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

[Bundy Bear]

Flew China Airlines last night from Auckland to Brisbane, all the cabin crew were wearing face masks, plane was empty not sure how they would be making nay money at the moment.

 

[stoney]

Would be intereeting to see Singapore's graph.

Well, my first transit upcoming in June is KL. I have heard nothing in respect to the corvd 19 in KL so we can only assume that there is no problem there rather than poor reporting or lack of screening. It is mysteraly quiet when compared to Singapore who do seem to be dilligent in advising the world of their situation.

 

[tgh]

The next big hit will probably come from updated global modelling of the infection rate , it may (or may not..) cause a bit of panic.
Hard to see any big global gathering happening in the near future.

 

[dajop]

Two weeks.

The blocked seats (except exit row and bulkheads) are probably "pre-allocated" to people. Not assigned until checkin.

 

[I love to travel]

The blocked seats (except exit row and bulkheads) are probably "pre-allocated" to people. Not assigned until checkin.

@dajop I note that the online version of the straits times is still dominated by the virus. What is it like in Singapore at the moment?

 

[offshore171]

The next big hit will probably come from updated global modelling of the infection rate , it may (or may not..) cause a bit of panic.
Hard to see any big global gathering happening in the near future.

Olympic Games... <cough>

 

[suze2000]

The blocked seats (except exit row and bulkheads) are probably "pre-allocated" to people. Not assigned until checkin.

So I assume then that that many seats are purchased but that people might not necessarily be sitting all the way down the aisle and nowhere else? (our purchased seats are in the front row and hubby is saying he doesn't like the front row because of the tray table/bag situation. *sigh* I was thinking about moving back a row or two, but it seems pointless now)

 

[dajop]

@dajop I note that the online version of the straits times is still dominated by the virus. What is it like in Singapore at the moment?

Don't know, I'm on the coast south of Melbourne right now But when I left on Friday, it's business as usual, except for not many tourists around. So non-touristy places are still quite busy, but touristy/foreign visitor places are much quieter. Lots of places (shopping centres, hotels, offices, etc) taking temperature on entry. Less people wearing masks than a few weeks ago, but lots of hand washing and hand sanitizing going on.

Yesterday was first day since the first case was recorded that no new cases were recorded. Of the 89 cases, now 51 fully recovered and discharged. I do wonder if heat/humidity is a moderating factor explaining why the number of serious cases isn't exploding like in Korea, Italy, Iran and of course China.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

For the simple reason that we're a Federation with the national government's laws overriding any ones the States (or Territories) make. Here we're not talking legislation, just advice to the community. The Federal Government has access to diplomats that the States don't, while no state has the equivalent of the Dept of Foreign Affairs and Trade. There are normally protocols as well.

I'd like however to view the full article.

Well yes and no Federal laws only override state laws where they are permitted to do so. And while the Feds may have access to 'diplomats' or DFAT, that can also be constraining. The states are free to seek advice from a wide range of experts, and there's no reason to believe that state advice is any less valid than that put forward by the Feds.

Perhaps if you draw a comparison with legal advice... state or federal can be equally compelling, and the feds aren't *guaranteed* to win. There are times where I would trust state governments over federal!

 

[Oubline]

I’m thinking of changing from my current CX award flights to Europe, onto MH instead via Kuala Lumpur, for August

Does anyone know how much to worry about the financial trouble MH is in? At this point my feeing is that they’re less likely to cancel than CX. It’s hard to know, I realise. I’m not at all worried about actually getting Coronavirus from a transfer at either HKG or KUL but more stressed about all the cancellations etc that are flowing from this.

I pulled the trigger on this and am now flying via KUL to LHR on MH, as a J award. Hopefully it’s not out of the frying pan and into the fire but it was causing me a lot of worry being reliant on CX.

As a heads up to people, these flights didnt show up on Qantas.com (despite other indirect MH flights showing) but did through BA, and could be easily seen over the phone with QF. So for MH, I recommend searching BA for availability.

Thanks to those that provided their thoughts.

 

[k_sheep]

Travellers from South Korea and Iran now added to the list of countries for which testing is indicated if they present with symptoms.

https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/cdna-song-novel-coronavirus.htm

I haven't noticed a particular upswing in requests for testing at our local level.

