I just posted this in a CEP thread. Italy has just quarantined roughly 14 towns in the Lombardy and Veneto regions for two weeks.
I think it is important to be cautious traveling abroad right now if you have special circumstances. The last thing I want to do js travel with an entire month of my son's medication. I've also thought about how stressful it just be for pet owners who have become quarantined and are now delayed in getting home by 2-4 wks.
We have two trips this year. One is a cruise and another is to Disney. We always get travel insurance so we can cancel if we feel it's necessary but I think we will be just fine. At this point it isn't something I am overly worried about.
I'm only out $700 for the plane ticket so no, I don't care about losing the money. I won't book accommodations until closer to the date and the places my friend and I are looking at staying at are like $10/night.
I have Middle East planned for summer, but it's a direct flight and zero risk so I'm not worried about that one either.
I live in Korea. You have probably heard that over half of the 480 cases of Covid-19 that have been diagnosed here have been traced back to a particular Christian cult in Daegu. 9 of the members that were diagnosed here this weekend were in Israel last week on a pilgrimage. I would look for some more cases to pop up in Israel in the next 7-14 days.
My information comes directly from the KCDC website.
I didn't mean to sound flippant but I'm not going to Israel but to refugee camps in the middle of nowhere Jordan where they don't come in contact with the outside world. I'm not worried about coronavirus there at this point. Sure, things could change.
I guess if you haven't booked anything yet, it can't hurt to hold off. Could you get time off later in the year and just go then instead?
I would not cancel travel i had already paid for.
Sadly i don't have any upcoming trips planned so i haven't really thought about it. We actually were in Europe a month ago so I guess I am glad this didn't come up before that. It is highly unlikely we would have done anything differently anyway.
No, unfortunately it took a lot of hard core convincing to get that time at the end of May for DH. He definitely can't take that much at one time for the rest of the year due to the nature of his job this year. I originally wanted to go in Sep or Oct.
In this case, I'd go ahead and book. May is 3 months away, anything could happen between now and then. It may be a non-issue, or we may have a severe outbreak in the US by then. Honestly if it becomes a big issue in Europe I feel like it's only a matter of time before it is a big issue here too.
I also hate the thought of putting off travel by more than a few months. You may avoid getting this virus, but there is nothing to say that by the time you could rebook next year or the year after, you won't be suffering some other illness that would make it impossible for you to travel. I hope not, but the future is never guaranteed so I try to keep that in mind when making decisions like this.
The good news, I'm sure you won't be the only one wondering so you may get better prices on stuff if people aren't booking trips right now
I’m in NL, too, and the recommendations so far are basically the same as what I assume the US is saying - practice good hygiene, no travel to certain areas of China and only necessary travel to other areas, watch for respiratory symptoms. So far we haven’t had any cases, but with the whole country having holiday break last week and this week, I am a bit concerned that will change quickly in the very near future, especially as all of the countries around us have had cases.
That said, I am traveling within Europe this week, so it hasn’t changed my behaviors yet.
That and the standard of paracetamol and tea (ha!) means probably some cases that they may not even know about yet. I do worry being surrounded by cases when I look at the map because I have a 5.5 MO baby but hopefully it will be all good. We also haven’t changed behaviours as yet!
Ugh good point. I would hope that the doctors here (and sick people!) are being a little more proactive right now with this virus going around. I still remember how stupid my doctor made me feel the first time I went there for a bad cough. Apparently I was supposed to wait something like 14 days before seeking medical care, and they weren’t interested in hearing about my 7 day old cough. 😂
We still aren’t sure. We want to go to Bali this summer, but haven’t booked yet. We are mostly worried about travel restrictions and the possibility about having to cancel our plans last minute. Since Bali has been a dream destination for us, we aren’t sure if it makes more sense to postpone to next year.
If we had already booked, we would have no hesitation to go ahead with our plans. We are 2 healthy adults and 1 healthy toddler. DH just got back from India with no issues.
My travel was reconsidered for me. I was supposed to leave Friday for a week in Barcelona for a work conference, the largest one of the year (100K+ people from all over), and it was cancelled.
The organizers tried putting all kinds of travel restrictions on it ahead of time to reduce the risk (not allowing in anyone who had been in Wuhan, or anyone who had been in China for the past 14 days -- they always require passports at check-in, so they know these things) but their biggest exhibitors still began pulling out because they more or less didn't feel like they could require their employees to go, hang out at a massively crowded international event for a week, and guarantee that they wouldn't be at high risk of exposure and/or potentially a lengthy quarantine if the show became a point of transmission. So the organizers cancelled it. That show has been around with various names/locations for decades and this is the first time it has ever been cancelled.
