocol — which was published jointly by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency on the request of the European Commission — state that based on the latest scientific evidence and information, the conclusions of the document reflect the fact that the prevalence of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus among travelers is estimated to be lower than is the case for the general population; and that moreover, the measures in place in aviation minimize the possibility of transmission during the process of traveling via airplane.
End Ineffective Quarantines: Airline Passengers Comprise Fewer Than One Percent of 2019 Novel Coronavirus Cases, According to Studies
Quarantines of 14 days are considered to be effective only in the “exceptional situation” in which a country has achieved full control over the 2019 Novel Coronavirus and reduced transmission levels to close to zero, according to the aforementioned document — and only then for travelers entering from countries where the 2019 Novel Coronavirus continues to circulate…
…and aviation industry groups worldwide are using the findings to jump on the bandwagon to advocate immediately ending ineffective mandatory quarantines on passengers of airplanes in Europe.
“These Guidelines unequivocally show quarantines to be essentially politically-driven, non-risk-based measures which bear no relation to what is actually needed to safeguard public health. As such, quarantines fail the test of proportionality, a key principle of EU law – particularly since there are no equivalent measures at land borders. This has resulted in unprecedented limitations to the freedom of movement and the freedom to provide services. We call on national governments to immediately abolish their quarantine restrictions and restore freedom of movement for European citizens”, Olivier Jankovec — who is the current director general of Airports Council International Europe — said, according to this official press release from the organization, which represents greater than 500 airports in 46 countries in Europe.
This official press release from the International Air Transport Association is also calling on the governments of the European Union, the European Economic Area, and the United Kingdom to immediately abolish quarantines for passengers of airplanes, as the aforementioned guidelines confirm that travelers via airplane account for fewer than one percent of all detected cases of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus and therefore does not increase the rate of transmission.
Analyses from a minimum of three sources were used to bolster the position of the International Air Transport Association — which represents, leads, and serves the airline industry to improve understanding of the air transport industry among decision makers and increase awareness of the benefits that aviation brings to national and global economies; as well as advocates for the interests of airlines across the globe, challenges unreasonable rules and charges, holds regulators and governments to account, and strives for sensible regulation — including documents from:
- Airports Council International Europe
- Oxera, which “goes beyond rigorous analysis to argue each case based on a depth of quality thinking, an inherently innovative approach, deep and wide contextual understanding, and a direct presentation style”
- Canadian International COVID-19 Surveillance Border Study from McMaster HealthLabs
The Latest Statistics of the Current 2019 Novel Coronavirus Pandemic
The latest statistics are that at least 1,475,825 people — or slightly less than 2.33 percent — have died of the minimum of 63,360,234 confirmed cases worldwide, according to this situation dashboard from the World Health Organization pertaining to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus…
…and at the same time, at least 1,485,330 people — or slightly less than 2.32 percent — have died of the minimum of 64,097,151 confirmed cases worldwide, according to this situation dashboard from Johns Hopkins University & Medicine pertaining to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus.
At the time this article was written, at least 267,302 people — or slightly less than 1.99 percent — have died of the minimum of 13,447,627 confirmed cases in the United States, according to this situation dashboard from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pertaining to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus — and with an estimated population of 331,002,651 people, that means that less that 0.06 percent of the population of the United States have died from it.
The population of the world is currently at almost 7.8 billion people. Using the higher statistics from Johns Hopkins University & Medicine, that means that slightly greater than 0.82 percent of the population have confirmed cases of 2019 Novel Coronavirus, with slightly greater than 0.019 percent of the population having died from it.
Summary
I have long advocated that the population in general has overreacted to the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic since it was first officially declared by the World Health Organization on Wednesday March 11, 2020…
…but the data from the aforementioned studies do not mean that all quarantines should end — just many of the ones which are deemed ineffective — nor should all preventative measures of possibly contracting the 2019 Novel Coronavirus cease and desist during the entire process of traveling by airplane.
Should you panic about the 2019 Novel Coronavirus?
NO.
Should you worry about the 2019 Novel Coronavirus?
NO.
Should you be concerned about the 2019 Novel Coronavirus?
YES. Simply take the proper — and logical — precautions to help both prevent the further spread of this disease and to reduce your chances of contracting it. Stay informed on the latest developments pertaining to the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic. Follow advice given by your health care provider, your national and local public health authority, or your employer on how to protect yourself and others from contracting the 2019 Novel Coronavirus.
In fact, you should be more concerned about the widespread concern pertaining to the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic, which will likely affect you or impact you more than the virus itself.
Unfortunately, we have media outlets which are obsessed with intentionally scaring the public into a frenzy, politicians who have no idea about what they are talking, people still quarantined around the world, airlines which reduced the number of flights they operate by the thousands, hundreds of hotel and resort properties temporarily shut down, marathons and major events being canceled left and right worldwide, schools closing, people unfairly discriminating against others who may have been exposed to the virus, hand sanitizer and alcohol being quickly wiped off of the shelves in stores, pharmacies inundated with frightened customers, and scams emerging and taking advantage of unsuspecting individuals.
Now that some evidence to the contrary is slowly being released from reliable sources, perhaps we can be smarter about fighting the 2019 Novel Coronavirus and eventually end the pandemic once and for all — with sound and reasoned ways of reducing the spread and successfully treating the disease whenever someone contracts it.
This article is the latest in a series pertaining to the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic in an effort to get the facts out with information derived from reliable sources.
All photographs ©2018 and ©2020 by Brian Cohen.
