Exploring full-on travel ban in outbreak
European ministers will wait until after E.U. health officials' meeting today to decide whether or not to impose a ban on travel. But is a full-on travel ban really necessary? Christopher Werth reports.
Travelers wear a surgical mask after departing a flight from Mexico City at Gatwick Airport in London -- April 30, 2009. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
More on International, Health, Travel
TEXT OF STORY
Bill Radke: European Union health ministers are meeting this morning in Luxembourg for emergency talks on their swine flu response. France wants the E.U. to ban travel to Mexico. Christopher Werth has the story.
Christopher Werth: European transport ministers say they'll wait for today's talks to conclude before deciding whether to impose a ban. Many European countries, including France and Britain, have already issued advisories against travelling to Mexico.
The question is whether a full-on ban is necessary. Officials at the World Health Organization say travel bans would not be effective in containing the spread of the virus.
Sean Tipton is with the Association of British Travel agents. He says Mexico's economy is already being slammed by the series of warnings from foreign governments. He says the real worry is if advisories go beyond Mexico.
Sean Tipton: If there were a ban in place for lets say somewhere like Spain or in the USA. Now that would be catastrophic in many ways.
Reports of the first case of a person-to-person transmission of the flu in Europe came from Spain, where 10 cases have been confirmed so far. In the U.S., about 100 cases have now been confirmed.
In London, this is Christopher Werth for Marketplace.
Comments
Comment | Refresh
Post a Comment: Please be civil, brief and relevant.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. All comments are moderated. Marketplace reserves the right to edit any comments on this site and to read them on the air if they are extra-interesting. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting.
You must be 13 or over to submit information to American Public Media. The information entered into this form will not be used to send unsolicited email and will not be sold to a third party. For more information see Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.