Arguments against travel restrictions during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020
This page captures the main arguments that have been advanced against of travel restrictions during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. These arguments come from a variety of sources, including public officials, journalists, think tanks, economists, scientists, and other stakeholders. We encourage you to share the debates happening in your local community to editor@ballotpedia.org.
There are two main types of arguments against travel restrictions:
- Certain travel restrictions are unconstitutional
- Travel restrictions are unfair to tourism businesses
- Travel restrictions are difficult to enforce
- Travel restrictions are ineffective
- Travel restrictions damage local economies
Click here to read about the main arguments in favor of travel restrictions.
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Certain travel restrictions are unconstitutional
Claim: Interstate travel is a right that certain travel restrictions violate
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U.S. District Judge William O. Bertelsman (Courier Journal): U.S. District Judge William O. Bertelsman said that the governor's order prohibiting interstate travel except for certain reasons was unconstitutional and that the right to travel between states is was well established.
"The restrictions infringe on the basic right of citizens to engage in interstate travel, and they carry with them criminal penalties." - "Judge: Gov. Andy Beshear's COVID-19 travel ban 'does not pass constitutional muster'," May 4, 2020.
Travel restrictions are unfair to tourism businesses
Claim: Travel restrictions unfairly damage tourism businesses more than other businesses
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Melinda Huntley, executive director of the Ohio Travel Association (Cleveland.com): "It’s a slap in the face. We were the first to be closed and the last to be open and we’re not getting a response. That’s disheartening because we’ve been fully supportive." - "Ohio tourism industry losing patience with Gov. Mike DeWine, lack of timetable for reopening zoos, museums, amusement parks," May 27, 2020.
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Addie Stambaugh, Maine hotel general manager (WGME): "I’m hoping that [Gov. Janet Mills] lifts the testing, so people can travel freely. The travelers are calling asking how they can get here. Asking how they’re able to stay with us. They want to be here. They have trust and faith in the hotels that we can provide them a safe environment. So it would be wonderful if that’s lifted." - "Maine hotel industry takes issue with governor's requirements for out-of-staters," June 11, 2020.
Travel restrictions are difficult to enforce
Claim: Interstate cross-border travel restrictions cannot be enforced
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Kenosha WI News Editorial Board (Kenosha News): "It’s only been a week, so the full impact clearly won’t be known yet. But the The Chicago travel restriction order makes little common or business sense, and long term it may just discourage Wisconsinites from going south. Anyone found to violate the order could be fined $100 to $500 a day, up to $7,000 total. Yet city officials last week conceded they won’t be able to keep track of who is and isn’t following the rules. They have bigger and more important things to do in Chicago. The mayor should dial back on the travel restrictions and free up time to do them." - "States, Chicago should dial back on travel restrictions," August 7, 2020.
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Dr. Sadiya Khan, an epidemiologist at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine (NBC News): "The U.S. is not China. We're not going to order a military lockdown. It is sound advice to ask people from states with high levels of infection to self-isolate for two weeks. But I'm skeptical of how these restrictions can be forced." - "Demanding a 14-day coronavirus quarantine is one thing, enforcing it is another, experts say," June 24, 2020.
Travel restrictions are ineffective
Claim: Travel bans are ineffective without inter-state and inter-national coordination, adequate testing and other strategies
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Microsoft founder Bill Gates (The Hill): U.S. government's travel bans in early COVID-19 outbreak without adquate testing measures helped spread the virus.
"We created this rush, and we didn’t have the ability to test or quarantine those people. And so that seeded the disease here. You know, the ban probably accelerated that, the way it was executed." - "Gates says travel ban made COVID-19 worse in US," September 19, 2020.
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Lu Zhong, Researcher at Rensselar Polytechnic Institute (Medical Xpress): Global travel restrictions slowed virus spread and saved lives, but could have been more effective.
"Travel restrictions enacted by other nations, including entry bans, global travel bans, and lockdowns, also helped to reduce the global spread. However, the Rensselaer team found that these actions could have been significantly more effective had countries worked in concert with one another. 'According to the data we collected, about 50 percent of travel restrictions were ineffective. Because the travel restrictions were done in an uncoordinated way, they failed to contribute to the global good." - "New COVID-19 model reveals need for better travel restriction implementation," August 14, 2020.
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Business Insider (Business Insider): "Researchers also found that unless travel restrictions are paired with public-health interventions and behavioral changes that reduce the risk of transmitting the virus, the bans alone are insufficient. The most effective way to slow or halt an infectious-disease epidemic is to reduce transmissibility, they said. This is done via the standard ways to lower the risk of germ spread: washing your hands frequently, avoiding touching your face, and staying away from those who are sick." - "Travel bans in Wuhan only delayed the coronavirus' spread in China by 3 to 5 days, and in the rest of the world by a few weeks, new research shows," March 10, 2020.
Claim: Travel restrictions delay but do not stop COVID-19 transmission
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David Bier, Cato Institute (Cato Institute): "The consensus of researchers is that stopping all travel is impossible, unenforceable, and politically unrealistic—an assumption that held in the COVID-19 case—and that if it were even possible to selectively stop it (e.g. excluding all nationals of an affected country), doing so will only delay transmission until the disease spreads beyond the initial selection. . .The research also indicates that there is no benefit to international travel restrictions once an outbreak has already become an epidemic inside the destination country." - "Research Provides No Basis for Pandemic Travel Bans," April 15, 2020.
Travel restrictions damage local economies
Claim: Travel restrictions harm tourism-dependent local economies
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Pendleton OR East Oregonian Editorial Board (East Oregonian): "Any kind of travel restrictions — or bans — will impact rural Oregon the hardest. The region already suffers from tough economic woes and a ban or restriction that could impact commerce would be a huge hit for the area." - "Travel bans should stay on shelf," August 18, 2020.
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Jason Wells, executive director of the San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce (USA Today): "13% of businesses in the area near the San Diego-Tijuana crossing have permanently closed and those that are open have seen their revenue more than halved. Wells: 'the arbitrary border restrictions, and punitive actions against those not fitting some whimsical definition of ‘essential,’ is causing more harm than good." - "'This is going too far': US crackdown on nonessential border travel from Mexico causes long waits," August 26, 2020.
See also
- Documenting America's Path to Recovery
- Taxonomy of arguments about travel restrictions during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020
- Arguments in favor of travel restrictions during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020
Footnotes
