Travel and tourism sector

WHO has provided hotel, restaurant, catering, and administration and industry associations guidance for putting in place action plans to protect the safety of staff and clients.

Recommendations are provided on: 

  • Necessary training 
  • How to clean and disinfect high touch surfaces in public areas and rooms occupied by ill persons.
  • Consideration of teleworking 
  • Screening process for staff coming to work 
  • Policies for safe return to work post exposure and post recovery from the illness 
  • Management of gym facilities 

The full guidance is available here.

Operational considerations for COVID-19 management in the accommodation sector: interim guidance

UN COVID-19 Response: Launch of policy brief on covid-19 and transforming tourismQuestions and Answers:Q&A: Staying at hotels and accommodation establishments...

Guidance

Operational considerations for COVID-19 management in the accommodation sector

Hotels and tourism accommodation establishments are places where guests stay temporarily in close cohabitation and where there is a high degree of interaction among guests and workers, which requires specific attention in the context of COVID-19. The document offer guidance to collective tourism accommodation establishments such as hotels and similar establishments, holiday and other short-stay accommodation, and campsites.

- Access the operational considerations document

Management of ill travellers at point of entry

Management of ill travellers at points of entry – international airports, seaports and ground crossings – in the context of COVID -19 outbreak

This document aims to provide advice on the detection and management of ill travellers suspected of COVID-19 infection, at international airports, ports and ground crossings.

- Access the point of entry document

Public health preparedness and response aviation sector

Handbook for the management of public health events in air transport

The target audience for this guidance document includes the national focal points (NFP) for the IHR and public health authorities at PoE, as well as national aviation regulatory authorities, airport operators and personnel, aircraft operators, air crew and other stakeholders involved in air transport and emergency preparedness and response to public health events.

- Access the management handbook

       Operational considerations for managing COVID-19 cases or outbreak in aviation

- Access the aviation operational handbook

Public health preparedness and response for maritime sector

Operational considerations for managing COVID-19 cases/outbreak on board ships

The target audience of this documents is any authority involved in public health response to
a COVID-19 public health event on board ships, including International Health Regulations
(IHR) National Focal Point (NFP), port health authorities, local, provincial and national health
surveillance and response system, as well as port operators and ship operators.

- Access the ships operational document

Handbook for management of public health events on board ships

To assist States Parties in contingency planning and implementation of health measures on board ships or in ports, WHO developed a generic guidance addressing all public health risks and related rules and regulations. 

- Access the ships management handbook

       Handbook for inspection of ships and issuance of ship sanitation certificates

This handbook is intended to be used as reference material for port health officers, regulators, ship operators and other competent authorities in charge of implementing the IHR (2005) at ports and on ships.

- Access the sanitation handbook

Risk communication and community engagement

A guide to preventing and addressing social stigma associated with COVID-19

Social stigma in the context of health is the negative association between a person or group of people who share certain characteristics and a specific disease. In an outbreak, this may mean people are labelled, stereotyped, discriminated against, treated separately, and/or experience loss of status because of a perceived link with a disease. 

The current COVID-19 outbreak has provoked social stigma and discriminatory behaviours against people of certain ethnic backgrounds as well as anyone perceived to have been in contact with the virus.

- Access the social stigma publication

Mental health considerations during COVID-19 outbreak

These mental health considerations were developed by the Mental Health Department as support for mental and psychological well-being during COVID-19 outbreak.

      - Access the mental health publication

 

Infographics

Click on graphics to view and download

Publications

All →
Tailoring event-based surveillance using open sources: practical guide for mass gatherings

Public health intelligence (PHI) is key to early warning alert and response (EWAR), and is vital in protecting the health of the populations in the context...

Risk communication and community engagement readiness and response toolkit: mass gatherings

This toolkit contains a comprehensive set of practical tools and resources designed to support country-level risk communication and community engagement...

Defining access to countermeasures: landscape report 2024

This landscape report on the current status of activities related to medical countermeasures (MCMs) for pandemic response underscores the urgent need...

publication banner for Emerging from the Unknowing: WHO India’s strategic response to the pandemic report

Emerging from the Unknowing chronicles WHO India's vital technical and field support to the Government of India during the COVID-19 response—an extraordinary...