International Travel Restrictions Research Articles

A239 AN APPROACH TO GASTRIC BALLOON RETRIEVAL ADMIDST COVID-19 RELATED TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS

BackgroundGiven the COVID-19 pandemic, international travel restrictions have been in effect since March 2020 in Canada. As a result, some patients requiring international travel for medical care have experienced delays. Therefore, innovative techniques were required to provide care that would not routinely be performed in Canada, as in the case of Orbera® gastric balloon retrieval.AimsTo describe an approach to gastric balloon retrieval amidst COVID-19 related travel restrictionsMethodsCase review of three cases of gastric balloon retrieval was performedResults1: A 41-year-old (yo) woman had an Orbera® gastric balloon placement in Washington state in September 2019. She lost 42lbs. Retrieval was scheduled for March 2020, but was delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions. In May 2020, she developed symptoms of balloon dysfunction. The patient was referred to a Canadian tertiary care centre. Gastroscopy was performed under conscious sedation. The Orbera® balloon was in the distal gastric body. The balloon was punctured with a 19G EUS FNA needle; 600cc of blue tinted liquid was aspirated. The emptied balloon was retrieved successfully using rat tooth forceps.2: A 35-yo woman had an Orbera® gastric balloon placed in October 2019 in Toronto at a private health facility. She lost 20lbs. Retrieval of the balloon was scheduled for March 2020, but due to COVID-19 restrictions, it was not possible at the original facility. She did not have symptoms related to the balloon. Gastroscopy was performed under general anesthesia (GA) on October 8, 2020. The balloon was intact in the distal gastric body. The balloon was punctured with a 19G Cook Echotip Needle and vacuum suction applied; 400cc of blue tinted fluid was removed. Alligator forceps were used to create holes in the underside of the balloon, allowing excess fluid to be expelled as the balloon was pulled up against the GEJ. Once the balloon was deflated, it was removed successfully through the mouth.3: A 38-yo man had an Orbera® gastric balloon placed in his native Columbia in March 2020. He did not achieve weight loss. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, he was unable to return for planned removal. He did not have symptoms related to the balloon. Gastroscopy was performed under GA on October 8, 2020. The balloon was intact in the distal gastric body. The balloon was punctured with a 19G Cook Echotip Needle and vacuum suction applied; 600cc of blue tinted fluid was removed. Alligator forceps were used in retroflexion to tear the underside of the flattened balloon to ensure all liquid and air had escaped from the balloon. Once the balloon was deflated, it was removed successfully through the mouth.ConclusionsAlthough Orbera® gastric balloon retrieval is not routinely performed in Canada, we demonstrate that gastroscopy with balloon puncture and forceps-retrieval is a safe option.Funding AgenciesNone

Marketing Strategies Used by Hospitality Businesses in Times of Crisis of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Case Study

A crisis is a state of tension that occurs at an unexpected time and significantly affects business continuity. The tourism sector is susceptible to being impacted by its multi-purpose structure—natural disasters, terrorist incidents, epidemics, political tensions, economic fluctuations, etc. By creating a problem, it can cause the accommodation business to lose tourists at any time. Developing new products, shifting to alternative tourism markets, and reducing costs may be options for businesses. However, because every crisis is different, managers must determine the most appropriate strategy for the problem. Effective crisis management is made possible by strategic control. With the application of smart strategic management, crises can be turned into opportunities. With the Covid-19 outbreak, many hotel businesses have had to reconsider their marketing strategies. In this research, a case study was conducted at the four-star Prime Park Hotel in Bandung. This study aims to determine how hotels are affected by the Pandemic and determine what kind of marketing strategies they employ in dealing with this crisis. It has been observed that Hotel Prime Park, whose customer base consists of foreign tourists arriving from the Far East on package tours before the Pandemic, was negatively affected by domestic and international travel restrictions that started with the Pandemic. Hotel management has mostly followed a market share strategy and cost reduction, and customer acquisition.

