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Travelling during the coronavirus outbreak

Our March 2020 article on travelling during the early coronavirus outbreak: whether to cancel, travel insurance, symptoms, quarantine and hygiene.

This article was first published in 2020 and is kept for reference. Rules may have changed since.

The COVID-19 virus, better known as coronavirus, spread rapidly around the world and caused serious disruption to the travel industry. Many travellers had questions about their plans and how to prepare in case they were exposed to the virus, and many chose to stay at home.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) had put specific recommendations in place for people travelling to and from mainland China and other countries including Italy, Japan, Thailand, South Korea and Vietnam. If you were planning to travel to any of them, it was worth asking your travel provider what arrangements were in place.

Should you cancel your travel plans?

The WHO recommended that older people and those with underlying health conditions avoid travelling to areas with outbreaks of COVID-19, as the illness could be more serious, and sometimes fatal, for these groups.

There were cases on almost every continent. These were the areas listed for caution at the time (accurate as of 6 March 2020):

  • Asia: China, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia.
  • Europe: Italy, France, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Greece and Romania.
  • Middle East: Iran, United Arab Emirates and Lebanon.
  • Americas: United States of America, Canada and Ecuador.
  • Africa: Algeria.
  • Oceania: Australia.

Travellers were advised to pay close attention to the warning levels for each area. The most severe level advised against all non-essential travel, and at the time this applied to China, Iran, Italy and South Korea.

Does your travel insurance protect your trip?

A virus outbreak isn't usually covered by standard trip cancellation cover. Some travellers looked at "cancel for any reason" cover, which allows a trip to be cancelled for any reason shortly before departure, but this type of cover usually refunds only part of the cost of the trip.

Airlines were starting to relax their policies and some hotel chains were waiving cancellation fees, but if you were hoping to get back all the costs of cancelling a trip, it was worth checking the terms carefully first.

What are the symptoms of coronavirus?

The symptoms of coronavirus were described as similar to flu. Dr Rebecca Katz, director of the Centre for Global Health Science and Security at Georgetown University, said at the time: "You'll get a fever, cough, it's primarily a lower respiratory virus, general malaise, there may be some gastrointestinal distress."

Complications could include pneumonia or kidney problems, which in some cases could be fatal. Symptoms could appear up to 14 days after exposure. Dr Katz recommended that anyone who thought they had symptoms should call their doctor rather than turning up in person.

Could you be quarantined?

Being quarantined while travelling was a real possibility if there was a serious outbreak. Travellers needed to be aware that they might be stuck somewhere for an extended period, and to plan for it. In the coming months there were expected to be significant travel disruptions, public areas shut and major events called off, as had already happened in Italy with several Serie A football matches and with BTS's South Korean tour.

Will wearing a mask and washing your hands help?

Good hygiene was the main way to avoid catching the virus. Dr Katz said: "The number one thing is people can wash their hands often. This virus spreads when you touch a thing and then touch your face." Several airlines stopped handing out hot towels, blankets and magazines to reduce the spread of germs. A common tip was to wash your hands for about 20 seconds, roughly the time it takes to sing "Happy Birthday" twice.

Masks were being worn more widely, and some airline crews had started wearing them on board to protect themselves and passengers. A mask was seen as most useful in large crowds, where the chance of coming across someone with the virus was higher.

For current advice on travelling abroad, see gov.uk foreign travel advice. Kompare doesn't currently offer quotes for travel insurance.