Some of my coworkers went to Barcelona anyway, to do one-on-ones with people who are either there anyway or in nearby countries. Some people in the industry will still go to do the same or basically work from Barcelona because they have non-refundable tickets or lodging. I could have gone but opted not to. My company made it clear that going was not required, and about 2/3 of us who were going to go, are not. I would have gone if the show was on, because I feel pretty confident that travel to/from Europe is low-risk at this point, but a week of travel is a lot and it's not worth the disruption to me unless I have something specific to devote my time to.
Work had taken care of lodging and the flight. I'm not out any money, I hadn't even ordered my euros yet. I was able to get my airline to waive the ticket change-fee for my ticket, due to the circumstances, so I'll rebook my ticket for a different work trip next month to Vegas. It's a much smaller event and it's domestic travel, but honestly, I think I may still get a refundable ticket if I'm able to. Because it's impossible to know where this situation will be in a month. There could be a major or multiple major outbreak points in the U.S. by then, and having seen one event get cancelled that I really did not think would be, I feel like I can't take for granted that any other, smaller event would not also get cancelled. Especially in a location very popular for international tourism.
I see this morning that cases are spiking in Italy now, and there is a Reuters report of a case in China where a man didn't show symptoms of the virus until 27 days after being infected/exposed. That is *crazy* and I've never heard of anything like it.
Saudade. Can you PM me more information about the refugee camps in Jordan?
I want to do more medical service volunteering and my grandparents were Palestinian refugees to Jordan. I was actually born there, have lived there at various points in time, and would love to help refugees there.
My cursory investigation on the travel insurance says that, even with a 'cancel for any reason' rider, it's usually not valid in the case of 'foreseeable events', including this outbreak (it was an article specifically about coronavirus and travel insurance), unless your travel was booked prior to January 22, which is when the virus became public knowledge.
I might wait another couple of weeks to see if things get considerably worse in Europe (given what's going on in Italy now). If it's still questionable, we'll do our usual hotel booking through the hotel website, making sure I can cancel up to 48 hours out, and book our airfare on British Airways. If we wanted to cancel, we wouldn't get a refund but we'd get a credit that would be good for a year.
Lots of posts about this on the Reddit travel board right now. Tons of people who did their hotel and airfare bookings on third party sites - those people are totally out of luck on getting their money back.
Saudade . Can you PM me more information about the refugee camps in Jordan?
I want to do more medical service volunteering and my grandparents were Palestinian refugees to Jordan. I was actually born there, have lived there at various points in time, and would love to help refugees there.
Sent! I had to cull it down because I'm so passionate about it.
I’m not comfortable booking travel abroad at this time because I still don’t think we know enough about this virus / where it’s headed and I’m immunocompromised
My husband travels abroad for work a few times a year and will continue to follow through with those commitments unless there are travel bans or quarantines (he goes on a 5 ish country European tour that includes Italy, so TBD). But I won’t be tagging along and we won’t book anything for leisure at this time.
We went to Hawaii before the outbreak, but won’t be going abroad in the next year. I feel like most areas will be fine but be cautious of germs in airports and airplanes. Cruise ships bother me more, and I wouldn’t plan to go to certain countries hardest hit. Who know what will happen in terms of spread though.
Post by Wines Not Whines on Feb 23, 2020 18:09:00 GMT -5
We’re planning to go to Italy in June. I’m not worried about getting sick, but now I’m getting worried that things will be closed down. This is a huge trip for us, and I don’t want to travel all the way there and not be able to see or do anything. If things get worse between now and then, we’ll cancel the trip.
I just posted this in a CEP thread. Italy has just quarantined roughly 14 towns in the Lombardy and Veneto regions for two weeks.
I think it is important to be cautious traveling abroad right now if you have special circumstances. The last thing I want to do js travel with an entire month of my son's medication. I've also thought about how stressful it just be for pet owners who have become quarantined and are now delayed in getting home by 2-4 wks.
I was just going to say this. Normally I’m pretty breezy and non-alarmist (& I still am in terms of actually catching the illness), but the chaos that has erupted in Italy was surprising and (to me) proof that they really don’t have a handle on this shit at all. It seems to be escalating in multiple areas, rather quickly. If I didn’t already have something planned, I don’t think I’d be planning anything right now. Fortunately we decided to forgo Europe for our vacation in March and we’re spending a week in Grenada instead.
We're going to Edinburgh in April with DD. She does seem to have a respiratory sensitivity (two 4 day hospital stays in 2 years) although I'm not planning on cancelling I have purchased cancellation insurance in case.
ETA: after seeing what's going on in Italy, we're planning to stock up a little on freezer/cupboard foods in case there is a similar shut down here.
Post by dulcemariamar on Feb 24, 2020 10:45:50 GMT -5
I am in Europe and right now I am just getting things in order in case they start closing off towns. What is happening in Italy is scary since everything just basically shut down overnight. I am stocking up on food and meds in case it happens here.