Republic of Kosovo

Kosovo has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite policy support, economic activity is estimated to have fallen 6 percent in 2020 on account of the combined effect of strict domestic containment measures and international travel restrictions. The fiscal deficit increased to 7.7 percent of GDP, given the large fall in tax revenues and the implementation of mitigation and recovery measures of 4.2 percent of GDP. The current account deficit is estimated to have increased to 7.5 percent of GDP mainly due to a large decline in diaspora-related inflows, most notably in tourism. Gross international reserves declined but remain adequate in part due to the purchase under the IMF’s Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) in April 2020 and the use of other external financing. Banks have weathered the recession well to date, and the high pre-COVID19 liquidity levels and ample capital buffers bode well for the system’s stability.

Mitigation policies, community mobility, and COVID-19 case counts in Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore

ObjectivesThe objective of the study was to characterize the timing and trends of select mitigation policies, changes in community mobility, and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemiology in Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Study designProspective abstraction of publicly available mitigation policies obtained from media reports and government websites. MethodsData analyzed include seven kinds of mitigation policies (mass gathering restrictions, international travel restrictions, passenger screening, traveler isolation/quarantine, school closures, business closures, and domestic movement restrictions) implemented between January 1 and April 26, 2020, changes in selected measures of community mobility assessed by Google Community Mobility Reports data, and COVID-19 epidemiology in Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. ResultsDuring the study period, community mobility decreased in Australia, Japan, and Singapore; there was little change in Hong Kong. The largest declines in mobility were seen in places that enforced mitigation policies. Across settings, transit-associated mobility declined the most and workplace-associated mobility the least. Singapore experienced an increase in cases despite the presence of stay-at-home orders, as migrant workers living in dormitories faced challenges to safely quarantine. ConclusionsPublic policies may have different impacts on mobility and transmission of severe acute respiratory coronavirus-2 transmission. When enacting mitigation policies, decision makers should consider the possible impact of enforcement measures, the influence on transmission of factors other than movement restrictions, and the differential impact of mitigation policies on subpopulations.

The impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions on SARS-CoV-2 transmission across 130 countries and territories

BackgroundNon-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) are used to reduce transmission of SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, empirical evidence of the effectiveness of specific NPIs has been inconsistent. We assessed the effectiveness of NPIs around internal containment and closure, international travel restrictions, economic measures, and health system actions on SARS-CoV-2 transmission in 130 countries and territories.MethodsWe used panel (longitudinal) regression to estimate the effectiveness of 13 categories of NPIs in reducing SARS-CoV-2 transmission using data from January to June 2020. First, we examined the temporal association between NPIs using hierarchical cluster analyses. We then regressed the time-varying reproduction number (Rt) of COVID-19 against different NPIs. We examined different model specifications to account for the temporal lag between NPIs and changes in Rt, levels of NPI intensity, time-varying changes in NPI effect, and variable selection criteria. Results were interpreted taking into account both the range of model specifications and temporal clustering of NPIs.ResultsThere was strong evidence for an association between two NPIs (school closure, internal movement restrictions) and reduced Rt. Another three NPIs (workplace closure, income support, and debt/contract relief) had strong evidence of effectiveness when ignoring their level of intensity, while two NPIs (public events cancellation, restriction on gatherings) had strong evidence of their effectiveness only when evaluating their implementation at maximum capacity (e.g. restrictions on 1000+ people gathering were not effective, restrictions on < 10 people gathering were). Evidence about the effectiveness of the remaining NPIs (stay-at-home requirements, public information campaigns, public transport closure, international travel controls, testing, contact tracing) was inconsistent and inconclusive. We found temporal clustering between many of the NPIs. Effect sizes varied depending on whether or not we included data after peak NPI intensity.ConclusionUnderstanding the impact that specific NPIs have had on SARS-CoV-2 transmission is complicated by temporal clustering, time-dependent variation in effects, and differences in NPI intensity. However, the effectiveness of school closure and internal movement restrictions appears robust across different model specifications, with some evidence that other NPIs may also be effective under particular conditions. This provides empirical evidence for the potential effectiveness of many, although not all, actions policy-makers are taking to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Estimating worldwide effects of non-pharmaceutical interventions on COVID-19 incidence and population mobility patterns using a multiple-event study

