Should You Cancel Your Trip to Europe Because of Coronavirus?

When something bad happens in the world—a natural disaster, a terrorist attack, or, as now, the possible start of a coronavirus pandemic—our instinct is to cocoon. Stock the fridge, batten the proverbial hatches, lay low. And international travel plummets.

Such is the case with Coronavirus. China was of course declared an essentially no-go zone a few weeks ago, stamped with a warning level 3 by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But now the warnings have spread, notably to Italy, Iran, and South Korea, which are all now on the list of places that Americans should avoid for nonessential travel.

The number of infected in Italy rose between to 1,576 over the weekend, and 34 people there have died as of Sunday night. Denmark, Romania, and Spain have reported infections linked to Italy; 11 towns in Italy's north have been quarantined; and travelers returning to the United States from northern Italy are being told to self-quarantine at home for 14 days.