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Tag: COVID

Airlines Pitch Frequent-Flier Mile Deals to Travelers Wary of Covid

Besides wearing a mask on an airplane, there’s one other thing you should definitely do if you are traveling this fall or over the holidays: Use your miles.

A survey of pandemic award prices finds airlines are making award seats available at very cheap prices in miles or points. First-class seats, which give you a bit more social distance on board, are a particularly good value.

In its 10 busiest markets, United’s award seats for various travel dates in November averaged only 12,833 miles round trip, about half the cost of what traditionally has been a standard domestic coach ticket of 25,000 miles.

JetBlue

averaged only 15,167 points round trip. For first class, American was only 42,500 miles round-trip, Delta only 49,100 miles.

“The answer is a resounding yes—it is a good time to

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Chicago adds Indiana to travel quarantine list; city health commissioner says neighbor ‘is a state that is wishing that COVID were over, and it’s not’

Chicago made it official Tuesday, adding neighboring Indiana to its emergency travel order that requires travelers returning to the city from there to stay inside for two weeks because of high COVID-19 case counts.



a person posing for the camera: In this file photo, Chicago Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady answers questions during a news conference at the Greater Western Community Development Project in Chicago, Monday, Sept. 14, 2020.

© Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune/TNS
In this file photo, Chicago Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady answers questions during a news conference at the Greater Western Community Development Project in Chicago, Monday, Sept. 14, 2020.

The Hoosier state’s inclusion on Chicago’s self-quarantine list was expected.

The city last week “strongly advised” Chicago residents against traveling to Indiana, pointing to the fact the state had already passed the bench mark of more than 15 new daily COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents over a seven-day period that warrants getting added.

“I am very concerned that Indiana is a state that is wishing that COVID were over, and it’s not,” city Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said

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After travel and Covid, now buy car and bike insurance on Walmart’s PhonePe with these benefits



text, whiteboard: PhonePe entered into financial services space back in 2017 with the launch of its digital gold allowing users to buy 24-karat gold on its platform.

© Provided by The Financial Express
PhonePe entered into financial services space back in 2017 with the launch of its digital gold allowing users to buy 24-karat gold on its platform.

Digital payments platform PhonePe has further strengthened its insurance portfolio. The company has now expanded into car and bike insurance segment in tie-up with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance. PhonePe had forayed into insurance vertical beginning with travel insurance back in January this year followed by Coronavirus insurance in April with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance. Walmart-owned Flipkart had also entered into car and two-wheeler insurance market in May this year after offering life and Covid-19 health insurances. Later in July, Amazon’s payment arm Amazon Pay followed suit by offering two and four-wheeler insurance policies in partnership with car and bike insurance startup Acko General Insurance.

PhonePe, which claimed of over 230 million registered users, said that car and bike insurance

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‘Momentous’ errors in ski resort Covid outbreak



a group of people skiing down a snow covered slope: An outbreak in the Ischgl ski village was linked to cases in 45 different countries

© Getty Images
An outbreak in the Ischgl ski village was linked to cases in 45 different countries

One of Europe’s first coronavirus outbreaks could have been contained by the Austrian authorities, an official investigation has found.

Outbreaks at two popular ski resorts in March led to thousands of new cases and were worsened by “momentous miscalculations”, the report said.

One resort, Ischgl, was linked to cases in 45 countries after skiers brought the virus home with them.

Authorities have said they acted based on what was known at the time.

“There were errors of judgement that had consequences,” Ronald Rohrer, the head of the commission that led the investigation, told a press conference on Monday.

“They reacted too late,” he added.

What did the report find?

Investigators said authorities were too slow to close the resorts in Ischgl and nearby St Anton when the outbreaks became clear.

A group

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Kearney Cruise Nite still a go despite COVID numbers



a car parked in a parking lot: The annual Kearney Cruise Nite, usually held on the third weekend of July was postponed due to the pandemic and will go on as planned Oct. 13-18.

© Provided by Lincoln & Hastings-Krny KSNB
The annual Kearney Cruise Nite, usually held on the third weekend of July was postponed due to the pandemic and will go on as planned Oct. 13-18.

KEARNEY, Neb. (KSNB) – The annual Kearney Cruise Nite, usually held on the third weekend of July was postponed due to the pandemic.