Various non-pharmaceutical interventions were adopted by countries worldwide in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic with adverse socioeconomic side effects, which raises the question about their differential effectiveness. We estimate the average dynamic effect of each intervention on the incidence of COVID-19 and on people’s whereabouts by developing a statistical model that accounts for the contemporaneous adoption of multiple interventions. Using daily data from 175 countries, we show that, even after controlling for other concurrent lockdown policies, cancelling public events, imposing restrictions on private gatherings and closing schools and workplaces had significant effects on reducing COVID-19 infections. Restrictions on internal movement and public transport had no effects because the aforementioned policies, imposed earlier on average, had already de facto reduced human mobility. International travel restrictions, although imposed early, had a short-lived effect failing to prevent the epidemic from turning into a pandemic because they were less stringent. We interpret the impact of each intervention on containing the pandemic using a conceptual framework which relies on their effects on human mobility behaviors in a manner consistent with time-use and epidemiological factors.

Does the size of the tourism sector influence the economic policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic?

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an unprecedented slowdown of economic activity worldwide, with an especially negative impact on the tourism sector. The adoption of international travel restrictions to contain the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak has brought much of the global tourism industry to a virtual standstill. Governments have introduced a range of economic stimulus packages designed to mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic, including its impact on travel and tourism. This article investigates whether the size of the tourism sector influences the economic policy response to COVID-19 pandemic using data from 136 countries. The findings show that the larger the tourism sector, the larger the economic stimulus package introduced by governments globally. Furthermore, we find that the size of the tourism sector is positively associated with both fiscal and monetary policy responses to the pandemic. The findings suggest that countries with larger tourism sectors adopted more aggressive economic stimulus packages to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic and reinvigorate floundering economies.

The impact of Covid-19 on G7 stock markets volatility: Evidence from a ST-HAR model

We investigate the impact of Covid-19 on stock markets across G7 countries and their business sectors. We highlight the synchronicity and severity of this unprecedented crisis. We find strong transition evidence to a crisis regime in all countries and sectors, yet crisis intensity and timings vary. The Health Care and Consumer services sectors were the most severely affected; a reflection of the Covid-19 drug-race and international travel restrictions. The Technology sector was hit the latest and least severely, as imposed lockdown measures forced people to explore various web-based entertainment and distraction options. Country-wise the UK and the US were the most affected with the highest heterogeneity in their business sectors' response; a possible reflection of the ambiguity in the initial response and adoption of lockdown measures. Financial markets' response to Covid-19 is akin to response in previous financial crisis rather than previous pandemics. A series of robustness checks confirms our findings.

Graduate Medical Education Accreditation Across Borders: Toward a Remote Alternative.

Graduate Medical Education Accreditation Across Borders: Toward a Remote Alternative.

(Im)mobility in the Age of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted global human mobility dynamics. This IMR Dispatch examines the historical, bidirectional links between pandemics and mobility and provides an early analysis of how they unfolded during the first nine months of the COVID-19 emergency. Results show, first, that international travel restrictions to combat the spread of the coronavirus are not a panacea in and of themselves. Second, our analysis demonstrates that the pandemic, government responses, and resulting economic impacts can lead to the involuntary immobility of at-risk populations, such as aspiring asylum-seekers or survival migrants. In a similar fashion, stay-at-home measures have posed dire challenges for those workers who lack options to work from home, as well as for migrants living in precarious, crowded circumstances. Moreover, global economic contraction has increased involuntary immobility by reducing both people’s resources to move and the demand for labor. Third, we show that people’s attempts to protect themselves from the virus can result in shifting patterns of mobility, such as increases in cross-border return migration and urban-to-rural movements. Drawing on international guidance for measures to combat pandemics and relevant frameworks on mobility, we propose approaches to alleviate the burden of travel restrictions on migrants and people aspiring to move, while still addressing the need to contain the pandemic and lessen its repercussions.

