Change of plans? (coronavirus)

[BryanS]

With the hysteria surrounding the coronavirus, justified or not, has anyone changed or cancelled plans for travel in 2020?

 

[NoSpin]

I wasn't planning to travel to China, so no.

 

[BryanS]

I just received this from the US Consulate in Naples:

"Since January 30, 2020, the Italian Ministry of Health has confirmed three cases of Novel Coronavirus in Italy. On February 5, 2020, Italian public health officials implemented mandatory thermal screening at all Italian air and maritime ports of entry in response to the recent Novel Coronavirus outbreak."

 

[Ian Sutton]

No changes, but keeping a watching brief

 

[KathyH]

No changes, still planning to go to Amsterdam in September.

 

[Pauline]

We are away now (Spain) and flying back to Heathrow tomorrow (Saturday). I wonder if we will get checked? I’ll report back.

I seem to catch anything that is going around. Not looking forward to being in Heathrow. I read that British Airways cancelled all flights to China.

I think I will go wash my hands.

 

[joe]

How to avoid coronavirus on flights, from Bloomberg. Not a bad read.

 

[Pauline]

We are home. There were no checks at Heathrow. No one wearing face masks. Everything as usual.

 

[joe]

Here’s how coronavirus spreads on a plane—and the safest place to sit

Global travel opens new roads for outbreaks, like coronavirus and the flu—but which is more dangerous, and how can you stay safe?

www.nationalgeographic.com

How bad is coronavirus versus the flu and Ebola?

Weighing diseases against each other is a complicated calculus. These charts explain why.

www.nationalgeographic.com

Two interesting reads from The National Geographic.

 

[Pauline]

How is everyone feeling about this now? We are scheduled to fly to Israel a week from Wednesday. A group of South Korean tourists brought Coronavirus into Israel and 200 Israelis are now in quarantine. Yesterday they would not admit anyone (except Israeli citizens) on a flight from South Korea.

It isn’t a great time to be traveling. I’m not booking any other flights!

 

[Tim W]

My beloved and I were discussing whether we will have to cancel our trip to Bologna in three weeks time. I'm not optimistic that it will go ahead.

 

[joe]

The good side : this will probably be the first year in a long time that air travel (and probably travel generally) will go down. A small win for the planet and for locals all over the world who would like a rest from foreign tourists.

The bad side : a new sickness to be worried about, everywhere. About a month ago we, too, on a bit of a whim, were considering a short trip to Italy this autumn. This has certainly made me wait with the purchase of flight tickets. The accommodation we were thinking of staying at has agreed to hold dates for us, but not indefinitely of course.

 

[NoSpin]

We're going to Cape Town and Kruger National Park in April. We have no plans to cancel the trip. One good thing is that other than Egypt, there are no reported cases on the entire African continent.

 

[phirhon]

I am a bit concerned. We are due to fly to France on April 2nd. As Australians, our flights pass through Asia, specifically for us in this case, Singapore. I have been doing some reading, and we will be washing our hands a lot and taking some hand sanitiser on the plane. I am not so concerned once we are there as we will spend most of our time in country France. It is worrying, but we will not be cancelling.

 

[Pati]

My trip to Florence is still booked for mid September, but I’m thinking of getting good trip insurance for the non-refundable airfare I acquired. I was going to anyway, but this has pushed me into action.

 

[Tim W]

We're going to Cape Town and Kruger National Park in April. We have no plans to cancel the trip. One good thing is that other than Egypt, there are no reported cases on the entire African continent.

At the risk of being a Killjoy, this is likely to be because they are not yet looking for it. I work in a microbiology lab, and did so in South Africa, albeit more than 30 years ago. Getting Screening up and running was a major job for us (and by us I mean a major teaching hospital in the UK) - we have been operational for less than two weeks.

April, particularly in Cape Town, will be the beginning of Winter and the Flu season. It is a little early to speculate just how bad COVID might be, but there is significant contact between RSA and the Far East so it would not surprise me at all if it were full blown epidemic by then.

 

[italian excursion]

Pathogens always freak people out, so I expect many upcoming trips will be canceled. But not mine! I'm still looking forward to my May trip to Italy and have a full tour in October to the Umbrian region. I certainly understand that for those who have compromised immune systems, etc., it's best to be cautious. I will be watchful, here, to the comments and experiences posted. Best of health and wellness to us all!
Ciao,
Cheryl
www.italianexcursion.com

 

[NoSpin]

At the risk of being a Killjoy, this is likely to be because they are not yet looking for it. I work in a microbiology lab, and did so in South Africa, albeit more than 30 years ago. Getting Screening up and running was a major job for us (and by us I mean a major teaching hospital in the UK) - we have been operational for less than two weeks.

April, particularly in Cape Town, will be the beginning of Winter and the Flu season. It is a little early to speculate just how bad COVID might be, but there is significant contact between RSA and the Far East so it would not surprise me at all if it were full blown epidemic by then.

Thanks Tim (I think ). Did you mean that the teaching hospital is set up now to screen for it?

 

[Pauline]

It isn't just the fear of catching coronavirus, it is also how countries react. Austria turned back a train from Italy today and is considering stopping all trains from Italy. If the UK has a serious outbreak other countries may not want people from the UK.

Personally I think I am just as likely to get it from someone sneezing on me in my crowded Waitrose as I am traveling in Israel, but I will be in many more crowded situations traveling to and being in Israel. When you arrive at the Ben Gurion airport a huge crowd forms at the entrance to passport control and sometimes we wait there for an hour before getting inside and into lines. The Old City in Jerusalem is very crowded.

I bought 30 disposable face masks that we will bring with us (they may help a bit) and we will both have soap and a facecloth with us so we can do frequent hand washing.

The only good news about all this for me is that maybe people will stop taking cruises. Imagine being on that quarantined cruise ship!

 

[Tim W]

Thanks Tim (I think ). Did you mean that the teaching hospital is set up now to screen for it?

Yes - sorry I'm a little incoherant after working almost every day for a month. The lab in which I work is one of the main COVID testing labs in the UK. We are expecting the testing algorithm to be changes in the next day or so - and will be inundated with work.

I would guess that it will take a little while before a validated commercial test is available - so widespread testing in Africa is probably a little way off. As I still have family and friends in South Africa, I'll try and keep you informed.