travel during the covid-19 pandemic travel during the covid-19 pandemic during the covid-19 pandemic, many countries and regions imposed quarantines, entry bans, or other travel restrictions for citizens of or recent travelers to the most affected areas. some countries and regions imposed global restrictions that apply to all foreign countries and territories, or prevent their own citizens from travelling overseas. this article is about international travel restrictions. for domestic travel restrictions and lockdowns, see national responses to the covid-19 pandemic. part of a series on thecovid-19 pandemicscientifically accurate atomic model of the external structure of sars-cov-2. each "ball" is an atom. covid-19 (disease) sars-cov-2 (virus) cases deaths timeline 2019 2020 january responses february responses march responses april responses may responses june responses july responses august responses september responses october responses november responses december responses 2021 january responses february responses march responses april responses may responses june responses july responses august responses september responses october responses november responses december responses 2022 january responses february responses march responses april responses may responses june responses july responses august responses september responses october responses november december 2023 january february march april may locations by country and territory africa antarctica asia europe north america oceania south america by conveyance cruise ships naval ships international response endemic phase evacuations face masks international aid investigations into origin lockdowns by country misinformation by governments fake treatments social distancing software travel united nations world health organization wto ip waiver undercounting of deaths covid-19 apps zero-covid national responses africa china european union germany ghana india ireland netherlands new zealand nigeria philippines russia sweden uk government us federal government vietnam medical response disease testing breathalyzer development drug development drug repurposing public health mitigation vaccines history research vitt deployment authorizations operation warp speed misinformation and hesitancy us vaccine card vaccine passports current vaccines coronavac covaxin convidecia janssen medigen moderna novavax oxford–astrazeneca pfizer–biontech sinopharm bibp sputnik v variants variants of concern alpha beta gamma delta omicron other variants epsilon zeta eta theta iota kappa lambda mu cluster 5 lineage b.1.617 economic impact and recession arts and culture aviation cannabis cinema films disney fashion financial markets food industry food security journalism music performing arts retail shipping television us sportscasting programs tourism video games by country canada india ireland malaysia new zealand russia uk us by sport association football baseball basketball combat sports cricket disc golf gaelic games gridiron football ice hockey motorsport rugby league impacts animals black people crime death rates by country disability domestic violence emergency evacuations education female environment hospitals language lgbt community long-term care media coverage mental health symptoms migration military notable deaths other health issues politics diplomacy popular culture protests pregnancy prisons religion catholic church hajj science and technology social media strikes suicides telehealth xenophobia and racism society ireland malaysia new zealand russia uk us covid-19 portal a covid-19 testing centre for travellers at heathrow airport travel restrictions reduced the spread of the virus, but because they were first implemented after community spread was established in multiple countries in different regions of the world, they produced only a modest reduction in the total number of people infected. travel restrictions may be most important at the start and end of the pandemic. the travel restrictions brought a significant economic cost to the global tourism industry through lost income and social harm to people who were unable to travel internationally. when the travel bans are lifted, many people are expected to resume traveling. however, some travel, especially business travel, may be decreased long-term as lower cost alternatives, such as teleconferencing and virtual events, are preferred. some countries with large domestic markets, such as the united states, were able to see a faster recovery from increased domestic travel. effectiveness a study in science found that travel restrictions could delay the initial arrival of covid-19 in a country, but that they produced only modest overall effects unless combined with infection prevention and control measures to considerably reduce transmissions. (this is consistent with prior research on influenza and other communicable diseases.) travel bans may be most effective for isolated locations, such as small island nations. researchers came to the conclusion that "travel restrictions are most useful in the early and late phase of an epidemic" and "restrictions of travel from wuhan unfortunately came too late". effects together with a decreased willingness to travel, the restrictions have had a negative economic and social impact on the travel sector in those regions. slow travel increased in popularity during the pandemic, with tourists visiting fewer destinations during their trips. a possible long-term impact has been a decline of business travel and international conferencing, and the rise of their virtual, online equivalents. concerns have been raised over the effectiveness of travel restrictions to contain the spread of covid-19. traveling to vaccinated venues that mandate covid-19 vaccines to tourist or/add staff many tourism venues such as museum, visitor centers, restaurants, hotel mandate covid-19 vaccination for their staff and/or visitors, and such venues are known as "vaccinated venues". research has shown that tourists have varying levels of belief on covid-19 vaccination in terms of its effectiveness and side effects, which have impact on the preferences of tourists to preference to visit or use "vaccinated venues". countries and territories which implemented a global travel ban approx. 