Cena "zaključavanja" - efekti socijalnog distanciranja na privredu Indije i poslovanje tokom pandemije Kovid-19

The decision on immediate lockdown in India put economic, social and religious activities to a grinding halt. The paper examines the impact of the lockdown and social distancing policies on economic activities in India, using a multivariate econometric model for the data collected in the period from 1st January to 31st August 2020. While the social distancing policy is captured in terms of internal movement, domestic travel and international travel restrictions, its effect on the economic activity and the business activity is captured through stock prices, purchasing managers' index and the exchange rate. Confirmed COVID-19 cases and related deaths are also used as the independent variables. The results reveal a significant negative impact of social distancing policies on the economic activity and the business activity, the stock market and the exchange rate. Furthermore, the economic stimulus provided by the Government could not bring a positive influence on the stock market.

Challenges to Internationalization in Russian Higher Education: The Impact of the COVID‑19 Pandemic on the International Student Experience

The COVID‑19 pandemic has essentially jeopardized the internationalization processes in higher education. International travel restrictions, financial insecurities, and the introduction of distance learning formats have been posing serious challenges for international students. The present study is based on data obtained in a countrywide survey of Russian university students conducted in June—July 2021 as part of the project Research and Instructional Design Support for the Development of a Quality Measurement System in Higher Education During the COVID‑19 Pandemic and Beyond. International students’ perceptions of distance learning, its quality and challenges are analyzed. Judging from international students’ responses to the questionnaire, the process of their adaptation to the new study conditions has been routinized. Among the benefits of online learning, international students name the logistic ones such as mobility, relative cost-effectiveness, and optimization of time. Perceptions of the communication constraints related to learning from a distance are largely negative. In addition, international students perceive themselves as a more vulnerable category compared to Russian students and obviously gravitate toward in-person learning. For the most part, international students are ready for blended learning, but remote formats of communication and learning should be applied to them with more caution than with Russian students.

Развитие геотуризма на основе использования геонаследия (на примере Куршской косы — объекта ЮНЕСКО)

Recreation in conservation areas has compelled special attention amid international travel restrictions. The tension between the conservation and economic use of these territories is increasing. This work aims to find ways to optimise and modernise environmental outreach and recreation in national parks — one of the conservation area types. Geotourism is a sustainable form of tourism, which bridges the gap between conservation and recreation. Several objectives have been attained to fulfil this aim. Firstly, best practices of geotourism development in conservation areas have been analysed. Secondly, the resource potential for diversifying ecotourism events in conservation areas has been measured. Thirdly, an algorithm for a geological heritage-focused ecotour — an innovative recreation product aimed at eco-education and community outreach — has been designed. The authors view the methodology for geotour design as an instance of heritage preservation and propose a new tourist route — the Geological and Geomorphological Chronicle of the Baltic Sea. This tour acquaints sightseers with the nature of the Curonian Spit national park, a unique geological and geomorphological feature whose landscapes are a product of centuries-long human-nature interactions. Twenty years ago, in 2000, the conservation area was listed by UNESCO as a place of considerable natural significance. The field studies were carried out as part of the international project Ecotour4Natur: Ecotourism as a Tool for the Preservation of Natural and Cultural Heritage within the Lithuania-Russia cross-border cooperation programme 2014—2020. The obtained algorithm for ecological route design may benefit other national parks as well.

International tourist arrivals as a determinant of the severity of Covid-19: international cross-sectional evidence

ABSTRACT The imposition of international travel restrictions to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus has been a controversial issue. In this paper we examine the effect of international tourist arrivals on the population fatality rate and the case fatality, where fatality is caused by Covid-19, using a cross-sectional sample covering 146 countries. In addition to international tourist arrivals, 12 other explanatory variables are examined. Data on the dependent and explanatory variables were obtained from various sources, including the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the World Bank, BBC and other sources. The role of internal population mobility is not considered explicitly, but it is captured by measures of lockdown that restrict movement. The results of the empirical analysis show that international tourist arrivals have a greater effect on the severity of Covid-19 than any of the other factors. This means that the imposition of international travel bans is justifiable by the objective of containing the virus.

