TRAVERSE Issue 18 - June 2020 | Page 18

rapidly closed and travellers stranded. Some took it in their stride and saw it as a part of the adventure, others fled in fear taking business and livelihoods of others with them. Health is foremost as the pandemic continues, healthcare systems around the world are struggling to cope, while governments look for ways to fund, support and maintain a manageable number of infections by shutting down regions. Human movement was haltered almost immediately as the World Health Organisation (WHO) suggested on March 12, 2020 that the outbreak of this strain of Coronavirus was a problem that would affect us all. In a move never seen before it seemed the worldwide community came together to fight the spread of the contagion, social distancing has become the ‘norm’, a step that goes against the very fabric of being human; we crave movement, new experiences, adventure. The adventure travel market relies solely on human movement, perhaps none more so than motorcycle travel; an isolationist activity that requires interaction with many. Motorcycle travel was impacted greatly. The Coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2, or COVID-19, was first described to the WHO towards the end of last year (2019) by officials in Wuhan, China. Within six months it has spread to six continents with almost every TRAVERSE