Secretary of State urges citizens abroad to come home now

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo just stated that he recommends for all US citizens that are currently abroad to return back to the US as soon as possible. “Americans who wish to return home from abroad should do so immediately and make arrangements to accomplish that,” he stated.

Currently, there is a repatriation task force that is working around the clock to help Americans get back onto US soil. They have helped hundreds of US citizens get back from places like Peru, Japan, and Brazil, and in some instances escape some pretty bad conditions.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warns that repatriating some citizens will be exceedingly difficult in the coming weeks as more commercial flights are canceled. When there are no commercial flights available, the next option would be to bring back citizens via a charter flight but that is not going to be practical for every citizen that is still abroad.

If flights continue to get canceled then you could be stuck abroad in definitely until flights begin to resume. This could be a matter of weeks or even months, depending on how things play out.

So if you are not coming back now, then you should be comfortable with potentially staying at your current location indefinitely. That also means being comfortable with the healthcare in that country so be sure to begin familiarizing yourself with the healthcare that is accessible to you if you choose to stay.

If you are staying abroad, then you should also make sure you are registered with your nearest embassy or consulate or do so online via STEP, the State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program. This will help you get safety alerts about local conditions and also help you to communicate with your families back home in the event.

H/T