Travel

CDC drops 14-day self-quarantine recommendation for out-of-state, international travelers

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday dropped its recommendation for travelers to quarantine for 14 days upon returning from trips overseas or out of state during the coronavirus pandemic. The CDC updated its guidelines on its website. Though the two-week recommendation was changed, the federal agency did caution travelers that they can still contract the novel coronavirus while traveling. “You may feel well and not have any symptoms, but you can still spread COVID-19 to others,” the agency warns. “You and your travel companions (including children) may spread COVID-19 to other people including your family, friends, and community for 14 days after you were exposed to the virus.” The CDC recommends travelers wear masks indoors, wash hands, maintain social distancing guidelines, and monitor themselves for symptoms of COVID-19. The CDC states traveling increases your risk of contracting and spreading the virus, noting that staying at home is the best protection from COVID-19 for yourself and others. If you must travel, the federal health agency recommends travelers to check the recommendations on government websites for their destination as well as any places they will be passing through during their trip. Requirements may vary by location, with some requiring those who recently traveled to stay home for two weeks while others may allow a negative COVID-19 test instead of the self-quarantine. If you have plans to travel internationally, the CDC advises researching the country’s Office of Foreign Affairs or the Ministry of Health to learn about any quarantine requirements.

For more on this new development from the CDC, click on the text above.

Disney World will continue to have reduced hours in November

It doesn’t look like things will be back to normal at Disney World by the holiday season. The theme park recently released its schedule for the start of November and it appears that the park will continue to run on limited hours. It’s still unclear if annual holiday events at the park will go on or be canceled. According to the Walt Disney World website, the Magic Kingdom will open at 9 a.m. and close at 6 p.m, which is three hours earlier then it closed during the same time period in 2019. Epcot will open at 11 a.m. and close 7 p.m. Last November, Epcot was open from 9 in the morning until 9 in the evening. Hollywood Studios is opening one hour later at 10 a.m. and closing two hours earlier at 7 p.m. Meanwhile, Animal Kingdom will be closing at 5 p.m., which is three hours earlier than last November. These hours show a continued trend of reduced hours of operation at Disney World. Starting in September, the park will begin adjusting its hours for the fall season.

For more from the official Disney World site, click on the text above.

Majority of Americans say ‘spontaneous adventures’ are the best part of summer, study claims

Two-thirds of Americans sadly think summer loses its magic as they get older, according to new research. The survey of 2,000 US adults found grown-up responsibilities, not having enough time and having a job were the top three contributors to taking the fun out of the season. But despite all that — and COVID-19 — respondents are determined to have the time of their lives this year. The survey, commissioned by Dutch Bros Coffee in celebration of its new Campout Cold Brew and conducted by OnePoll, revealed seven in 10 plan on getting creative to make the most of summer 2020. Many are drawing inspiration from a treasured place to make their summer extra special ‒ their own childhoods. Two in three will be embracing the same activities they loved as kids. Three-quarters say the best part of summer growing up was having all sorts of spontaneous adventures with their friends. The average person had the best summer of their life at age 14 and had five adventures to make that summer truly memorable. The most common activities respondents are looking to recreate from their youth this summer were hanging out with friends (44 percent), bonfires (31 percent) and camping in the woods (30 percent). Other summer classics adults want to return to were swimming in a pool (30 percent), family vacations and reunions (both 27 percent). Nearly two-thirds of respondents are parents and of those, 87 percent are hoping to give their kids a summer like the ones they enjoyed. Eighty-five percent of parents also said their children have helped them recapture that summer magic. Two in five respondents have summer traditions from their childhood they still uphold today. Some top favorites included camping in the woods, sleeping in the backyard, telling ghost stories and summer camps. “It’s not surprising that most people find summer less magical when they add in adult responsibilities,” said Bryce Schneider, head of Broista training at Dutch Bros Coffee. “I’ve tried to find ways to keep summer exciting like enjoying fun adventures and sweet treats. I love sitting by a campfire, roasting marshmallows and making s’mores — it’s like being a kid all over again.” Respondents frequently named bonfires as one of their favorite summer memories — and one they hope to get back to this year.

