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

[Pushka]

Interesting that the Gold Coast people are stating that she wasn't infectious until her symptoms developed. Thought that concept had been previously debunked.

 

[I love to travel]

Interesting that the Gold Coast people are stating that she wasn't infectious until her symptoms developed. Thought that concept had been previously debunked.

I thought the language that risk of transmission was very low was interesting too given the close proximity to that this person had to others as they were doing facials.

 

[Melburnian1]

One of the safaris we paid for about 8mths ago - I see theyre promoting 20 to 30% discounts...

Deamli/Pushka, we haven't discussed it here but with all the (bad) publicity re Italy and suggestions that "it" is starting to spread more in the rest of Europe, are river cruise operators like Avalon/APT/Scenic/Uniworld likely to suffer a fall in bookings?

Are any of these offering real discounts compared with last year? They all advertise so much that after a while one becomes bored with their ads: always difficult to compare because the tours are rarely close to identical in itinerary or duration.

It's five minutes to midnight for booking for a July European river cruise one would think. These are trips of a lifetime for many retired Australians older than me, in their 60s/70s, who have saved for a number of years if not longer, so few would be keen to risk anything more than a small deposit if there's a chance they may not receive a refund.

 

[Pushka]

Deamli/Pushka, we haven't discussed it here but with all the (bad) publicity re Italy and suggestions that "it" is starting to spread more in the rest of Europe, are river cruise operators like Avalon/APT/Scenic/Uniworld likely to suffer a fall in bookings?

Are any of these offering real discounts compared with last year? They all advertise so much that after a while one becomes bored with their ads: always difficult to compare because the tours are rarely close to identical in itinerary or duration.

It's five minutes to midnight for booking for a July European river cruise one would think. These are trips of a lifetime for many retired Australians older than me, in their 60s/70s, who have saved for a number of years if not longer, so few would be keen to risk anything more than a small deposit if there's a chance they may not receive a refund.

Certainly all the River Cruises in China have been cancelled. It's an interesting question. I figure if the cruise is all in the one country as many of the France ones are, it will be ok. I also noted Hungary, with Budapest a major cruise hub, reacted very quickly to shut off any borders to Italy. It's all getting very very grim.

Quite weirdly the prices are not falling. I think maybe they just aren't bothering as my bet is they will all be cancelled.

 

[Pushka]

I thought the language that risk of transmission was very low was interesting too given the close proximity to that this person had to others as they were doing facials.

And why weren't people from Iran told to self isolate for 14 days! It was a known risk area when she arrived.

 

[PineappleSkip]

Since you don't seem in any hurry to clear it up, allow me to just note that the Mayor of Daegu is not dead, and that Reuters did not report that he died, that's merely their way of stating the source.

Thanks. My bad. Too late to edit the post. Cheers skip

Another case, this time from Ontario, of a case from a returnee from Egypt, and the number of cases in France of travellers from Egypt has now reached six.

 

[Melburnian1]

..Quite weirdly the prices are not falling. I think maybe they just aren't bothering as my bet is they will all be cancelled.

Who knows, but any AFFer in the market should be aware of one river cruise operator's less than impressive record of not granting refunds when things go awry. See an article on ABC News site (2 Oct 2019) re 'Scenic Cruise passengers plan class action...'

 

[kpc]

Interesting video breaking down the mortality from Covid-19 by sex and age, based from 44000 confirmed cases in China, published by the Chinese Centre for Disease Control::
Overall mortality rate: 2.3%
<9 years: 0%
10-39 years: 0.20%
40-49 years: 0.40%
50-59 years: 1.3%
60-69 years: 3.6%
70-79 years: 8%
80+ years: 14.8%

Men overall: 2.8%, women: 1.7%

So if you are 80+ and male, you are in big trouble if you catch Covid-19!!

Hospital staff claim coronavirus death toll in Iran has quadrupled

Australia has announced a ban on travellers from Iran after the latest coronavirus figures given to authorities indicated a “very significant rise” of cases and the highest death rate outside of mainland China.

www.news.com.au

 

[mrs.dr.ron]

Who knows, but any AFFer in the market should be aware of one river cruise operator's less than impressive record of granting refunds when things go awry. See an article on ABC News site (2 Oct 2019) re 'Scenic Cruise passengers plan class action...'

Ahhh ..... Scenic - it wouldnt be their first !