20% of all countries (38) currently have a ban. africa algeria: all international flights to algeria were suspended. effective 20 march 2022, people may enter algeria unrestricted if fully vaccinated, and/or received a negative covid-19 test. the gambia: the sole land border with senegal was closed, along with its airspace to most flights. all covid-19 related travel restrictions have since been removed. madagascar: madagascar suspended all flights with the exception of medical evacuations, repatriations outside of the country, and cargo shipments. most covid-19 related travel restrictions have since been removed, as of june 2022. tourists are still required to have a negative covid-19 test upon arrival. mali: on 18 march 2020, president ibrahim boubacar keita suspended flights from affected countries, closed schools, and banned large public gatherings. morocco: on 15 march 2020, morocco suspended all international passenger flights to and from the country. sudan: effective 17 march 2020, sudan declared a state of emergency and closed all airports and land borders. americas montserrat: during the pandemic, passengers were not allowed to enter montserrat. in 2022, borders were opened to international travel. suriname: closed its borders for all persons and flights starting 14 march 2020. trinidad and tobago: on 12:00 23 march 2020, trinidad and tobago closed its borders to everyone. exemptions are now being processed for trinidad & tobago citizens and permanent residents only, international borders in trinidad and tobago remain closed at least until 30 april 2021. venezuela: borders closed to non-residents, effective 10 april 2020. this excludes humanitarian, medevac, and repatriation flights. asia azerbaijan: effective 23 march 2020, passengers are not allowed to enter azerbaijan except passengers with a work permit and passengers with a special permission issued by the government of azerbaijan. bhutan: effective 24 march 2020, all foreigners are not allowed to enter bhutan on all border checkpoints. brunei: effective 24 march 2020, all foreigners are not allowed to enter brunei on all border checkpoints, including those on transit purposes. cambodia: foreign nationals are not allowed to enter cambodia. india: flights to india are suspended from 00:01 gmt 22 march 2020 until further notice. this does not apply to flights that carry goods for trade or essential goods and supplies, and their crew members, helpers, cleaners, etc. indonesia: effective 1 april 2020, all foreigners (except residents, family connection, medical personnel, and people responsible for transport of goods) are not allowed to enter indonesia on all border checkpoints, including those on transit purposes. iran: closed its borders to all non-residents, the iranian ministry of foreign affairs (mfa) has halted permits for all tourist, business, and medical visas. israel: effective 28 november 2021, israel closed its borders again for foreigners due to the omicron variant. japan: effective 28 december 2020, japan closed its borders to all non-residents. as of 29 november 2021, japan closed its borders also to business travellers and foreign students due to the omicron variant. kazakhstan: kazakhstan has restricted the entry of most foreign nationals. commercial flights to kazakhstan are resumed with limited capacity. as of 10 october 2020, kazakhstan has suspended visa-free entry to all foreign nationals. certain foreign nationals in possession of a valid visa, however, are allowed to enter kazakhstan, amongst them: students attending higher education institutions in kazakhstan, permanent residents, crews, immediate family members of citizens or permanent residents of kazakhstan, certain medical personnel, and foreign diplomats. citizens of kazakhstan are allowed to enter without restrictions, but are allowed to leave only to designated countries. negative result of a covid-19 pcr test taken within 72 hours of arrival to the border inspection checkpoint of kazakhstan is required for all passengers travelling to kazakhstan, including citizens of kazakhstan. airlines operating flights to kazakhstan are advised to deny boarding to passengers without a negative pcr test result taken 72 hours in advance at the point of first embarkation (this does not apply to citizens of kazakhstan). citizens of kazakhstan arriving without a proof of negative pcr test are subject to quarantine at a government-approved institution, foreign nationals are subject to same-day deportation. kuwait: effective 13 march 2020, kuwait closed its borders to all non-residents. laos: closed its borders to all non-residents. all flights to laos and visa applications were suspended. malaysia: all citizens are prohibited from leaving the country while foreigners are prohibited from entering the country effective 18 march 2020. malaysians are allowed to return to the country. mongolia: effective 12 march 2020, non-citizens are prohibited to enter. as of 21 august 2020, a total entry ban is in place. myanmar: closed its borders to all non-residents. all flights to myanmar and visa applications were suspended. also, due to myanmar coup d'état, all flights to the country are cancelled. north korea closed its borders to all international tourists on 21 january 2020, one of the first countries to do so. all air and train routes into and out of north korea are temporarily suspended, also tightened/closed their border with mainland china. palestine: tourist ban of west bank from 5 march 2020. philippines: visa issuance and visa-free entry for all foreign nationals are temporarily suspended as of 19 march 2020. as of 22 march, all foreign visitors are barred from entry, with exceptions for foreign spouses and children of filipino citizens, diplomatic officials, and workers for international organizations. foreigners with long term visas will be allowed entry with restriction starting 1 august. timor-leste: timor-leste has restricted the entry of all travelers except for nationals and residents of timor-leste. turkmenistan: starting 20 march 2020, the national border of turkmenistan is restricted to foreign citizens and stateless persons. if necessary, during the specified period, the following categories of persons can enter the territory of turkmenistan in accordance with applicable norms and rules: diplomats of foreign countries, representatives of international organizations, crews of aircraft and ships, freight transport drivers engaged in international transit transport, members of work crews on railway ways and foreign representatives working at business facilities; located in the territory of turkmenistan. vietnam: effective 22 march 2020, entry of all foreigners is suspended until further notice, visa applications were suspended with very small number of exceptions for diplomats on official business . yemen: on 17 march 2020, yemen suspended all flights and closed land crossings. europe european union/schengen area: hungary: hungary closed its borders again for foreigners from 1 september 2020 and only hungarian citizens and permanent residents from the eea are allowed to enter. oceania marshall islands: passengers were not allowed to enter marshall islands until 31 may 2021. new caledonia: passengers except parents of a french minor and spouses of a national of france are not allowed to enter new caledonia. fiji: borders closed to all non-citizens. french polynesia: as of 3 february 2021, borders of french polynesia are closed once again. tuvalu: tuvalu's borders are closed. vanuatu: vanuatu ports of entry are closed from 20 march 2020. non-global restrictions just under a quarter of all countries (45) have implemented measures that affect citizens of, or recent travellers to, a particular country or set of countries. many of these countries later expanded their restrictions, with some