CLEVELAND, Ohio — There are worse places to be stuck for two weeks than a beachfront resort in Mexico.
Even so, the prospect of having to miss an extra two weeks of work because of a positive COVID test is enough to give Brunswick traveler Randy Glass pause. He’s reconsidering plans to vacation in Mexico and is thinking about traveling to Florida instead.
He’s among thousands of travelers affected by a new U.S. government policy requiring all incoming travelers to the United States to show proof of a negative COVID test.
The policy, which goes into effect Tuesday, affects both international visitors traveling to the U.S., as well as Americans who are returning home from travel outside of the country.
The policy was announced by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Jan. 12, while former President Trump was still in office. Last week, President Joe Biden reinforced the new testing policy in an executive order that also called for federal officials to study ways to boost compliance with what is currently a recommended quarantine period following international travel.
Given that most international travel to the United States is currently prohibited, Americans vacationing in Mexico and the Caribbean are expected to make up a large percentage of those affected by the new rules, at least in the short-term.
Some travel advisors say the new policy might not have the desired effect – of decreasing the spread of COVID in the U.S. – if travelers simply swap one warm-weather destination for another.
“Is it really a good idea to flood Florida, Las Vegas and other places with more travelers than they can handle?” asked Bill Coyle, the owner of Encompass the World Travel in Brunswick.
He and other Northern Ohio travel agents have fielded hundreds of calls in recent weeks from anxious travelers, wondering if they should scrap their plans to leave the country this winter.
Andrew Nocella, chief commercial officer for United Airlines, said last week that the carrier has seen an increase in cancellations and a decline in new bookings to Mexico and the Caribbean in recent weeks. “The impact was very focused on beach destinations in Mexico, to some extent to Caribbean,” he said during the carrier’s year-end earnings call last week.
U.S. territories, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, are not included in the new CDC rules. Florida, Arizona and, to a lesser extent, Hawaii, are proving to be popular winter destinations, as well, said Coyle.
Just last week, Ashland travel agent Lori Gribben rebooked a destination wedding, scheduled to take place in Cancun this Saturday, for Miami.
Gribben said she was frustrated with the lack of warning given to travelers and travel agents about the changes. The CDC made its announcement on Jan. 12, giving travelers just two weeks’ notice of the change in policy, which requires all incoming travelers to the U.S. to show proof of a negative COVID test taken within 72 hours of flying. Airlines are tasked with enforcing the new rule.
The American Society of Travel Advisors unsuccessfully asked the CDC to delay implementation of the testing requirement to give travelers more time to prepare, according to a spokeswoman.
Gribben said there that even now, there is much confusion about the policy. “There are so many questions and not enough answers,” she said.
Among the questions posed by her clients: Where will I get tested? How long will I have to quarantine if I test positive? Where will I stay and who will pick up the cost? How will I get home? What if one member of a traveling party tests positive and others do not? And what if I get sick?
Numerous resorts in Mexico and the Caribbean have announced in recent weeks that they are adding free, on-site COVID testing to their list of amenities, so travelers don’t have to search out testing locations.
Many are even offering to quarantine guests for free if they test positive. “They really don’t want to lose the U.S. travelers,” said one local travel agent.
Mexico remains a popular international destination, in part because the country has few COVID entry requirements and is one of a handful of international destinations that remains largely accessible to travelers from the United States and elsewhere.
COVID cases in Mexico have surged in recent months, although the country’s per capita infection rate remains well below the infection rate in the U.S., according to World Health Organization statistics.
Many experts believe the country is undercounting the number of infections; the CDC in December urged Americans to avoid all travel to Mexico because of high rates of COVID.
Even so, Quintana Roo, the Mexican state that is home to Cancun, Tulum and other popular tourist spots, welcomed more U.S. travelers over the recent holiday season than a year ago, according to the Associated Press.
Gribben was in Mexico in August and Jamaica in November, and said both countries seemed to be handling virus protocols well.
Kim Gray, a North Olmsted travel agent, traveled to the Dominican Republic in December and said more people were wearing masks and adhering to safety protocols than in the United States. “I felt safer in the Dominican Republic than in parts of the U.S.,” she said.
That said, she said she’s unsure if she would leave the United States now, with so much uncertainty about getting back into the country.
The new CDC policy is in effect through the end of March, but most experts believe it will be extended, possibly into the summer, until the vaccine is more widely distributed. A vaccine passport may replace the need for a negative COVID test to travel internationally.
Gribben, the travel agent from Ashland, conceded that it’s difficult and stressful to keep up on so many changes. “Everything is a moving target,” Gribben said. “It makes it hard to give advice.”
Meanwhile, Brunswick traveler Randy Glass remains conflicted over whether to commit to an April vacation in Cancun, as originally planned, or relocate to Destin, Florida. He was in Mexico several weeks ago, and wants to return with his wife and two daughters.
But Glass, who works as a paramedic, said he’s not sure he can risk the possibility that he might have to stay in Mexico longer than planned and miss work. He said he expects to make a decision in the next week or so.
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