Possible federal travel restrictions could further ‘cripple’ Florida’s tourism industry
(The Center Square) – Florida on Thursday posted its lowest weekly total of first-time unemployment claims since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, but the dip could be short-lived amid concerns about upheaval and job loss in the travel industry.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, an estimated 17,621 first-time jobless claims were filed in Florida during the week that ended Feb. 6, down from 69,140 the prior week – a 75% decline that represents the lowest number of first-time applicants since March 2020 when COVID-19 emerged in the U.S.
But COVID-19’s impact on the state’s $90 billion tourist and hospitality industry – the U.S. Travel Association (USTA) maintains the pandemic has already cost four in 10 jobs nationally over the last year, maybe more in Florida – could accelerate soon amid uncertainty about the vaccine distribution and new travel regulations being pondered by President Joe Biden.
In what some fear is the first of many, American Airlines last week advised the state’s Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) that 1,023 employees at Miami International Airport will be furloughed starting April 10 and 45 others will be discharged on April 1.
Texas-based American Airlines cited “unforeseeable circumstances beyond the company’s control, specifically the COVID-19 pandemic” in justifying the layoffs.
American Airlines made its decision before the White House revealed it is considering new domestic travel restrictions to better control the spread of variants, such as the United Kingdom variant, known as B.1.1.7.
One third of all B.1.1.7 cases in the nation have been documented in Florida, under preliminary guidelines being considered, travel to the Sunshine State would be banned until circumstances change.
“No decisions have been made, but we certainly are having conversations across government,” a White House official told reporters Wednesday. “This is a war and we’re at battle with the virus. War is messy and unpredictable, and all options are on the table.”
“The variants are certainly of concern obviously to the CDC, and I think that the uncertainty around the variants has put other proposals on the table,” USTA Executive Vice President of Public Affairs & Policy Tori Emerson Barnes said in a statement, noting his association is collaborating with the Biden administration in formulating the proposed restrictions.
U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Centers of Disease and Prevention Control (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky are also considering COVID-19 testing for all travelers on domestic flights, which the airline industry and Florida’s Republican leaders oppose.
DeSantis on Thursday called any potential domestic travel restrictions being considered by the Biden administration “absurd” and potentially unconstitutional.
“We will oppose it 100 percent,” DeSantis said during a news conference in Port Charlotte. “It would not be based in science. It would purely be a political attack against the people of Florida. And it’s unclear why they would even try talking about that.”
In a Thursday letter to President Biden, Florida’s senior U.S. Senator, Republican Marco Rubio, said any federal domestic travel ban would be an “outrageous, authoritarian move that has no basis in law or science.”
Such travel restrictions “dictating where Americans can, or cannot travel” would instead “only serve to inflict severe and devastating economic pain on an already damaged economy,” Rubio wrote, suggesting the federal government focus all its energy in getting vaccines to states.
“I urge you to make clear to the American people that your administration will not pursue these reported draconian travel restrictions, and instead focus your efforts on increasing the supply of vaccines,” he wrote. “If you are concerned about the coronavirus spread in Florida, I urge you to fast track additional vaccines to the state instead of attempting to cripple our economy.”
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