 

[Oubline]

Re travel insurance and people buying after late Jan not being covered. I guess thats where credit card insurance will cover them if they meet the criteria prior to Jan 2020.

I know most here dont buy travel insurance as they utilise credit cards but for the newbies and people like me that tend to be over insured.

You still definitely need to thoroughly check though! I activated my CBA credit card insurance policy in November but when I called they confirmed anything relating to a pandemic is excluded, including if I get Coronavirus overseas, that my medical expenses associated with this will not be covered. Of if I get any other kind of cold and am detected as having a temperature so not allowed to fly/enter a country then it seems like it will just be bad luck, as that happening to me would still be arising out of an epidemic! So do check and ask the questions if relying on credit card insurance.

 

[cove]

We are going to London shortly. I will take an extra 2 weeks of medication just in case we get quarantined.

 

[mrs.dr.ron]

We will be in the UK in May - I am starting to collect enough medications for the both of us for 8 weeks away.

 

[Pushka]

We are looking like switching from Bali in late March to Fiji and will just wear the costs.

 

[Melburnian1]

We are looking like switching from Bali in late March to Fiji and will just wear the costs.

Is this because of your perception that Fiji is (if not immune) relatively "safe" whereas like the Federal Government you are "surprised" that Indonesia has no 'virus' patients (and don't trust its government, or believe it just hasn't been able to properly test its citizens or visitors?)

 

[PineappleSkip]

Interesting article from yesterday on preparations for COVID in the Pacific, which canvasses their strengths and weaknesses.

Cheers skip

 

[Pushka]

Is this because of your perception that Fiji is (if not immune) relatively "safe" whereas like the Federal Government you are "surprised" that Indonesia has no 'virus' patients (and don't trust its government, or believe it just hasn't been able to properly test its citizens or visitors?)

I can't believe that Indonesia has no coronavirus. And such has been stated, although more politically, by Scott Morrison. My concern is that while we are away that suddenly there will be an edict that travellers from Bali must take the 14 day self quarantine and being self employed that does involve interstate travel, that would be a significant issue. My two cents is that it would only take one case to arrive into Australia for that edict to be made. Fiji is currently as safe as anywhere that hasn't really been impacted, it isn't on the worry 'radar' from the Governments perspective.

 

[juddles]

I particularly feel for the impact this thing could (will?) have on small nations such as those in the south pacific. These countries are incredibly reliant on tourism, which is also the single most-impacted industry in these events.

I understand that they take some comfort in the support that they would like to get from Australia and new Zealand, and feel that this support is always a priority for us as we have cared for and supported these tiny nations for a long time. But if Australia suffers a major outbreak, it will be less able to send those teams of specialists that they would hope to receive....

 

[p--and--t]

I can't believe that Indonesia has no coronavirus. And such has been stated, although more politically, by Scott Morrison. My concern is that while we are away that suddenly there will be an edict that travellers from Bali must take the 14 day self quarantine and being self employed that does involve interstate travel, that would be a significant issue. My two cents is that it would only take one case to arrive into Australia for that edict to be made. Fiji is currently as safe as anywhere that hasn't really been impacted, it isn't on the worry 'radar' from the Governments perspective.

If you read the last document linked by Skip in post #1570, you will see AU and NZ are actively involved in the preparation for the south pacific nations. Sco-Mo will have far more comfort from knowing we have a window into what is going on there than the opaque blustering of Indo that they have been praying hard and therefore not a worry.

 

[Jenya]

the only time this has been a problem in the medical papers I have read was with SARS when :
1/ The sewerage risers were not built correctly and had a problem casing back-ips
2/ The ground zero carrier in the building had an unusually high production of the virus in his urine and faeces
3/ Other residents were with powerful self-installed fans were blowing in air from outside of the building through their toilets .
These all combined to cause the virus to be spread,

Interesting medical papers.
But I would rely more on my own experience on substances spread around apartment block.
When our Indian neighbors fire up their aromatic/smoky/sandal wood sticks it's immediately stinks in our bathrooms and on lift lobby.
So if anyone gets sick in the building I would physically cut off any ducted air communication going into apartment

 

[Jenya]

here is official update on COVID-19 in Korea (As of 29 Feb. 2020)
I think they doing good job testing over 80K people to date.

○ Compared to yesterday morning (09:00, 29 February, 2020), 909 additional cases are confirmed, which brings the total number of confirmed cases to 2,931 with 1,559 cases. 53,608 turned out to be negative and 29,154 are currently being tested.