Fear of the coronavirus has stopped many Americans from traveling anywhere, and for two people with local ties, their planned trips of a lifetime have been temporarily canceled.

Tyler Holland, a Palmerton graduate who lives in New Jersey, said he had no choice as United Airlines canceled his 10-day trip to Italy, one of the prime countries for confirmed coronavirus cases.

“I had booked the trip in January and then a week and a half ago, United called and canceled me,” he said. “I was very disappointed because although my job has had me traveling to about 40 states, I’ve never been out of the country except for Mexico.” Holland works for the U.S. Army as a small caliber ammunitions expert.

Pam Gothard, a real estate broker for RE/MAX since 1999, had planned a “bucket list” Alaskan two-week land and sea cruise for her and her husband and some friends for the middle of May.

“We’ve been talking about this trip for two years,” she said. “With all the panic about the virus we all agreed to postpone it, even though the disease might very well be gone by May.”

Gothard didn’t want to be “stuck on the ship” and quarantined for a lengthy period of time.

Travel companies are predicting that airline cancellations can drop as much as 37 percent during the coronavirus scare and that could cost a loss of $46 billion a month worldwide. Travel insurance, usually not a priority for most air travelers, has increased by 50 percent in the past month alone.

One of the myths about the virus is that it’s more likely to be spread inside an airplane cabin when in truth, it is not an airborne disease and can only be spread through bodily fluids, coughing, sneezing and physical contact. American Airlines reports that cabin air is filtered and cleaner than can be found in a new office building.

The cruise line industry has also been hit hard by the coronavirus scare. The U.S. State Department has warned travelers against cruise ship voyages. Carnival and Royal Caribbean have canceled 40 itineraries and rerouted 40 others. On one Diamond Princess ship, more than 690 passengers were quarantined for the virus and seven reportedly died. Passengers had been forced to remain on board for days.

Holland and his girlfriend had blocked off time from work to fly to Milan and then move on to Venice and Rome, but with the progression of the disease, he wasn’t at all surprised that United canceled their trip. They were given 12 months to use their tickets to go elsewhere.

“We’ve already decided to go to Costa Rica,” he said. “They’ve only confirmed one case there so I think we’ll take our chances,” he added with a laugh.

Gothard said she would reconsider rebooking Alaska in May if the virus is gone by then and she believes the media has overhyped the disease, sending Americans into as panic.

“More people will die from the flu than from this virus,” she said. “And yet, just in case, you can’t be too careful, so that’s why we canceled. If it was meant to be it was meant to be.”

Holland, a graduate of Wilkes University with a degree in mechanical engineering, agreed that the panic is an overreaction, and when he was informed that some people believe that you can get the virus by drinking Corona Beer, he laughed at the ridiculous comment and said he drinks Coors Light anyway.

His first trip to Europe will have to wait, as will Gothard’s bucket list cruise to Alaska. When it comes to taking chances and unnecessary risks, Gothard was resigned to accept her circumstances.

“You just never know,” she said.