Instead, organizers moved the popular five-day automobile festival until October. And while COVID-19 cases have been increasing in the district, the event has been given the green light for October 13-18.

Two Rivers Public Health approved the event plan for Kearney Cruise Nite Week. Two Rivers said while the activities do take place outside, there are still some safety recommendations they would like to pass along to those who plan on attending.

A press release from Two Rivers last week indicated that the Kearney area has been identified as a local hot

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Marriott, Hyatt or Holiday Inn Express: Comparing hotels’ covid protocols

Until last week, the last time I stayed at a hotel was back in March. Since the pandemic began, I spent months locked down alone in my D.C. apartment, then with family in Upstate New York. I took bike trips and road trips to go camping, but I avoided hotels completely.

In the meantime, hotels, like the rest of the travel industry, were suffering. According to the American Hotel & Lodging Association, hotels are facing a debt crisis and a historic wave of foreclosures as the pandemic’s economic impact on the industry is estimated to be nine times greater than that of 9/11. As a result, they’ve been doing everything they can to attract business.

For some, that means promoting packages for remote workers or encouraging families to take remote-school vacations. For most, it means amplifying their new coronavirus precautions so that customers feel safe booking (and staying at) hotels

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Covid set to boost demand for travel insurance in India

MUMBAI: India’s nascent, yet growing, travel insurance market is set to get a major pandemic push.

Thousands of Indian students, executives and tourists who have deferred their foreign trips due to Covid-19 will likely have to buy compulsory travel insurance policies when countries open their borders for unrestricted travel, said sector experts. Insurance companies are anticipating a massive surge in demand for such products.

Insurance cover for travellers so far had not been compulsory in most countries — those where it was mandatory included the US, Russia, Qatar, Cuba and the Central European countries. But now many countries with high ceilings on social security are making that mandatory for foreign nationals planning extended visits. Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries are reportedly mulling on making this compulsory.

“Up till now, apart from Schengen countries and the US, travel insurance was not mandatory for foreign travels,” said Tarun Mathur, a cofounder

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Covid pandemic no ground to relocate to Bangkok with child involved in custody battle: Bombay HC



a large building with Mumbai High Court in the background

© Provided by The Indian Express


THE BOMBAY High Court (HC) has refused to accept the spread of the coronavirus disease in the country as grounds to allow a Thailand national, engaged in a custody battle with her estranged husband, to relocate to Bangkok with her 12-year-old son.

A division bench of Justices A A Sayed and Abhay Ahuja last week passed the judgment on a plea filed by the woman, who is living in Mumbai with her minor son since she had separated from her husband in 2012.

In view of the controlled Covid-19 situation in Thailand, the petitioner had sought permission to relocate with her son to Bangkok, where her parents live.

She also sought that the child is allowed to join a school in that country and stay there until the custody petition was decided before a family court in Mumbai.

Senior counsel Darius Khambata, appearing for

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COVID hotels for Bay Area homeless residents set to close

The Bay Area is winding down the grand experiment that sheltered thousands of its homeless residents in safe environments during the pandemic, raising fresh concerns about the spread of COVID-19 as officials scramble to find alternative housing.

Gov. Gavin Newsom launched Project Roomkey in April, a first-of-its-kind program that moved unhoused residents into hotels to protect them from the virus. Six months later, with federal funding sources poised to expire, Bay Area counties are moving to close those hotels — some in the next few months.

The program likely will be remembered as a mixed success. It didn’t come close to reaching everyone who needed help, but Project Roomkey proved that — given the funding and motivation — the Bay Area is capable of quickly mobilizing a vast amount of resources and personnel to attack the homelessness crisis.

The effort also allowed counties to reduce the number of people in

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Demand for cruises on small ships jumps in wake of COVID pandemic



a small boat in a large body of water

© Provided by The Points Guy


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Is a cruise on a smaller ship the safest way to go in the era of COVID-19?

A growing number of cruise fans apparently think so, judging from the high number of bookings that are coming in for 2021 sailings at cruise lines that specialize in small ships.

In session after session this week at Seatrade Cruise Virtual, an online version of the cruise industry’s annual meetup, small-ship cruise line executives said bookings for the coming year were booming, thanks to a newfound interest in smaller vessels.

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“They’re huge guys. They really are,” Susan Shultz-Gelino, vice president for trade relations at small-ship specialist American

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