WORLD TRAVEL, INC. STATEMENT ON COVID-19

As the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to impact global communities on a large scale, we believe it is important to update you on its status and the measures we’ve taken at World Travel to ensure that we can continue to offer the highest level of support to you, our clients.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that the complete clinical evaluation of the virus is not fully known, and that individuals have suffered symptoms of varying severity. Although the World Health Organization announced that the global case total surpassed 100,000 several days ago, the CDC reports that the immediate risk of exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19 is low in the United States and urges citizens to remember that the U.S. 2019-2020 influenza season is still upon us and likelihood of catching the flu is higher than catching the coronavirus.

While the Coronavirus is the largest topic on the nightly news, it is important to remember that the U.S. 2019-2020 influenza season is still upon us.  Because we are familiar with seasonal influenza, it is not as frightening.  On the contrary, our lack of familiarity with COVID-19, causes understandable concern.  The following statistics provide perspective -and a bit of reassurance - on the current COVID-19 outbreak:

  • Statistics for the 2019-2020 Influenza season through February in the U.S.:
    • Total number of cases: 34,000,000-49,000,000
    • Hospitalizations: 350,000 - 620,000
    • Fatalities: 20,000 - 52,000
  • Statistics for Hubei Province in Central China (“ground zero” of COVID-19):
    • Total Population of Hubei Province: 58,500,000
    • Confirmed cases of COVID-19: 67,707*
    • Fully Recovered: 42,235
    • Fatalities: 2,986

*the number of actual cases is likely much higher, which drops the fatality rate significantly.

  • One more statistic for those of you with young children: Fatalities worldwide for children ages 0-9: 0 (yes, zero!) 

To keep our clients up to date on the spread of COVID-19 and how it may affect their travel, we have continued to send weekly updates via email. Our team has also developed a new messaging feature that provides travelers and travel managers with increased communication capabilities. The system now allows travel managers to issue warnings to travelers who have booked a trip to restricted areas, includes a stop ticketing feature that ensures policy compliance when booking, and features immediate reservation cancellation for use in extreme cases.

Although it is important to remain vigilant and aware of the impact of COVID-19, travel is an essential aspect of our lives and our businesses and cannot cease. Our dedicated team continues to monitor the situation and ensure that our clients are prepared and supported while they travel.

Thank you for your trust in World Travel, Inc.