Anxieties about traveling

With people cooped up in their homes in the past couple of months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a pent-up desire to travel once the threat of the coronavirus dissipates. Saipan Tribune polled several members of the community about the idea of traveling again once restrictions are lifted.

Arianne Cabrera

“No one can be forced to not travel but, given the entire world’s situation right now, it’s times like these when our common sense plays a significant role in our daily decisions. Traveling for a valid reason such as a need to go back home or a need to get medical attention or need to go back to work/school are acceptable. These are all valid reasons to travel and may be understandable when you’re putting yourself and loved ones at risk of getting this virus. However, if it’s for leisure purposes, then I hope people are double and triple thinking their decisions thoroughly.”
Arianne Cabrera, Koblerville

Elaine Enriquez

“I would not travel by June. I still find the situation [to be] unsafe to travel. I also felt that it was too early to start opening flights, but we did so anyway. I just hope we don’t come to regret that decision.”
Elaine Enriquez, Chalan Kiya

Genelin Camacho

“There is no way that I would travel even if I had the means to do so. I don’t want to risk being a carrier of the virus and then pass it on to someone else. I will feel guilty for inevitably being a cause to someone else’s suffering. Yet, at the same time, if and only if it is an emergency, then I most likely will consider traveling. Otherwise, I would not want to travel in these circumstances.”
Genelin Anne Camacho, San Vicente

Sheena Varias

“The sound of traveling sounds fun, but I still wouldn’t want to travel because there are still positive cases of COVID-19. I wouldn’t really enjoy the trip if I know I could still get [infected] by the virus. I don’t want to risk my health and the people I live with at home. I would rather save more money now and travel when it is actually clear of COVID-19.”
Sheena Varias, San Antonio

Dianne Aquino

“As much as I love the sound of being able to travel by June, I still would not make plans to do so. There are still so many positive cases in and out of the island that have yet to be detected. There are also people who are asymptomatic and who could spread the virus to others. I wouldn’t want to risk my health because I already have pre-existing conditions that would make things worse if I were to get infected by the virus. I also wouldn’t want to put my family and friends at risk. I would honestly just wait until it is safe enough to travel. In that way I could enjoy my trip, rather than be in fear of going out and getting the virus.”
Diane Aquino, Koblerville

Kim Dalupo

“If flights have opened up by June, I still wouldn’t risk traveling. I wouldn’t consider traveling even if the airport opened up to provide service to the public, not because I don’t love traveling but because I still feel anxious about the virus. The situation has changed and It’s scary out there. I don’t have any knowledge about how bad it is if I were to get out there. I still want to keep my safety and health a priority.”
Kim Dalupo, Finasisu

Angela Barbo

“Traveling isn’t an option for me even if countries ease their restrictions. Traveling is the only reason why disease has spread throughout. Even if they say it may be safe to go, you can never trust their word simply because they don’t know how many people disobeyed the rule of social distancing and people can have the virus and not show any symptoms. Traveling by June is too early. We will be able to travel again someday, but it cannot be an option [right now].”
Angela Barbo, Garapan

Kalea Borja

“I would not travel even if I [were] able to by June. As an incoming college student, this is a disputed topic since many universities still plan on going face-to-face in fall. I prefer to take online classes, which are safer and more reasonable at this time rather than travel and risk my health. As for traveling on vacation, I would hold off until matters subside. Easing restrictions on travel will open up new problems that would not help our current COVID-19 situation. This could lead to further spread of the disease that we are trying to contain. Even if we are restrained from doing certain activities, we need to understand that taking safer precautions is better than risking our health.
Kalea Borja, Kagman

Ronel Ocanda

“Even if restrictions are eased, it still wouldn’t be safe for us to be out there. There are a huge number of people who have not been tested yet. I’ll only want to be traveling once it is 100% safe. Since restrictions are eased, I feel like the countries will be more vulnerable. Everyone should still play it safe.”
Ronel Ocanada, San Roque

Leani Otiwii

“If I [were] able to travel by June, then I would. Only because I’m originally from Guam, therefore I have more family there. I feel, though, as if our flights were opened up too early. Yes, there weren’t any more positive cases but it was only a matter of time for the flights to bring in more. I do admire the fact that we’ve contained the cases to 21 rather than what was expected (roughly 3,000). Keep up the good work, Saipan!”
Leani Otiwii, Tanapag

Raina Avelino

“Since other countries are starting to ease the restriction when it comes to traveling, if I were able to do so by June, I’d wouldn’t take the chance. I feel like it would be another level of risk or another level of exposure because of the virus. Even if by then it has died down, I would give it a longer time to actually settle down because, with all the people traveling, there [is] likely a chance one person may have it and can be passed on through many people.
Raine Avelino, Gualo Rai

Khristelle Itaas

“If I [were] able to travel, I feel like I wouldn’t risk it. As much as traveling is fun and exciting, if I happen to get infected from my travel, I wouldn’t want to put my family and friends at risk. I feel like we should still consider taking precautions and avoiding more cases, so that it would be quicker for us to go back to normal.”
Khristelle Itaas, Chalan Kanoa