Treasury Secretary of United States, Steven Mnuchin advised Americans to focus on domestic travel as the reopening of international travel remains uncertain throughout the year 2020 amid coronavirus pandemic. He said "Too hard to tell at this point" when asked about if international travel will open this year, as reported by Fox Business Network on Monday.
There will be space for limited international travel as business people need to visit places. And that will also be on a limited basis, he clarified. Travellers going abroad do not have many options due to high travel alert issued by the government on international flights. US State Department issued an advisory on March 31 that tells to avoid all international travel due to global coronavirus pandemic.
The treasury secretary encouraged domestic travel for the future, even though many places have travel restrictions in place. According to USA TODAY, nearly 30 states have made quarantine requirements for interstate travellers mandatory. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a travel advisory on March 28 and requested residents of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to limit their non-essential travels to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Quarantine for interstate travellers
Alaska, Florida and Hawaii were the first states to instruct state-to-state quarantine mandatory. Travellers arriving Alaska state airports are required to fill State of Alaska Travel Declaration Form in which they are designated quarantine location that could be in the hotel or rented lodging.
Meanwhile, in Arizona, travellers coming from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have to self-quarantine for 14 days or full duration of their visit, whichever is shorter. Essential workers like airline employees, health workers or military personnel were exempted.
Mnuchin said demand for travel will return as the economy opens up. "Our priority is opening the domestic economy," he added. He motivated citizens saying it is a great time to explore America as a lot of people have not seen many parts of the country.
