As if Hong Kong has not already had more than its share of troubles with the protests that first occurred back in August of last year; for if Hong Kong is in your travel plans over the next month or so, you may want to consider delaying your travel — or, at least, keep yourself updated as to the latest information pertaining to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus.
Travel Alert January 2020: Hong Kong Now Affected by 2019 Novel Coronavirus
As of Tuesday, January 28, 2020 at noon, the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has received reports of a total of 529 cases fulfilling the reporting criteria — including eight confirmed cases and 332 cases which were ruled out as the 2019 Novel Coronavirus infection — since Tuesday, December 31 2019. The remaining 189 cases were still hospitalized for investigation.
The 2019 Novel Coronavirus was first identified in Wuhan, which is located in the Hubei Province of China.
Investigations to learn more about the 2019 Novel Coronavirus are ongoing in this rapidly evolving situation.
Flight Waivers, Delays and Cancellations
If you are traveling to Hong Kong over the next month or so, expect delays and cancellations of flights. Keep up to date on the latest information pertaining to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus which may adversely affect your travel plans. Better yet, postponing or canceling your trip might be a better option — no matter which mode of travel you plan on taking.
If you have a flight scheduled, your flight may be delayed or canceled — and you may be eligible for a waiver of a fee to change your itinerary.
Here are two airlines which have issued travel alerts as a result of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus in Hong Kong:
- American Airlines has issued a travel alert for Hong Kong for Tuesday, January 28, 2020 through Saturday, February 29, 2020; and Tuesday, March 31, 2020 is the last day on which tickets must be reissued and rebooked travel must begin.
- United Airlines has issued a travel alert for Hong Kong for Tuesday, January 28, 2020 through Saturday, February 29, 2020; and Tuesday, March 31, 2020 is the last day on which tickets must be reissued and rebooked travel must begin.
Summary
Additional airlines may issue travel waivers as a result of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus.
Please refer to this article pertaining to whether you should be concerned about the 2019 Novel Coronavirus — which was written yesterday, Friday, January 24, 2020 here at The Gate — for additional details and information.
Be sure to contact your airline or transportation provider for the latest information pertaining to your travels — if they are adversely affected — and please: travel safely.
Photograph ©2019 by Brian Cohen.
