For the past few months, Coronavirus has dominated the global news cycle. The virus, which originated in the city of Wuhan, China, has killed more than 2,600 people, with more than 79,000 infected, according to Al Jazeera. And now, the virus’s effects are being felt by the fishing and fly fishing industries, especially where travel is concerned.
Recently, the Republic of Kiribati, home of the legendary Christmas Island atoll, announced that it will be requiring travelers “‘from countries with ongoing local transmission of novel coronavirus’ – which includes the United States — to spend at least 14 days in a country free of the virus before traveling to Kiribati, and to provide a medical clearance to confirm that they are virus-free,” according to the US Department of State.
This is resulting in major travel delays and headaches for clients and outfitters with planned travel to Christmas Island on the hunt for the island chain’s legendary Bonefish, Giant Trevally and various other tropical Pacific gamefish species. Currently, clients still wishing to travel to the Republic of Kiribati must undergo their quarantine either on the Hawaiian islands or in another country free of the deadly coronavirus.
The Bahamas also issued a travel restriction blocking any non-residents who have visited mainland China within 20 days prior of their arrival to the islands. The Bahamas still remain uninfected by the deadly virus.
For more information regarding traveling the world during this growing viral outbreak, check out this video from the World Health Organization:
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