Global Rescue Mission Brief: May 2020

[Global Rescue]

International borders have been closed. Airlines have been operating at minimal levels. Most business have curtailed workforce travel. Stay-at-home guidelines have limited individual tourism.

The pandemic has changed the way most people and businesses operate, but not for Global Rescue personnel, who continue to manage medical, security and travel operations worldwide.

Below are highlights from some of our most recent operations in various locations. In a typical month, Global Rescue performs hundreds of operations in dozens of countries.

Argentina
The Argentine government had shut down commercial aviation through September 2020 due to the pandemic. When a major U.S.-based finance and investment corporation needed one of its senior staffers out of Buenos Aires they contacted Global Rescue. With no commercial flights flying, the Global Rescue security operations team arranged a charter flight to evacuate the employee safely back home.

Canada
A university student studying abroad in Canada was running out of an essential prescription medicine but was unable to leave the country due to pandemic-related border closings. Global Rescue medical operations specialists assisted the student member, coordinating a telehealth consultation with a nearby medical clinic and helping the student obtain the prescription refill needed.

Colombia
An Italian member was stuck on Capurganá and unable to obtain boat passage to mainland Colombia and then on to Bogota to meet humanitarian repatriation flights arranged by the Italian Embassy. The member stated the Italian Embassy advised he must arrange all travel from Capurganá to Bogota himself. Global Rescue responded to the member’s call and secured over water transportation to Turbo and then an eight-hour vehicle transport to Medellin, followed by another eight-hour ground transport to Bogota, where he caught his repatriation flight back to Italy.

Cote d’Ivoire
A Portuguese construction company with nearly 100 employees in Cote d’Ivoire contacted Global Rescue to assist with the development of an emergency action plan for evacuating workers should an upcoming national election in October lead to extreme civil unrest.

France
Losing your passport in a foreign country can be a nightmarish bureaucratic ordeal. If it happens during a pandemic, the complications magnify. When a U.S. graduate student studying in France lost her passport to a purse-snatcher, her program director advised her to contact Global Rescue immediately. Global Rescue security experts stepped in, managed the international administrative difficulties and helped her obtain a passport replacement.

India
A member in Kochi, India needed access to medication but he was traveling in a foreign country and didn’t know where to obtain the right prescription. He contacted Global Rescue to assist him in finding the correct equivalent medications and securing delivery. With only a few days left of his current prescription, the Global Rescue medical operations team secured access to the prescription and coordinated delivery.

New York
A member traveled with his family 110 miles from his New York City home to isolate during the pandemic. While no one in his family exhibited any COVID-19 symptoms, he called on Global Rescue to help identify local urgent care centers where he and members of his family could be tested for virus antibodies and infection. The Global Rescue medical operations team investigated the area, vetted multiple resources and provided the member with the needed information.

New Jersey
A member visiting the U.S. from China developed an adverse reaction to the use of a new hair dye and was experiencing eczema and facial swelling. Global Rescue responded and provided medical advisory and a few days of follow up until the case was resolved successfully.

Nigeria
A member suffering from a severe cough and difficulty breathing was admitted to a Nigerian hospital where he was diagnosed with pneumonia and possible tuberculosis. Global Rescue medical operations specialists assisted in the complicated case management during the month-long process while the member’s health stabilized. When he was fit to fly, Global Rescue successfully supported the repatriation of the member to Beirut, Lebanon.

Russia
A diabetic member stuck in Russia due to the pandemic needed help getting his prescription refilled. The Florida man had been traveling in Mongolia for months before making a quick trip to Russia. That’s when the coronavirus outbreak changed his travel plans. The Mongolian border was shut down a day after he entered Russia. He was unable to obtain diagnostic supplies and supplements. Global Rescue medical operations specialists were able to help the member obtain the prescription refills needed.

Global Rescue provides our members and clients with the world’s leading travel risk, telehealth access, crisis management, medical, security and evacuation services. Click here to learn more.

 

[EthanPayne]

They are doing really good job and it is nice to hear that there is a way to get help. There are much more reports where people are stuck with no help, nice to hear something different.