Covid changed how people move globally
TRIPS cancelled: 2.93 billion. International border closures: 1 299. Lives interrupted: countless.
After the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic, most countries across the world closed their borders.
I study migration, so I began tracking the enormous changes in how and where people could move around the world.
The Covid Border Accountability Project, founded in May last year, maps travel and immigration restrictions introduced by countries in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Here is how our world shut down – and how it’s starting to reopen.
Travel restrictions peaked right after the World Health Organization declared a pandemic on March 11. That week, our data shows a total of 348 countries closing their borders, completely or partially.
Complete closures restrict access to all non-citizens at international borders. Partial closures restrict access at some borders, or bar people from some, but not all, countries. From Finland to Sri Lanka to Tonga, 189 countries – home to roughly 65% of the world’s 7.7 billion people – imposed a complete border closure in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to our database.
The first to isolate itself from the world was North Korea, on January 22 last year. The last was Bahrain, on June 4.
Most countries eventually eased border restrictions, and many opened their borders only to close them again as Covid-19 cases spread globally.
By the end of 2020, roughly half of all countries remained completely closed to non-citizens and non-visa holders except for essential travel related to health emergencies, humanitarian or diplomatic missions, commerce or family reunification.
As for targeted bans and partial closures, last year 193 countries closed down partially, restricting access to people from specific countries or closing some – but not all – of their land and sea borders.
Among these, 98 countries introduced targeted bans, which restricted entry to specific groups of people based on their recent travel or nationality.
The first travel bans targeted China, followed soon by other countries that experienced the earliest known outbreaks of the novel coronavirus.
For instance, the US passed a string of targeted travel bans, barring travellers from China first, then Iran, and then 26 European countries.
Americans faced serious restrictions on their movement last year, too. People in the US, with its high Covid-19 spread, were barred from 190 countries either specifically – via a travel ban – or generally, due to closed borders.
Of the 98 countries that implemented targeted bans, 42 specifically restricted all visa seekers from entering the country.
The week following the US closure of immigration offices worldwide, 20 countries, including the Philippines, Benin and Nepal, stopped issuing all visas. More than 100 visa bans barred visa seekers from specific countries or groups.
In September, the Trump administration halted the US asylum programme, barring refugees from seeking asylum.
I initially wondered whether international travel restrictions would stay in place after the pandemic ended, leading to more permanent restrictions on freedom of movement.
But by and large, the world is reopening. By the end of last year, 137 of the world’s 189 complete closures had been lifted, and 66 of the 98 targeted bans had ended.
In addition to the staggering numbers of closures and the occasional international spats, I’ve been struck by the level of co-operation between countries, especially within the EU. Virtually every EU country complied with the bloc’s travel recommendations – a testament to its ability to manage a crisis as a unified region.
Travel restrictions will continue to emerge, end and evolve, dependent on context.
As wealthier countries vaccinate their populations at rapid speed, lessequipped countries continue to suffer severe outbreaks. International travel may soon require a Covid-19 “vaccination card”. New targeted travel bans could emerge.
“Normal” is a long way away.