DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) – As the number of cases of COVID-19 (coronavirus) rises across the globe, many travelers nationwide are giving up on trips because of the outbreak.
“I’m a soon to be newlywed who is trying to figure out what the heck I am doing with my honeymoon,” WAND News Anchor Deron Molen said.
Molen and his fiancé, Adrianna Pitrelli, are set to get married in April and honeymoon in France; however, the world-wide epidemic of COVID-19 has put a damper on their trip.
“We're going to try and go in the fall, but it is going to sting a little bit to not get the full honeymoon experience,” Molen said.
As of Monday, March 9, 2020, only five countries have a high risk of spread and France is not one of them. The U.S. State Department has issued a travel warning for China, Japan, Italy, South Korea and Iran. In France, there are more than 1,000 cases of COVID-19 and there have been 19 deaths.
Molen is not concerned about getting sick but is worried about being stuck in his hotel room.
"Our fear is that we are going to get there, and we won't be able to leave or do anything and that we are just going to sit there and look at the sea,” Molen said.
Molen and his fiancé purchased travel insurance, but said the company is not refunding the money spent on the trip if Molen decides to cancel - something a local travel agent says not to do.
"Don't do that,” Linda Roberts with Best Travel Ever said. “You need to call your travel agent or call and find out what the cancellation charges are immediately."
Roberts said travelers should always purchases travel insurance, just in case.
"Every insurance is different. There are some tours that are totally refundable for any reason,” Roberts said. “Some trips that you buy will actually let you cancel for any reason up to a bad hair day."
Molen said while he was not able to get a refund through the travel insurance they bought, Delta Airlines is allowing them to change their travel plans, but they have to take a new trip within a year.