 

[Pushka]

Travellers from South Korea and Iran now added to the list of countries for which testing is indicated if they present with symptoms.

https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/cdna-song-novel-coronavirus.htm

I haven't noticed a particular upswing in requests for testing at our local level.

Had to contact the rheumatologist office today to get a script. The very first recorded message is one about coronavirus and telling people not to come in if they are showing symptoms. Getting prepared I guess. It was rather strongly worded.

 

[drron]

Well the corona virus has been knocked off the front page of the Straits times with the resignation of Matathir as Malaysian PM.

Mahathir made caretaker PM after Malaysia's King accepts his resignation

Shock resignation kicks off lawmakers' departure from Pakatan Harapan coalition, leaving it short of a majority in Parliament. Read more at straitstimes.com.

www.straitstimes.com

 

[kpc]

Well the corona virus has been knocked off the front page of the Straits times with the resignation of Matathir as Malaysian PM.

Mahathir made caretaker PM after Malaysia's King accepts his resignation

Shock resignation kicks off lawmakers' departure from Pakatan Harapan coalition, leaving it short of a majority in Parliament. Read more at straitstimes.com.

www.straitstimes.com

I wouldn't trust this man.....I think it is a manoeuvre to renege on letting Anwar succeed him as PM....wait a few days as the new PM is announced....Mahathir

 

[I love to travel]

Oh lordy is this is what is going to happen to our Stock market travel will really crash. Look at DAX and FTSE (it's lunchtime in Europe) and tge US futures

Premarket Stock Trading - CNN Business

Coverage of premarket trading, including futures information for the S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones Industrial Average.

money.cnn.com

 

[Pushka]

Oh lordy is this is what is going to happen to our Stock market travel will really crash. Look at DAX and FTSE (it's lunchtime in Europe) and tge US futures

Premarket Stock Trading - CNN Business

Coverage of premarket trading, including futures information for the S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones Industrial Average.

money.cnn.com

That happened on our market today. It’s probably only back to the level it was a week or so ago though. Qantas was down 6% today.

 

[Princess Fiona]

@dajop I note that the online version of the straits times is still dominated by the virus. What is it like in Singapore at the moment?

I just got back from there this morning. Had a fab long weekend, it’s pretty quiet everywhere except Marina Bay Sands. I’d assume gambling must offer some degree of immunity

Orchard Road is very quiet, I received some very attentive service during my window shopping.
A lot of temperature scanning going on, Louis Vuitton seems to have it as SOP at their boutiques.

 

[disruptivedolphin]

Stats for Singapore are 90 cases in total, 53 fully recovered, 7 critical.

Only one new case in the last two days, and they've been able to do a good job of linking new infections to existing clusters.

 

[PineappleSkip]

Further COVID-19 cases in travellers from Iran have now been confirmed in Oman (2 cases), Kuwait (3 cases), Bahrain, Iraq and Afghanistan. The two other suspected cases in Herat tested negative.

The situation in Iran remains murky. The Ministry of Health has now admitted to 12 deaths, with various higher claims and [denied] claims of up to 50 deaths in Qom alone. Even the Ministry of Health claim makes it high;y likely that case numbers there are at least in the hundreds, although it is unknown how long the virus has been circulating there.

Al Arabiya reports that travel bans or restrictions on travellers from Iran have now been imposed in nine countries; Iraq, Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Armenia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, and Georgia. The Timatic advice page is only being updated daily, but mentions the similar ban in Bahrain, which would make ten.

Qatar's QR today advised that passengers from Iran and South Korea without symptoms would be quarantined for 14 days, although the announcement indicates this does not apply to transit passengers.

Confirmed cases in Korea are now 833, and in Italy now 219.

 

[jase05]

The sudden spike in South Korea is a tad alarming
Confirmed that a KE FA has tested positive for the coronavirus

A Korean Air flight attendant tested positive for the coronavirus, as people are desperately trying to cancel flights on the airline

It is not clear which routes the infected staffer flew on. Meanwhile, people are trying to cancel reservations to South Korea as its outbreak worsens.

www.businessinsider.com.au