International travel volumes have now fully recovered from the downturn during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the upcoming World Cup poised to drive a surge in Canadian tourism, recent hantavirus and Ebola virus outbreaks remind us of the need to effectively manage travel-related public health risks in a world on the move.
Both outbreaks underscore how human mobility can play a critical role in the spread of deadly diseases, including pathogens with pandemic potential. As researchers on the Pandemics and Borders Project, we have spent the past six years studying the use of international travel measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and other global public health emergencies. Lessons from COVID-19 on the effective use of international travel measures in managing serious infectious disease outbreaks are critical to ongoing pandemic readiness.