Tourism and Hospitality Industry During COVID-19: An Economic Perspective

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an ongoing tourism crisis. The most significant threat to the global economy since the Second World War is the product of unparalleled global travel constraints and residency orders. Tourism is particularly vulnerable to intervention to fight pandemics due to limited movement and social distance. Global markets, including tourist services such as world travel, domestic tourism, day trips, and parts as varied as air, cruises, transport, hotels, cafes and restaurants, conferences, festivals, meetings, or sports activities have automatically been affected by international, regional, and local travel restrictions. Leading to the dramatic stagnation of global air traffic and the fact that many countries have placed travel restrictions, closed borders, or initiated quarantine times, international and domestic tourism has reduced dramatically. Several countries have failed to return tourists home, with hundreds of thousands of people in all areas of the world participating in vital outbound markets. This study contributes to the tourism and hotel industry, particularly from an economic perspective, by reviewing related research, reports, and working papers.

Effect of internationally imported cases on internal spread of COVID-19: a mathematical modelling study

BackgroundCountries have restricted international arrivals to delay the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). These measures carry a high economic and social cost, and might have little effect on COVID-19 epidemics if there are many more cases resulting from local transmission compared with imported cases. Our study aims to investigate the extent to which imported cases contribute to local transmission under different epidemic conditions.MethodsTo inform decisions about international travel restrictions, we calculated the ratio of expected COVID-19 cases from international travel (assuming no travel restrictions) to expected cases arising from internal spread, expressed as a proportion, on an average day in May and September, 2020, in each country. COVID-19 prevalence and incidence were estimated using a modelling framework that adjusts reported cases for under-ascertainment and asymptomatic infections. We considered different travel scenarios for May and September, 2020: an upper bound with estimated travel volumes at the same levels as May and September, 2019, and a lower bound with estimated travel volumes adjusted downwards according to expected reductions in May and September, 2020. Results were interpreted in the context of local epidemic growth rates.FindingsIn May, 2020, imported cases are likely to have accounted for a high proportion of total incidence in many countries, contributing more than 10% of total incidence in 102 (95% credible interval 63–129) of 136 countries when assuming no reduction in travel volumes (ie, with 2019 travel volumes) and in 74 countries (33–114) when assuming estimated 2020 travel volumes. Imported cases in September, 2020, would have accounted for no more than 10% of total incidence in 106 (50–140) of 162 countries and less than 1% in 21 countries (4–71) when assuming no reductions in travel volumes. With estimated 2020 travel volumes, imported cases in September, 2020, accounted for no more than 10% of total incidence in 125 countries (65–162) and less than 1% in 44 countries (8–97). Of these 44 countries, 22 (2–61) had epidemic growth rates far from the tipping point of exponential growth, making them the least likely to benefit from travel restrictions.InterpretationCountries can expect travellers infected with SARS-CoV-2 to arrive in the absence of travel restrictions. Although such restrictions probably contribute to epidemic control in many countries, in others, imported cases are likely to contribute little to local COVID-19 epidemics. Stringent travel restrictions might have little impact on epidemic dynamics except in countries with low COVID-19 incidence and large numbers of arrivals from other countries, or where epidemics are close to tipping points for exponential growth. Countries should consider local COVID-19 incidence, local epidemic growth, and travel volumes before implementing such restrictions.FundingWellcome Trust, UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, European Commission, National Institute for Health Research, Medical Research Council, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Economic Vulnerabilities and Livelihoods: Impact of COVID‐19 in Fiji and Vanuatu

Economic Vulnerabilities and Livelihoods: Impact of <scp>COVID</scp>‐19 in Fiji and Vanuatu

COVID-19 Pandemic Prompts a Paradigm Shift in Global Emergency Medicine: Multidirectional Education and Remote Collaboration.

