Coronavirus (COVID-19) Respiratory illness - Effect on Travel

[ethernet]

There is no comment on resistance/immunity for those who had recent flu shots. In the meantime wash your hands a lot. Sad to see people not washing their hands

 

[Flying mermaid]

I have a trip booked in a month's time to Thailand via SIN. I REALLY hope this all dies down by then because I a) do not want to cancel and b) do not want to cancel.

I also want to know that if I do leave the country, I will be able to get back in regardless of where I have been/who was on the plane with me.

I don’t think you would have any trouble getting back in - even citizens coming back from China are allowed to return as long as they self isolate. There is the danger that you could be quarantined overseas like the cruise people but I wouldn’t have thought it was a huge risk.

 

[Sabot]

There is no comment on resistance/immunity for those who had recent flu shots. In the meantime wash your hands a lot. Sad to see people not washing their hands

Flu shot won't do anything.


We could, if not eradicate at least severely limit some common diseases through good hygiene such as washing hands properly and implementing cough/sneeze etiquette.

Seems to be lost on some segments of the population.

 

[I love to travel]

I don’t think you would have any trouble getting back in - even citizens coming back from China are allowed to return as long as they self isolate. There is the danger that you could be quarantined overseas like the cruise people but I wouldn’t have thought it was a huge risk.

Suze2000 I suspect your biggest problem might be Singapore. The government there has thus far been very proactive and Thailand the opposite. If infections in Singapore increase i don't think they will hesitate to block more countries. But it is still a month away so no need to panic just yet.

 

[p--and--t]

I have a trip booked in a month's time to Thailand via SIN. I REALLY hope this all dies down by then because I a) do not want to cancel and b) do not want to cancel.

I also want to know that if I do leave the country, I will be able to get back in regardless of where I have been/who was on the plane with me.

One month is not far away and the current fight against the virus not becoming a pandemic has a fair way to go yet.

Based on current progress of the virus and government actions so far, there is always the possibility more origins may move to the unwanted arrival category and potentially SIN could move to that category.

So far, and as there have been no signals otherwise, likely to continue, the gov is not denying arrival to any Aussie passport holder and self quarantine has been the action so far (except if you are coming from Hubei).

If you don't hold an Aussie passport, then if things really turn for the worse in SIN, you could possibly join the list of re-entry debarred.

 

[Himeno]

With flights in the air day and night from China, it would be difficult to pick a point to announce the ban that wouldn't affect several plane loads of Chinese citizens. Perhaps they could have considered somewhere that could be used for 2 weeks of quarantine, but it could be difficult to accommodate the numbers. Self quarantine for 2 weeks sounds great, but seeing how that worked in Melbourne, and having to accommodate maybe a 100 or more passengers, I think the Government would be damned either way. We either ban or we don't, and once the ban comes in to effect then compliance takes place.

You pick a point to suspend new departures.
Announce the ban, no new flights allowed to depart. Flights currently in the air at the time of the ban are allowed to arrive.

 

[Sabot]

You pick a point to suspend new departures.
Announce the ban, no new flights allowed to depart. Flights currently in the air at the time of the ban are allowed to arrive.

kind of defeats the purpose of the ban doesn't it.

 

[amaroo]

You pick a point to suspend new departures.
Announce the ban, no new flights allowed to depart. Flights currently in the air at the time of the ban are allowed to arrive.

IIRC the Chinese did something similar with closing Wuhan, announced a date .... then 5 million people simply escaped to beat the deadline.

 

[teammongo]

Whilst the flu shot won't do anything to protect against 2019nCoV, it will do something for the community and the system.
This may drag on into southern hemisphere flu season, which typically kicks off in earnest week 2-3 of July. If more of the population is vaccinated, the load from seasonal influenza could be significantly reduced thereby freeing up resources for nCoV.

TM

 

[Sabot]

Whilst the flu shot won't do anything to protect against 2019nCoV, it will do something for the community and the system.
This may drag on into southern hemisphere flu season, which typically kicks off in earnest week 2-3 of July. If more of the population is vaccinated, the load from seasonal influenza could be significantly reduced thereby freeing up resources for nCoV.

TM

July! Jesus, the rate we're going, it's going to look like this come flu season;

 

[PineappleSkip]

Hong Kong did the same with the requirement for mainlanders to self isolate. Announced last Thursday IIRC to take effect last Saturday. Naturally there was a huge influx across the border on Friday of people who didn't want to do this.

However I agree that it would have been better for Aus to apply the new rules to those who hadn't already checked in. You wouldn't get a HK situation, and the risk from incoming travellers doesn't leap through the roof simply because an announcement has been made.

cheers skip

 

[teammongo]

I'll pay that one.. Looks like I need to get an XB interceptor!

 

[ethernet]

Flu shot won't do anything.


We could, if not eradicate at least severely limit some common diseases through good hygiene such as washing hands properly and implementing cough/sneeze etiquette.

Seems to be lost on some segments of the population.

Just an update:
1) Appears there are super-carriers, much more infectious than others
2) Appears it is unlikely the virus can be contained
3) Maybe like Zika, the virus will weaken over time (what everyone hopes)
4) H5N6 Bird flu spotted (not related - just other bad news)
5) The corona is usually a mild infection when infected, but for some it is severe. The scientists don't know the why - for now. Aussie experts’ big virus breakthrough

As for flu shot - it certainly helps influenza with the herd effect. As the common cold is also corona like, and travels often with influenza, it may allow your bodies immune system to learn to respond to cold viruses better, but this is just worthless speculation. In the meantime I will bump up my B12, Vit C and Zinc, and maybe a bit of turmeric. Bone broth and Jewish Chicken noodle soup is reputed to be good for colds, so who knows. Handbags and mobile phones are germ-ridden, so give em a bit of direct sunlight or a wipedown.

 

[sjk]

1) Appears there are super-carriers, much more infectious than others
2) Appears it is unlikely the virus can be contained

Thread now dead in terms of signal to noise ratio.

if you need me I’ll be in the bar.

 

[zenyattamondatta]

Thread now dead in terms of signal to noise ratio.

if you need me I’ll be in the bar.

Agreed. Keeping a window open and adding what we heard *in terms of facts* from time to time seemed fair enough from a community service perspective given that this is pretty much the biggest travel-related issue since 9/11, but really, what's the point.

Good luck to you all.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

You pick a point to suspend new departures.
Announce the ban, no new flights allowed to depart. Flights currently in the air at the time of the ban are allowed to arrive.

Exactly. It would mean, at most, about 10 hours from announcing the ban until the last passenger on a flight already in the air reached australia.

It’s not like the government didn’t have days earlier in which they could have announced the ban if they were that concerned.

 

[Tropic]

Thread now dead in terms of signal to noise ratio.

if you need me I’ll be in the bar.

No sheet Sherlock. Been in the bar for while and still can't find a seat...

 

[Cruiser Elite]

 

[p--and--t]

Wow, a new paper published that suggests incubation may be up to 24 days!

Not sure how much credence to put on it.

Maybe a medico or two ( @drron ?) could make some relevant comments.

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.02.06.20020974v1.full.pdf

 

[drron]

Unlikely that it has an incubation period of 24 days.The figures given are 0-24 days with an average of 3 days.
0 days means you developed the disease the day you met the virus which is highly unlikely.

The problem is that often the person who has passed on the disease is unknown.Soeone coughs onto the table in a restaurant and you sit down soon after they left putting your hands on the table and then put a hand to your mouth and nose.
If infected by an asymptomatic patient then could be impossible to trace.