The coronavirus may not be directly in our area yet, but some people in the DMV are already feeling its effect. One 12 year old from Silver Spring just had her spring break plans in Italy cancelled.
Scarlett Lane was scheduled to play in a soccer game with her teammates in northern Italy in a fews weeks, but her plans were just changed. Lane’s mom Erin said they understand why the decision was made.
”Obviously they did it for good reason and the health and safety of the players,” Land told NBC4’s Adam Tuss over FaceTime. “But we have a very sad 12 year old at our house,”
Those with domestic travel plans are also reeling with the implications of the virus.
Caroline Kurtz works for Transitscreen, a small D.C. based transportation company. Kurtz and 30 of her colleagues were supposed to have their main event for the year next week in Seattle. But coronavirus concerns in Washington state have shut down the event.
”We’ve definitely lost a lot of money on our flights and travel,” Kurtz said. “Some are letting you get a refund with a change fee. So then we get $27 back to a $227 ticket, so it’s not that great.”
Airlines are taking big losses as travel warnings are issued by different countries. One estimate from the Global Business Travel Association said the airline industry could lose 50 billion dollars a month.