I have a trip within Europe planned and WDW in August. I wouldn’t be so sad to cancel the Europe one but I really want to fly home this summer.
But sometimes it is not the virus itself that is scary but being stuck somewhere or put up in a hospital for a month in the States and the bill that you get when you leave
We have a trip to Russia planned in April with a large group of friends and I’m not sure it’s going to happen if the virus spreads to more countries as the weeks go by. Most of us have our tickets routed through Dubai (flying from India), and although they don’t have a large number of cases reported, i wouldn’t want to get stuck in quarantine in either Russia or Dubai should we get caught up in a sudden outbreak. I’d rather stay home than risk being quarantined with my 2 kids.
I have booked a month in England this summer with my 2 boys and have no plans on cancelling. If we get stuck there for any reason, my family and friends will just have to put us up for longer! It is completely impossible to know how things will go - when it will hit other places, how badly it will hit other places, what they will do, how quarantines will work and all of that.
Of course, if more rules are announced, we will follow them. But for now, no changes to my plans.
We leave for a Caribbean cruise this Saturday and this virus would not deter me. I'm already pretty stringent on ships anyway (hand washing, not touching rails then touching my face, etc.), so I won't let up on that.
We didn't get trip insurance anyway, which we could have used this time - my MIL passed away over the weekend. If we had the insurance, that would be the reason we wouldn't go.
OP here: Our main concerns were not getting sick, but rather, facing restrictions of movement and closure of tourist sites, and possibly being unable to leave if there were a local outbreak.
We have decided not to do this trip this year, and possibly do something in North America instead. Hopefully we can go to Europe next year.
My child is going on a school trip to Europe this summer. I'm not overly concerned, but because it is a school trip I think they may err on the side of caution and cancel if things don't seem to be under control by then. I hope they wait and don't make any rash decisions right now
Post by cottoncandy on Feb 25, 2020 9:20:29 GMT -5
At this point, it’s not a matter of IF but WHEN more cities are shut down and honestly I think we are going to see it in places in the US as well. There are still so many unknowns with this virus that we really have no idea what things are going to look like in the next few months.
Not yet. I have travel insurance but for not I'm not changing anything. I'm going to Myanmar in June and Spain, France, and Italy in July. Right now it's still a go but I'll be paying attention.
We’re planning to go to Italy in June. I’m not worried about getting sick, but now I’m getting worried that things will be closed down. This is a huge trip for us, and I don’t want to travel all the way there and not be able to see or do anything. If things get worse between now and then, we’ll cancel the trip.
In an article in the Atlantic that's posted on CEP, an epidemiologist estimated that 40-70% of all people worldwide will get COVID. So I don't think there's any avoiding it. I would *guess* that it will have run through Italy by summer, since it's starting to spike now. Things will be back to normal.
mcsangel2, yes I agree a quarantine not at my house is more worrisome for us especially if kids are involved. And even more so if it is a foreign country. We are doing trips to close by states, but they are driving range, and if we get quarantined there at least it is a house situation.
I know they are trying to contain it, and that is likely still best practice, but I think at some point in time it will get so big that they won't be quarantining anymore for it sort of like influenza. Hopefully there will be some kind of vaccine that comes out this year as well.
I mean, I live in California — where we’ve had more than a dozen of the identified U.S. cases. I also work in a city that’s a major tourist and business destination for Asian visitors and where I commute by mass transit.
FTFY
The US has many more cases than we are acknowledging. The CDC has very strict criteria for testing so most cases are probably being labeled as seasonal flu.
To be tested for coronavirus, the patient has to have travelled to China themselves or have contact with a case already laboratory confirmed by the CDC. (so next to no one). But as we can see in country after country, most identified cases outside of China do not involve people who travelled there.
At this point, it’s not a matter of IF but WHEN more cities are shut down and honestly I think we are going to see it in places in the US as well. There are still so many unknowns with this virus that we really have no idea what things are going to look like in the next few months.
I think the US will continue to pretend it isn't here because they don't want the ensuing panic/quarantines/shut downs. We are pretty egotistical as a nation. I'm sure the second we are willing to acknowledge it's presence in the US is the second we also decide it is too rampant to quarantine.
I mean, I live in California — where we’ve had more than a dozen of the identified U.S. cases. I also work in a city that’s a major tourist and business destination for Asian visitors and where I commute by mass transit.
FTFY
The US has many more cases than we are acknowledging. The CDC has very strict criteria for testing so most cases are probably being labeled as seasonal flu.
To be tested for coronavirus, the patient has to have travelled to China themselves or have contact with a case already laboratory confirmed by the CDC. (so next to no one). But as we can see in country after country, most identified cases outside of China do not involve people who travelled there.