To date, the practice of global emergency medicine (GEM) has involved being "on the ground" supporting in-country training of local learners, conducting research, and providing clinical care. This face-to-face interaction has been understood as critically important for developing partnerships and building trust. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought significant uncertainty worldwide, including international travel restrictions of indeterminate permanence. Following the 2020 Society for Academic Emergency Medicine meeting, the Global Emergency Medicine Academy (GEMA) sought to enhance collective understanding of best practices in GEM training with a focus on multidirectional education and remote collaboration in the setting of COVID-19. GEMA members led an initiative to outline thematic areas deemed most pertinent to the continued implementation of impactful GEM programming within the physical and technologic confines of a pandemic. Eighteen GEM practitioners were divided into four workgroups to focus on the following themes: advances in technology, valuation, climate impacts, skill translation, research/scholastic projects, and future challenges. Several opportunities were identified: broadened availability of technology such as video conferencing, Internet, and smartphones; online learning; reduced costs of cloud storage and printing; reduced carbon footprint; and strengthened local leadership. Skills and knowledge bases of GEM practitioners, including practicing in resource-poor settings and allocation of scarce resources, are translatable domestically. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated a paradigm shift in the practice of GEM, identifying a previously underrecognized potential to both strengthen partnerships and increase accessibility. This time of change has provided an opportunity to enhance multidirectional education and remote collaboration to improve global health equity.

Modelling transmission and control of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia

There is a continuing debate on relative benefits of various mitigation and suppression strategies aimed to control the spread of COVID-19. Here we report the results of agent-based modelling using a fine-grained computational simulation of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. This model is calibrated to match key characteristics of COVID-19 transmission. An important calibration outcome is the age-dependent fraction of symptomatic cases, with this fraction for children found to be one-fifth of such fraction for adults. We apply the model to compare several intervention strategies, including restrictions on international air travel, case isolation, home quarantine, social distancing with varying levels of compliance, and school closures. School closures are not found to bring decisive benefits unless coupled with high level of social distancing compliance. We report several trade-offs, and an important transition across the levels of social distancing compliance, in the range between 70% and 80% levels, with compliance at the 90% level found to control the disease within 13–14 weeks, when coupled with effective case isolation and international travel restrictions.

Preface

Due to covid-19, international travel restrictions in many countries, scholars and practitioners, especially in China, most of them worked from home since Jan. 2020. Different from previous face to face communication, daily communication reduced, so the academic exchanges are even more needed in this year.Organized and sponsored by Yaseen Academy, which is located in Wuhan, China, 2020 International Conference on Civil Engineering and Clean Energy(ICCECE 2020) was held online via Tencent Meeting at Sept. 27, 2020. The plenary session had 3 speakers from Inner Mongolia University of Technology, Henan Polytechnic University, Shandong University of Science & Technology separately and 10 participants from China and Australia. Each speaker was given 40 minutes, including 5 minutes for discussion and Q&A. See details via link: http://www.yaseen.org.cn/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=84All accepted papers included into this collection have undergone careful peer-review by at least two reviewers before being selected for publication. They went through the peer-reviewed process by conference committee members and reviewers to ensure their compliance to meet the required standard for qualified scientific publications.The Conference looks for significant contributions to all major fields of Civil Engineering and Clean Energy in theoretical and practical aspects, aiming to provide a platform to the researchers and practitioners from both academia as well as industry to meet and share cutting-edge development in the field.We would like to thank the organization staff, the editors, all Committee members, all the reviewers and everyone who had worked for and lending a hand in reviewing papers and making valuable suggestions for the improvement of the conference. Special thanks go to IOP Publishing for their sincere help and high efficiency in publishing and indexing for all articles. We’d like to express our gratitude for all authors and participants of this conference.Kind Regards,Jianxin ZhangYaseen AcademyICCECE2020 Conference Organizing Committee