AMERICAS Elections in El Salvador Give Historic New Mandate to President Bukele On February 28 El Salvador legislative and municipal election results revealed that President Nayib Bukele’s Nuevas Ideas Party won a two-thirds majority of general assembly seats (56 of 84), a significant deviation from the post-Civil War bipolar status quo in which power was… Read more »
Many organizations spent most of 2020 reacting to travel bans and awaiting mandates from public health officials. Now, as more of the global population gets vaccinated, governments reduce their border restrictions, and overall confidence in travel continues to build, many organizations are looking for a fresh approach to traveler protection, risk management, and duty of… Read more »
AMERICAS Central-South American Asylum Seekers Continue Attempt to Reach the US In mid-January riot police in Guatemala blocked approximately 7,000 migrants traveling north through the country in hopes of reaching the US. Violence was reported, with police deploying tear gas and using batons in clashes with migrants. This was the first mass group, or “caravan,”… Read more »
The roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines has inspired optimism around restarting travel. According to On Call’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Siegart, “Receiving the COVID-19 vaccination is a vital step toward beating this pandemic and will ultimately play a pivotal role in creating more confidence around travel in the months to come.” Dr. Siegart says he’s seen… Read more »
The roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines has inspired optimism around restarting travel. According to On Call’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Siegart, “Receiving the COVID-19 vaccination is a vital step toward beating this pandemic and will ultimately play a pivotal role in creating more confidence around travel in the months to come.” Dr. Siegart says he’s seen… Read more »
In the first quarter of 2020, global travel was severely disrupted due to the emergence of the COVID-19 virus, the subsequent declaration of a global pandemic, and the gradual implementation of international travel restrictions by nearly every country. Throughout the remainder of the year, most countries took a guarded approach to reopening their borders. Various… Read more »
On Call’s mission has always been helping travelers in their time of need, every day, and the COVID-19 pandemic has been no different. The pandemic presented some interesting challenges, unique barriers, and extremely nuanced complications amid our efforts to return people home, but nothing that our Global Assistance teams couldn’t handle! Read our latest case… Read more »
Happy New Year! As vaccinations continue to roll out, 2021 is beginning on a note of hopefulness. While the year likely won’t be on par with pre-COVID travel, the vaccine is a huge step in the right direction and reminds us that the international travel sector is ready to bounce back. However, even with all this… Read more »
AMERICAS Brazen Brazilian Bank Robberies Two small cities in different regions of Brazil were hit by brazen bank robberies within 24 hours of each other on 1-2 December. In the first incident, dozens of gunmen arrived in the city of Criciúma, in southern Brazil, in a convoy of vehicles and robbed a branch of Banco… Read more »
The pandemic has created an even greater need for mental health support services to all students, despite the location of their studies. This has left many institutions asking some very important questions: What can we do to support our students who are remote learners due to COVID-19? How do student nationality and cultural reality impact… Read more »