Honor Flight Pittsburgh leadership and the Board of the National Honor Flight Network have been closely monitoring guidance from the health authorities concerning COVID-19. On March 10, 2020, the Board held an emergency meeting concerning this developing situation and discussed the CDC’s recently issued advisory that adults over the age of 60 are particularly at risk of infection and should avoid all non-essential travel.[2]
In consideration of the CDC’s guidance and the serious nature of the public health threat posed by COVID-19, we will postpone our April 25th, 2020 trip. We will continue to monitor CDC guidance over the coming weeks to determine if further postponement is necessary.
We value the health and safety of our veterans, their guardians, and everyone who supports the Honor Flight trips above all else. The decision to postpone all Honor Flight travel has not been made lightly.
This is an unprecedented and challenging time because of the uncertainties and risks associated with COVID-19. We are particularly concerned about the susceptibility of our elderly veterans to infectious diseases. Many veterans who make Honor Flight trips have serious, chronic medical conditions like heart disease, diabetes, COPD or lung disease that leave them even more vulnerable to COVID-19. In addition, many of these veterans live in community settings, such as a retirement home or assisted living facility, where the risk of spread is extremely high. While we realize that many veterans feel a sense of urgency to make a trip to their memorials before it is too late to do so, we simply cannot travel under the present circumstances.
Please call us at 833-437-4448, ext. 700 with any questions.
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