“A lot of people have the idea that the surgical face mask will protect them. That’s actually not true, according to [World Health Organization] officials,” Bociurkiw said, adding that frequently washing your hands, using disinfectants, and maintaining distance from other people were more effective ways to avoid infection.

Nevertheless, in Newark, Vienna, and Frankfurt, many travelers wore face masks. I also frequently observed people positively smothering their hands in sanitizer. 

The worry in others’ demeanors was clear.

If another traveler so much as coughed or sneezed while standing in line to board an aircraft, or while cooped up in a cramped bus on the way out to a jet (which is all too common at Frankfurt am Main Airport), then everyone nearby seemed to edge away. I unconsciously did so, too. 

It hadn’t been like that a week earlier, when I’d traveled from Ukraine to New York on the outward leg of my trip. But attitudes outwardly and obviously had changed in the intervening week.

There was concern in the air. Not panic. Not yet. But the seeds of panic had been sown. 

“I don’t blame people for being concerned about their travel plans,” Bociurkiw said.

“It’s a very, very difficult time right now.”

Yes, it might be impossibly difficult now to contain the coronavirus. 

But, in the end, it’s even harder to quarantine fear.