Americans overseas are very confused over the travel bans issued by the Trump administration.
The initial travel restrictions were announced Wednesday and caused confusion for American tourists who are in Europe right now, WFSB reported.
The Trump administration’s travel ban only applies to European nationals coming to visit the states, not Americans returning home, still Americans overseas are in a state of panic and confusion.
Several local media outlets spoke to Americans in Europe
WFSB TV in Connecticut reported on tri state area residents in Spain:
“Everyone was asking basically how we are, what are we doing, my dad was like you have to come home, my mom the same you need to leave ASAP,” said Michael Cavallaro of Southington.
Michael Cavallaro and his partner Garret are from Southington and are currently in Grenada, Spain.
We spoke over FaceTime with Michael who says despite confusion over who the travel bans apply to, things are relatively calm where he is right now.
Initially there was panic from Americans overseas, as people tried to rush out of Europe immediately.
“From my perspective, I haven’t been in the states since Tuesday, there’s not this mass panic in people aren’t going out buying a million things. We were just at the grocery store and there are groceries available, I think the only things that weren’t available were fresh meat and purell” Cavallaro told WFSB
The NY Post spoke to a student from Brown University from Albany who was in Europe and reported the following:
Caught up in the confusion was a Brown University student from Albany, who waited dejectedly to board the last leg of her trip from France to New York.
Abby, who declined to give her last name, couldn’t hide how disappointed she was that her semester at the Université de Paris had been cancelled because of the ban.
The first call came at 3 a.m. Thursday from the program’s director, who told her that if she wanted to leave France she needed to go by Friday. An hour later, another call from the school — telling her she didn’t need to rush home, but the program was being shut down anyway.
“It’s been a crazy 24 hours,” said Abby, 20. “I was stunned. …. My mother was going to come visit. But the school told us get out as soon as you can.”
The NY Post also spoke to a New York student in London:
“One said something like, ‘I don’t even know how I can afford a plane ticket,’” she said. “Another said, ‘Where am I going to live? So we go back. Then what?’”
Foglia, 32, had a healthy dose of anxiety herself Thursday, waking up at 3 a.m. to 112 texts and 40 missed calls from relatives and friends begging her to get back home. Then, for three or four hours, swapping emails with the US Embassy in Barcelona and dialing airlines to find a flight that didn’t take 52 hours or cost $5,000. And, frankly, spending the rest of the time simply trying to decide whether to go or stay.
All Americans returning home are being screened for the virus. It is quite understandable how easily people can be confused and in a state of panic, when you are overseas and not sure if you can return home. Americans will continue to come home from Europe, and the screening lines at home are becoming more tolerable.