Fun!  For more, click on the text above.      🙂

Up to 8,000 Chinese nationals came into US after Trump banned travel due to coronavirus: AP

Thousands of Chinese citizens have reportedly come into the U.S. since President Trump restricted travel on foreign nationals in January, arriving from China after the coronavirus outbreak. According to a recent report by The Associated Press, citing data it obtained regarding travel from the U.S. Commerce Department, as many as 8,000 Chinese nationals and foreign residents of Hong Kong and Macao have entered the U.S. over the last three months. More than 600 flights brought in travelers from these areas after Trump announced his travel ban in late January and it was enacted Feb. 2. Trump’s initial travel ban included any non-U.S. travelers coming from China, and excluded anyone coming from Hong Kong or Macau in late January. Travelers from Hong Kong and Macao also did not face the same scrutiny or screening processes as Americans or any foreign nationals coming into the U.S. after having been in Wuhan — where the coronavirus outbreak started. Flight records from FlightAware provided to The Associated Press showed that 5,600 Chinese and foreign nationals from Hong Kong and Macau arrived in the U.S. in February. More than 2,000 passengers from the same administrative zones arrived in March and an additional 150 in April, according to The AP report. There is no sufficient evidence to show people from these flights transmitted the coronavirus, but the National Security Council, the State Department, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) would not publicly comment on why these territories were exempt from the China travel ban. One administration official told The AP that the travel ban was instated after more than 12,000 people arrived in the U.S. through the two territories in January, according to Commerce records. The Trump administration said it would also require any Americans who have traveled through China and back into the U.S. to undergo a 14-day quarantine period. But according to data collected by The Associated Press, the system that was meant to track and monitor the people undergoing quarantine lost track of at least 1,600 Americans. Trump has touted his border closures, first from China, then European nations and Brazil, as the U.S.’s first line of defense against the coronavirus. In a tweet last week. the president said: “We did a great job on Coronavirus, including the very early ban on China.” “We saved millions of U.S. lives! Yet the Fake News refuses to acknowledge this in a positive way,” he added. Trump’s travel ban on China went into full effect on Feb. 2, at which time 15 people had already been confirmed with coronavirus in Hong Kong and seven people in Macau. The cases from Macau were later linked directly to Wuhan, the origin of the outbreak. The U.S. has reported more than 2.7 million cases of the coronavirus and nearly 130,000 deaths during the pandemic. Hong Kong has since banned all travelers from the U.S.

Gutfeld on airlines banning booze on flights

Have you heard the phrase “never let a pandemic go to waste?” Now you have, because I just said it. Some airlines are doing just that. Delta and American Airlines, among others, are suspending all or part of their booze service to reduce interactions between passengers and crews. And to limit bad behavior. So this, in medical circles, is called a stupid, stupid, highly stupid idea. Do these idiots have any idea why alcohol sales boomed during the lockdown? It’s because we were trapped in a room and we couldn’t get out. This is much like being on a plane, where you’re trapped with no way out, unless you open an emergency exit and aim for a big bush. I wouldn’t suggest that under any circumstances, unless you’re flying next to Joy Behar. It’s a fact that flying is getting less enjoyable every year. And yet we never get anywhere faster. As computer speed doubles every two years, we still produce new jets lumbering through the air at the same speeds as the old ones did in the 1970s. Worse, today we’re packed like sweaty veal, forced to endure endless delays and bizarre regulations that often leave us with hunger-induced migraines and distended bladders. And now, they want to take away the booze? Look, I get the face masks. And believe me, I hate drunk jackasses who fly. I even hate myself. But usually not until the next day But to punish everyone – especially me – because of the actions of a few is not the way to solve problems. Sadly, though, that seems to be the trend these days. With just a few bad apples, we don’t just throw out the whole batch – we defund the orchard. It’s enough to make me drink. And hate myself tomorrow.

As usual, Greg nails it.  This time, with air travel and latest idiotic decision by the airlines.  This was adapted from Greg Gutfeld’s monologue on “The Five” on June 17, 2020.

Trump Administration Bars Chinese Passenger Planes from Entry

As of June 16, President Donald Trump’s administration will bar all passenger planes originating in China from entry to the U.S. The order, announced by the U.S. Department of Transportation, applies to Air China, China Eastern Airlines Corp, China Southern Airlines Co, Hainan Airlines Holding Co, Sichuan Airlines Co, and Xiamen Airlines Co. Despite the agreement to restrict travel, airlines have continued to regularly ferry passengers from the origin point of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, both Delta and United have requested permission to resume flights to China, though the country “remains unable” to say when it will “allow U.S. carriers to reinstate scheduled passenger flights,” according to a formal order signed by the Transportation Department top aviation official Joel Szabat. In a statement on Wednesday, Delta said “we support and appreciate the U.S. government’s actions to enforce our rights and ensure fairness,” while United said it looks forward to resuming passenger service between the United States and China “when the regulatory environment allows us to do so.” The decision will enforce a level of parity between both sides, eliminating the lopsided permissions currently in effect. “We will allow Chinese carriers to operate the same number of scheduled passenger flights as the Chinese government allows ours,” the department said in a separate statement. Additionally, China will no longer be allowed to use charter flights to “further [increase] their advantage over U.S. carriers in providing U.S.-China passenger services.”

