COVID-19 travel restrictions and the International Health Regulations – Call for an open debate on easing of travel restrictions

• Eskild Petersen,
• Brian McCloskey,
• David S. Hui,
• Richard Kock,
• Francine Ntoumi,
• Ziad A. Memish,
• Nathan Kapata,
• Esam I. Azhar,
• Marjorie Pollack,
• Larry C. Madoff,
• Davidson H. Hamer,
• Jean B. Nachega,
• N. Pshenichnaya,
• Alimuddin Zumla

Affiliations

Eskild Petersen

Corresponding author.; Institute for Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Aarhus, Denmark, and Directorate General for Disease Surveillance and Control, Ministry of Healyh, Muscat, Oman, and European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases [ESCMID] Task Force for Emerging Infections, Basel, Switzerland

Brian McCloskey

Centre on Global Health Security, Chatham House, Royal Institute of International Affairs, London, United Kingdom

David S. Hui

Department of Medicine & Therapeutics, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, China

Richard Kock

The Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom

Francine Ntoumi

Université Marien Gouabi, Fondation Congolaise pour la Recherche Médicale, Brazzaville, Congo; University of Tübingen, Germany

Ziad A. Memish

Research Centre, King Saud Medical City, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Nathan Kapata

National Public health Institute, Ministry of Health, Lusaka, Zambia

Esam I. Azhar

King Fahd Medical Research Center [KFMRC], Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Marjorie Pollack

International Society for Infectious Diseases, Boston, MA, USA

Larry C. Madoff

International Society for Infectious Diseases, Boston, MA, USA; University of Massachusetts, Division of Infectious Diseases, Worcester, MA, USA

Davidson H. Hamer

Department of Global Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Section of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

Jean B. Nachega

Department of Medicine and Center for Infectious Diseases, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa; University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Departments of Epidemiology and International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

N. Pshenichnaya

National Medical Research Center of Phthisiopulmonology and Infectious Diseases, Moscow, Russia; Rostov State Medical University, Rostov-on-Don, Russia

Alimuddin Zumla

Center for Clinical Microbiology, Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, and NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, UCL Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom