Our team at\u00a0Explorica, along with the broader team at\u00a0WorldStrides,\u00a0has been closely following the spread of the coronavirus, now named COVID-19, as governments and health agencies around the world react to contain the disease.<\/p>\n
First, we want to express our organization\u2019s heartfelt sympathy for those impacted, and our hopes for recovery and a return to normalcy in those areas most affected. It is with great regret that our company made the proactive decision to cancel or relocate our programs in China, and more recently South Korea, this spring. Both nations have a Level 3 Warning from the CDC that advises Canadians to avoid non-essential travel.<\/p>\n
WorldStrides\u00a0takes a proactive approach to health and safety and has made significant investments in an infrastructure to support a continuous and evolving review of the situation. We continue to update our recommendations based on the guidance of partners like\u00a0WorldAware\u00a0and the George Washington\u00a0University\u00a0Department of Emergency Medicine, as well as updates from the World Health Organization, the Centres for Disease Control, and the Government of Canada. The safety and security of our travellers and participants is, and always will be, our highest priority! We will not allow students to travel if we don\u2019t think it is safe to do so.<\/p>\n
While the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 continue to rise, it is important to recognize that the spread of the virus has been largely geographically limited, with nearly\u00a0all of\u00a0the cases occurring in mainland China. Though the media coverage can seem frightening, the CDC has advised that the immediate health risk to the general Canadian public is considered low at this time. The focus on containment is preventative, and we\u2019re encouraged to see the CDC and other organizations taking it so seriously.<\/p>\n
We are closely following news from Italy and Japan in particular, where the CDC has noted what they call \u201ccommunity spread\u201d of the virus. There have been cases spread in the communities of Italy\u2019s Lombardy and Veneto region, and officials in these regions issued quarantines and took aggressive preventative measures to prevent further spread. There is also increased concern in Japan, where a cruise ship off Yokohama experienced rapid spread of the disease. Neither the CDC nor the Government of Canada have recommended against travel to these countries for healthy Canadians.\u00a0Explorica\u00a0is\u00a0making adjustments to\u00a0itineraries that meet proactive, elevated standards for safety at this time. However, we do believe we can support safe travel in these countries.<\/p>\n
The CDC and the Government of Canada do advise that older travellers and those with chronic health conditions (both considered higher risk) speak with their medical professionals before travelling to Italy or Japan.<\/p>\n
All travellers, regardless of the destination, can follow standard hygiene practices to stay healthy. These include:<\/p>\n
These tips will also help travellers protect themselves against the common cold and flu.<\/p>\n
There are screening measures in place at many Canadian airports, which is another preventative step that the health organizations are taking. Travellers should be prepared to arrive early and comply with screening procedures at airports.<\/p>\n
Explorica\u00a0and\u00a0WorldStrides\u00a0have successfully addressed similar worldwide health issues in the past. We utilize our substantial global network to offer alternative options to our travellers, where possible, that can meet both our safety guidelines and our commitment to each participant\u2019s overall experience. Safety is our\u00a0first priority, and we will continue to update our guidance as this situation evolves. We look forward to the day when the virus is contained, and all\u00a0borders are open once again for continued educational opportunities with students from around the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Our team at\u00a0Explorica, along with the broader team at\u00a0WorldStrides,\u00a0has been closely following the spread of the coronavirus, now named COVID-19, as governments and health agencies around the world react to contain the disease. First, we want to express our organization\u2019s heartfelt sympathy for those impacted, and our hopes for recovery and a return to normalcy Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4320,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-explorica-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4319"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4348,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4319\/revisions\/4348"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}