Coronavirus scare upends Austinites’ travel plans

John and Dianne Stropp have a tradition in their family -- whenever one of their grandchildren turns 10, they take them on a trip. This year, it was young Stella's turn. She chose Italy, so the retired Georgetown couple booked flights and a tour of several cities.

But last week, as cases of the new coronavirus in Italy climbed above 1,500, the Stropps made the decision to cancel the 10-day trip.

"We were all disappointed, no question about it," John Stropp said. "But there's no reason to flirt with danger if you don't have to."

As cases of the coronavirus continue to pop up in countries around the globe, more Austin residents are having to decide whether to go through with their travel plans. As of Tuesday, the World Health Organization had identified 74 countries with at least one case, including 64 in the United States and 2,036 in Italy.

"I've had people canceling trips in Italy that aren't going until November," said Shelley Embrey, owner of Excellent Escapes Travel, an Austin-based travel agency. "People are losing their minds."

Embrey always advises her clients to purchase travel insurance, no matter the global climate. But while providers will cover healthcare if someone contracts the coronavirus during the trip, they're unlikely to cover the cost of canceling because a traveler is worried about catching the respiratory virus, Embrey said.

"Don't panic, wait it out, and pay attention to your cancellation policy," she advised.

Several airlines are making concessions -- such as offering waivers for flight change fees for travelers perturbed by the virus. For the Stropps, who were flying through American Airlines and British Airways, they have a year to take the same trip to Italy, or forfeit the cost.

"We've taken a lot of trips in our lives and we've never had to cancel," John Stropp said.

Mandy McClendon with the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport said airport officials are coordinating closely with the Centers for Disease Control, Austin Public Health and other federal partners to ensure traveler safety.

March is not the busiest month of the year for the airport, McClendon said, despite South By Southwest Music Conference and Festival and spring break travel. Austin-Bergstrom also doesn't fly directly to any of the countries with a Warning Level 2 or 3, where the CDC has advised travelers to practice enhanced precautions and avoid nonessential travel, respectively. Furthermore, the CDC has not identified the airport as a candidate to conduct additional screenings.

"Essentially, pending new developments, AUS operations are not anticipated to be impacted," McClendon said on Monday.

In the last week, several Texas colleges have made the decision to call many students home from study abroad trips, in addition to suspending future programs and spring break trips in Italy.

"We also are responsible for promoting public health, especially during this period of global uncertainty," wrote Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp on Monday after the system buckled down on travel restrictions for its 11 institutions and eight state agencies.

In addition to suspending study abroad programs in China and South Korea, St. Edward's University on Tuesday announced it was recalling students studying in Milan and canceling the travel component of a graduate course that was supposed to visit Japan.

Still, not everyone is perturbed by the coronavirus conundrum. Austin resident Dottye Holt has a three-week solo trip to Italy planned for next month, and she's still going.

"I'm 65 years old, so I've already lived through some fairly frightening things," she said. "I'm not really worried."

Holt will take a train from Munich and visit Venice, Umbria and Florence, among other cities. While she feels confident she'll make it through the trip unscathed, Holt said she'll consider visiting other cities should the outbreaks get worse, or in the likely event of a quarantine.

"I am not ignorant of the risks," she added. "I choose to take them because I think they are quite low comparatively."

But still, many travelers are taking an abundance of caution when it comes to travel, and taking queues from countries and corporations. Rebecca Dreke, 44, and her wife last week canceled a much-anticipated trip to Japan for cherry blossom season after the country temporarily closed schools and Tokyo Disney shut its doors for two weeks.

"While we're not necessarily concerned for our health, we don't want to be inadvertent carriers of it," Dreke said, adding the couple both has elderly parents.

John Stropp said he's wary of entering any airport amid the outbreak, much less taking an international flight. In fact, the couple has decided to take a car for their trip to Georgia in May in lieu of flying.

"You can be exposed today anytime anywhere, because people travel so much," Stropp said. "There's just no way if something is going around it's not going to get picked up."

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