Coronavirus daily news updates, May 2: What to know today about COVID-19 in the Seattle area, Washington state and the world – The Seattle Times

New Zealand welcomed tourists from the U.S., Canada, Britain, Japan and more than 50 other countries for the first time in more than two years Monday after dropping most of its remaining pandemic border restrictions.

The country has long been renowned for its breathtaking scenery and adventure tourism offerings such as bungy jumping and skiing. Before the spread of COVID-19, more than 3 million tourists visited each year, accounting for 20% of New Zealand’s foreign income and more than 5% of the overall economy.

But international tourism stopped altogether in early 2020 after New Zealand imposed some of the world’s toughest border restrictions.

The border rules remained in place as the government at first pursued an elimination strategy and then tried to tightly control the spread of the virus. The spread of omicron and vaccinations of more than 80% of New Zealand’s 5 million population prompted the gradual easing of restrictions.

New Zealand reopened to tourists from Australia three weeks ago and on Monday to about 60 visa-waiver countries, including much of Europe. Most tourists from India, China and other non-waiver countries are still not allowed to enter.

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As people start to venture out, Ashley Perkins might be struggling more than most. For years she had been living life relatively large despite her agoraphobia, until pandemic constraints shrank her world to the drive between work and home. “This is by far worse than even before I was diagnosed in 2008,” the 38-year-old pharmacist said.

The anxiety disorder, which affects about 1% of U.S. adults and is more common in women, is frequently associated with a fear of leaving the home. But the core issue often is an underlying panic disorder that can first flare in a place seemingly routine, such as the grocery store, said Sally Winston, a clinical psychologist and executive director of the Anxiety and Stress Disorders Institute of Maryland in Towson.

“Agoraphobia is the fear of having a panic attack in a place or situation in which you feel trapped or unable to get to safety,” Winston said. That first panic attack with its surge of adrenaline, rapid heartbeat and other symptoms can feel physically overwhelming, “like a traumatic catastrophe,” she said, and makes people retreat to a perceived safe space, often their home.

Agoraphobia can’t be diagnosed until someone has experienced at least six months of symptoms, severe enough to affect daily life. So, it’s too soon to know whether the ongoing pandemic has amplified rates of the anxiety disorder, mental health clinicians say. But some worry that months of limited exposure to the rigors of daily commutes, crowded malls and other activities might have seeded new cases, as well as worsened symptoms in those individuals already diagnosed.

Nine months into the pandemic, clinical psychologist Karen Cassiday started seeing patients who had been coping well with the disorder for a decade or longer. “They were saying, `I’m scared to drive. I’m scared to go into a big box store, or even go in a store where I can’t get out quickly. I’m afraid to go to the dentist or get my hair done,’ ” said Cassiday, who treats patients with anxiety disorders in the Chicago area.

“Or I had people calling and saying, ‘I just need to talk with you because I’m white knuckling my way through things that I could do before the pandemic.’ ” Also, she said: “People who never had agoraphobia were coming in, and they’ve got it.”

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