Fears of Ebola becoming a global epidemic have shaken just about every country into action. Though the risk of this actually occurring have so far remained incredibly low — the potential is there, but that’s about it. Though this, along with previous outbreaks of SARS and Bird Flu, have driven a new consciousness that in this age of mass global rapid transit, infectious disease could spread fast in the event of a worldwide outbreak.
Over the past few months I’ve crossed borders to Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines — a criss-crossing path with China usually in the middle. As I’ve traveled, I’ve gotten a feel for the additional precautions that countries have established to counter Ebola, and to put it simply, they seem incredibly practical and realistic.
In fact, the biggest obstacles that I’ve faced so far were having to read posters and handouts informing me of Ebola and occasionally having to fill out an extra immigration card affirming that I’m not sick and did not just visit a country inflicted with Ebola. Though I have walked through some infrared sensors manned by additional medical staff on the way into some countries, this has been standard practice in Asia since the outbreak of SARS years ago. It is clear that for passengers from low/ no Ebola countries going to low/ no Ebola countries there is little restricting the path of travel — flying internationally is little different than it always is.