This is smart, and in our best interests.  Kudos to the Administration for putting our health and safety first.

Where are NASA’s retired space shuttles and how much does it cost to see them?

NASA commissioned six space shuttles under its Space Shuttle Program fleet: the Enterprise, Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour. Four of the six space shuttles can be viewed in museums throughout the country. Here is where you can find these pieces of history during your next road trip. Just click here:

🙂

Munich’s Oktoberfest celebrations canceled amid coronavirus pandemic: ‘The risk is just too high’

Markus Soeder, the governor of Bavaria, along with Dieter Reiter, the mayor of Munich, announced on Tuesday that the region’s annual Oktoberfest festivities would be canceled due to the health risks posed by the coronavirus pandemic. “Difficult decision with Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter,” Soeder wrote on social media, per a translated tweet. “The Oktoberfest 2020 must be canceled. The risk is just too high. You can neither keep your distance there nor wear a face mask. Living with [coronavirus] means living cautiously until there is a vaccine or medication.” The festivities, which were scheduled to begin on Sept. 19 and run through Oct. 4, would have been the 187th celebration of the beer-themed event. Soeder and Reiter appeared together at a press conference on Thursday morning to announced the news, with Soeder calling it “unbelievably sad,” reports the Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA). Reiter said that, in addition to being disappointing for Germans and hopeful visitors, the decision will undoubtedly have a detrimental effect on the economy. Some 6 million people attend Munich’s Oktoberfest celebrations every year, the DPA reported, with many coming from around the globe. Foreign visitors, too, pose further risk for the spreading of the virus, Soeder noted. Germany has already recorded more than 147,000 cases of coronavirus, and over 4,800 deaths as of Tuesday morning, according to John’s Hopkins University. Both leaders said they hope Oktoberfest will celebrations will resume as normal in 2021. “We hope that next year we can make it up together,” Reiter said. Oktoberfest, an annual celebration of beer and Bavarian culture, has only been canceled a handful of times in the history of the event, most notably during WWI and WWII, and amid cholera outbreaks in 1854 and 1873, among a few other years, according to the event’s official website. Click here for more info:

Sad news for those who were hoping to attend.  I was there back in 2009, and it was definitely a crazy fun time.  Hopefully it’ll be back next year.   Prost!!      🙂

Which airlines are blocking middle seats?

Nobody wanted to sit in the middle anyway. A growing number of U.S. airlines are temporarily blocking off their middle seats in an attempt to create as much distance between passengers as possible. This effort — along with new mandates for passengers to wear face masks during flights, and proposals for new airline seating arrangements entirely — is just one of the many ways major carriers are responding to the coronavirus health crisis. But while every major carrier has introduced policies intended to prevent close contact between passengers (and passengers and crew), not all carriers have chosen to block middle seats outright. Click here to see how U.S. airlines are working to keep you as socially distant as possible on their planes:

Six Flags theme parks to require reservations upon reopening

Six Flags theme parks are looking to reopen this month in several states throughout the nation as shelter-in-place mandates expire or loosen. However, to do so, those planned to open first — including Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio, Six Flags Over Georgia near Atlanta, Six Flags St. Louis in Missouri, Frontier City in Oklahoma City and Six Flags Mexico in Mexico City, according to Newsweek — will have to adhere to certain guidelines that will limit any spur of the moment rollercoaster cravings. According to the theme parks’ websites, guests who want to visit a Six Flags location upon reopening will have to make reservations in advance. “IMPORTANT: ALL VISITORS (INCLUDING PASS HOLDERS AND MEMBERS) MUST MAKE ADVANCE RESERVATIONS TO VISIT THE PARK,” reads a message posted to the parks’ websites. “To meet state social distancing guidelines and ensure the health and safety of our guests, all visits to the park must be pre-scheduled using our online reservation system.” In addition to the reservation-system, Six Flags will also be conducting temperature checks at entrances and requiring guests to wear face masks, CBS Los Angeles reported. Meanwhile, other theme parks, like Disneyland and Disney World, do not yet have a concrete target date for reopening.

So, heads up..  Go to the Six Flags web site before going.