Refrain from International Travel
It’s another blog post on international travel. We want to update and to reiterate to our community that future international travel within the next several months should be cancelled/delayed. The Office of International Services (OIS) truly sympathizes with you when it comes to desiring to visit family/friends/loved ones and/or to just plain get away. Traveling at this time has many risk factors to not only you, but your academic program/clinical training/research. Future Presidential Proclamations could be initiated at any point and could delay and/or prevent re-entry to the U.S. U.S. Consulates and embassies may close down or only entertain emergency visa appointments. Keep in mind that not all U.S. consulates and embassies are fully operational. Countries are beginning to close or tighten their borders, such as France and Canada. Flights are being cancelled. One could end up getting stuck in a country other than their home country or the U.S. and not able to leave. This is not a situation we want someone to be in but it could happen.
Unless travel is absolutely necessary, such as a death or ill family member, travel should be reconsidered. We will not hold an individual back from traveling but we will provide you and your hosting department/training program/academic program with information regarding the potential risks associated with your travel plans.
This period has been very challenging on all of us and if you need to reach out and talk, please do not hesitate to contact our office. If you need resources or access to specific resources, again, reach out to our office. We want to assist where we can. Let us know what you need. We are happy to re-introduce our coffee hour talks, as it allows us all to connect and share concerns, laugh a bit, share foody recipes, etc. Hey, you may even get to hear a song or two and there was even mention of a hula hoop competition this past summer. You name it, we’ll explore it! The point is, you are not alone and always know that the OIS is here for you.
Additional Resources:
- Foster, LLP: Canada Implements Significant International Travel Requirements
- Foster, LLP: France Closes Borders to Non-EU Travel Due to COVID-19
- Foster, LLP: COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Reinstated and Expanded to South Africa
- NAFSA: Coronavirus Critical Resources
- Previous OIS Pandemic Travel Related Blogs:
- ECFMG Blogs Specific to our Alien Physicians: