San Francisco Travel Asks Visitors To Do Their Part With Safe Travel Pledge

(bluejayphoto/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images) Photo by bluejayphoto/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images

San Francisco Travel, the city's official destination marketing organization, is asking visitors to commit to safe and responsible practices by signing the new Safe Travel Pledge. The Safe Travel Pledge encourages future visitors to come to San Francisco and to do so responsibly. This pledge is designed to remind people not only of what to expect when they visit the city, but what is expected of them as well.

Since launching on July 29, 420 people have proactively committed to the ten-point pledge to follow health and safety guidelines designed to stop the spread of the coronavirus. 62% of those who have signed the safe travel pledge live in California, with 32% being residents of San Francisco and 21% located in Northern California outside of San Francisco. 38% of those who signed are located outside of California.

People signing the pledge proactively promise to abide by the following tenants for traveling and visiting safely:

• Wear a mask or other face covering when in public spaces.
• Maintain physical distance from others while exploring the city.
• Practice good hygiene to lower the risk of spreading or contracting disease.
• Follow all local public health orders, even if they are different from the ones where I live.
• Research the changes that local hotels, attractions, and businesses have made before I travel so that I can be a responsible visitor.
• Support local businesses that form the character and culture of San Francisco's many different neighborhoods.
• Use contactless payment methods wherever possible.
• Be patient with and respectful to the workers in San Francisco's hotels, restaurants, and stores, who are all adjusting to new protocols and procedures.
• Preserve and protect the places I visit by not littering or leaving things behind.
• Lead by example and share these practices with other travelers.

"As we prepare to welcome people back to San Francisco, we want to encourage visitors to do their part to keep themselves and our residents safe, too. Our Safe Travel Pledge is a way for visitors to show that they are committed to traveling responsibly," said San Francisco Travel President and CEO Joe D'Alessandro. "The fact that almost 40% of those who signed the pledge are potential visitors from outside of California shows that we are starting to reach people outside of California, and they are signaling that they want to travel safely as soon as the city is open for leisure travel."

The San Francisco Travel Association is the official destination marketing organization for the City and County of San Francisco. For information on reservations, activities and more, visit http://www.sftravel.com or call 415-391-2000.

For information on reservations, activities and more, visit http://www.sftravel.com or call 415-391-2000.    For more about San Francisco, follow on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Please use hashtags #sftravel and #AlwaysSF.

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) offers non-stop flights to more than 50 international cities on 44 international carriers. The Bay Area's largest airport connects non-stop with 85 cities in the U.S. on 12 domestic airlines. In SkyTrax Passengers' Choice Awards for 2020, SFO was the highest-rated airport in the United States, ranking third worldwide behind airports in Toronto and Barcelona. For up-to-the-minute departure and arrival information, airport maps and details on shopping, dining, cultural exhibitions, ground transportation and more, visit http://www.flysfo.com. Follow SFO on http://www.twitter.com/flysfo and http://www.facebook.com/flysfo.

United Airlines is the preferred airline of the San Francisco Travel Association.

France’s Saint-Tropez Resort Makes Masks Mandatory Outdoors

Municipal police watch that pedestrians wear the mandatory facemasks in Saint-Tropez, southern France, Saturday Aug 8, 2020. The glamorous French Riviera resort of Saint-Tropez is requiring face masks outdoors starting Saturday, threatening to sober the mood in a place renowned for high-end, free-wheeling summer beach parties. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

SAINT-TROPEZ, France (AP) — The glamorous French Riviera resort of Saint-Tropez began requiring face masks outdoors Saturday, threatening to sober the mood in a place renowned for high-end, free-wheeling summer beach parties.

More French cities and towns, especially in tourist areas, are imposing mask requirements as the country’s coronavirus infections creep up again. More than 2,000 new infections were reported on Friday — the country’s biggest single-day rise since May.

The uptick corresponds with France’s beloved summer holidays, when vacationers head off in droves, often to the seashore, for festive gatherings with family and friends.

As of Saturday, wearing a mask outdoors was also compulsory in some crowded parts of Marseille, France’s second-largest city. Paris will apply similar measures in the most crowded areas of the capital starting on Monday.

France has already made mask-wearing mandatory in all indoor public spaces nationwide.

In Saint-Tropez’s famed resort, a top spot for the international jet set, several restaurants had to reclose for two weeks after some staff tested positive for the virus.

Posters warning that masks were mandatory were displayed across the town center on Saturday, including its picturesque port, the open-air farmers market and the narrow streets of the old town lined with chic shops and art galleries.

Georges Giraud, deputy mayor of Saint Tropez, stressed that the order issued by the Var Prefecture will “make it easier because everybody is supposed to wear a mask.”

Police were giving masks free to visitors who didn’t have one but starting on Monday, those without one risk a fine of 135 euros ($159). The measure does not apply to children under 11.

Marc Rickebuche, a tourist from the northern French city of Lille, said “I think it a good decision to protect yourself and to protect the others to avoid having again a new lockdown at the end of the summer.”

Health authorities on Friday reported 9,330 new infections this week and said the virus is increasingly spreading ’’especially among young adults.”

France, which was under a strict two-month lockdown during spring, has reported more than 30,300 deaths from COVID-19 in hospitals and nursing homes. Experts say all reported figures in all countries undercount the true toll of the pandemic due to limited testing, missed mild cases and other factors.

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Follow AP’s pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak.

Travelore Breaking News: Travelers To NY, New Jersey, Connecticut Are Told To Quarantine For 14 Days

NEW YORK (AP) — New York, Connecticut and New Jersey will require visitors from states with high infection rates to quarantine for 14 days, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday.

“We now have to make sure the rates continue to drop,” Cuomo said. “We also have to make sure the virus doesn’t come on a plane again.”

Cuomo announced what was called a “travel advisory” at a briefing jointly via video feeds with New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, both fellow Democrats.

The states’ health departments will provide details of how the rule will work, Murphy said.

The announcement comes as summer travel to the states’ beaches, parks and other attractions — not to mention New York City — would normally swing into high gear.

Visitors from states over a set infection rate will have to quarantine, Cuomo said. As of Wednesday, states over the threshold were Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington, Utah and Texas.

JetBlue Begins Requiring All Customers To Wear Face Coverings During Travel

JetBlue  has announced that starting May 4 all customers will be required to wear a face covering during travel. The policy comes after the airline began requiring all crew members to wear face coverings while working. JetBlue has modeled its policy on the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines that indicate all individuals should wear a face covering in public to help slow the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

“Wearing a face covering isn’t about protecting yourself it’s about protecting those around you”

“Wearing a face covering isn’t about protecting yourself it’s about protecting those around you,” said Joanna Geraghty, president and chief operating officer, JetBlue. “This is the new flying etiquette. Onboard, cabin air is well circulated and cleaned through filters every few minutes but this is a shared space where we have to be considerate of others. We are also asking our customers to follow these CDC guidelines in the airport as well.”

This new policy will require customers to wear a face covering over their nose and mouth throughout their journey, including during check-in, boarding, while in flight and deplaning. Customers will be reminded of this requirement before their flight via email and at the airport by both terminal signage and announcements. Small children who are not able to maintain a face covering are exempt from this requirement.

CDC guidance defines a suitable face covering as an item of cloth that should fit snugly against the side of the face, be secured with ties or ear loops, include multiple layers of fabric and allow for unrestricted breathing. The CDC recommends surgical masks and N-95 respirators be reserved for healthcare workers and other medical first responders.

Maintaining distance onboard whenever possible

Beyond face covering requirements for crew members and customers, since late March, JetBlue has limited the number of seats available for sale on most flights, allowing the airline to provide additional space between individuals who are not traveling together. Before each flight, JetBlue reviews seat assignments to ensure as much personal space as possible. In addition, rows near crew member jump seats have been blocked off to create buffer zones for added crewmember and customer safety.

Safety enhancements throughout the journey

All of JetBlue’s aircraft are equipped with hospital grade high-efficiency air particulate (HEPA) filters. All recirculated air is passed through these HEPA filters before re-entering the cabin and being mixed with fresh air. All of the air in the cabin is, on average, completely changed every three minutes. HEPA filters are capable of removing 99.97 percent of particles, bacteria and viruses. To learn about how air circulates onboard JetBlue’s fleet, view this JetBlue video at https://youtu.be/Q2_C2iN-tEs.

Since the coronavirus began spreading in the United States, JetBlue has increased the rigor of its aircraft cleanings at night and between flights, using disinfectant approved to kill the coronavirus. Cleanings have been focused on the places customers and crew members touch the most, including seat covers, seatbelts, tray tables and armrests. Traditional food and beverage service have been adjusted onboard to limit touchpoints between crewmembers and customers. To learn about all the additional measures JetBlue has implemented visit http://blog.jetblue.com/coronavirus.

About JetBlue Airways

JetBlue is New York's Hometown Airline®, and a leading carrier in Boston, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, Los Angeles (Long Beach), Orlando, and San Juan. JetBlue carries more than 42 million customers a year to nearly 100 cities in the U.S., Caribbean, and Latin America with an average of more than 1,000 daily flights. For more information please visit jetblue.com.