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

[opusman]

Why are people hoarding toilet paper? Being a fan of the zombie apocalypse genre, I am very well-versed on what people need in an actual apocalypse , and it doesn't appear to be toilet paper... food - yep, water - yep, meds - yep (they are always doing a run to a pharmac_ in these shows) - but no one is ever going after toilet paper...

People are hoarding toilet paper because people are hoarding toilet paper. Doesn't help knowing that it's not something you need to hoard if you go to the shops and can't buy any because some people panicked and hoarded it anyway.

 

[woodborer]

Hi PineappleSkip

Can you please tell me where to find the information on which countries are barring entry for people passing through Singapore.

I am flying Sydney to London via Singapore and will be having a few days in Singapore. I am worried about being denied entry into the UK.

Thanks

It's in the IATA travel centre, although you have to check for the countries individually. Or search the page for Singapore

IATA - International Travel Document News

www.iatatravelcentre.com

 

[get me outta here]

Thanks for that link. I can't see the UK or Germany on this - does that mean they have no restrictions?

It's in the IATA travel centre, although you have to check for the countries individually. Or search the page for Singapore

IATA - International Travel Document News

www.iatatravelcentre.com

 

[Nadal123]

Thanks for the information as well.

I too cannot see the UK on that page.

I inputted my itinerary into the passport, visa and health advice query function and the results returned nothing. I then inputted a my itinerary as travelling from Iran via Italy and the results came back as green lighted with no issues. Now that cannot be correct.

The best I could find is this government page

UKHSA data dashboard

Showing public health data across England

www.gov.uk

 

[PineappleSkip]

Hi PineappleSkip

Can you please tell me where to find the information on which countries are barring entry for people passing through Singapore.

I am flying Sydney to London via Singapore and will be having a few days in Singapore. I am worried about being denied entry into the UK.

Thanks

The 18 are mainly Caribbean, Middle East and South Pacific. Nowhere Europe or North America Has restricted travel from Singapore.

easiest way to be sure as possible is to plug your travel into their Timatic database. The one airlines use.

cheers skip

 

[jase05]

I just saw that QF1 was cancelled today after it was found that a passenger who arrived on the aircraft on Feb 28th has the virus.

 

[Pushka]

I just saw that QF1 was cancelled today after it was found that a passenger who arrived on the aircraft on Feb 28th has the virus.

The lack of transparency as to the movements of positive travellers is very disconcerting. In this case not Qantas issue but the Health regulators.

 

[jase05]

The lack of transparency as to the movements of positive travellers is very disconcerting. In this case not Qantas issue but the Health regulators.

I agree. Qantas just the innocent party in this but will be the ones hurt financially.

 

[Melburnian1]

I agree. Qantas just the innocent party in this but will be the ones hurt financially.

As will some passengers who miss out on hotels and incur an excess from their insurer, those with urgent meetings to strike deals.

Some of this might perhaps be because those diagnosed are not immediately forthcoming with their full travel details and can't quickly be datamatched with say Border Force because the passenger's passport is in a different name (marriage etc.)?

Post automatically merged: Mar 4, 2020

I just saw that QF1 was cancelled today after it was found that a passenger who arrived on the aircraft on Feb 28th has the virus.

As discussed in the QF cancellations/delays thread, I think it's either A388 VH-OQK or VH_OQF. Both have been refurbished (irrelevant but so you know there's one of those not operating tonight.) If you know which one please post to that thread, as these two were supposedly in Sydney when I checked an hour ago.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

The lack of transparency as to the movements of positive travellers is very disconcerting. In this case not Qantas issue but the Health regulators.

If we assume that the health authorities only discovered the passenger was positive post-flight, what exactly do you expect the health authorities to actually do?

I mean there are a lot of crazies in this world and so you have to be extremely careful not out the positive person as you will put them and their family at risk from the mob.

As you already have seen with Toilet Paper, fear is a powerful motivator and if you paint targets someone will aim at them.



The below would allow those at most risk (ie those seated near the passenger) to decide to go and get checked.

Fifteenth COVID-19 case confirmed in NSW
03 March 2020
NSW Health today confirmed six new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of positive cases to 15 in the state since the outbreak began.
The first new case, the 10th person diagnosed, a man in his 30s, arrived in Sydney from Iran on Sunday 1 March on a flight from Singapore, and transited through Malaysia.
Due to the fact he was unwell during his journey, NSW Health is alerting passengers who were on one of the following flights to monitor for symptoms, and contact their GP or call healthdirect on 1800 022 222 should they become unwell.
Jetstar Asia 3K686 on 29 February, which Qantas offers as codeshare flight number QF5186 departed Kuala Lumpur 29 February 2020, and arrived in Singapore later that same day.
The man then flew to Australia on Qantas Flight QF82 Row 32 which departed Singapore 8.30pm on 29 February and arrived Sydney 1 March 2020 at 7.35am.
The man presented to his GP on 1 March and was referred for testing. He is isolated in Westmead Hospital.
An 11th person, a man in his 50s, has tested positive to COVID-19 having recently returned from Singapore on 28 February 2020 on Qantas Flight QF02 seated in Row 5. The man was symptomatic on the flight and has also been admitted to hospital for isolation at Westmead.
A 12th person, a female in her 60s, arrived in Sydney from South Korea on 27 February on flight Korean Air KE121. She became symptomatic on 28 February and was diagnosed on 3 March. She is currently in isolation at Westmead Hospital.
A 13th person, a female in her 60s, returned to Sydney from Japan on 21 February and was diagnosed on 3 March. The patient is currently under home isolation.
The 14th is a male in his 30s who returned from Iran and arrived in Sydney on 1 March on flight Malindo Air OD171 from Kuala Lumpur. Because he may have been infectious on this flight while seated in ROW 15, passengers seated around him will be contacted by NSW Health. He is currently in Westmead in isolation.
The latest case, is a woman in her 50s, who has not travelled outside of Australia recently and is believed to have acquired the illness locally.

 

[dajop]

Fear is the greatest fear of all.
Just to put this in perspective the Chinese deaths for 2019 was just under 10 million.This means on average 27,000 deaths per day.

And to put that into context there have been 112 reported deaths in China, outside of Hubei province and 2,834 in Hubei province.

Even if the figures are out by a factor of 5, that's still low in a population of 1.4 billion. By comparison, WHO estimates about 250,000 road accident deaths in China annually, That's over 20,000 per month.

 

[Pushka]

If we assume that the health authorities only discovered the passenger was positive post-flight, what exactly do you expect the health authorities to actually do?

I mean there are a lot of crazies in this world and so you have to be extremely careful not out the positive person as you will put them and their family at risk from the mob.

As you already have seen with Toilet Paper, fear is a powerful motivator and if you paint targets someone will aim at them.

In SA we had the issue where it took the authorities several days to disclose that one original positive cases, once they were in hospital, they had attended an auction and had been somewhere else - can't remember what that was. By the time they notified the real estate company, 11 days since the positive test in hospital had passed and even though that auction house then closed up, they were only closed for 4 days because the bulk of the waiting period had already gone. So it is about timely release of info.

It isn't about naming and shaming the positive people. It is all about timely communication of important information once known. And that can be accomplished very easily with no identifying information being released.

 

[Must...Fly!]

And if there were no precautions or restrictions the number of dead outside Hubei would sharply rise as medical services become overwhelmed. Not suggesting an ebola like fatality rate at all but just because it doesn't seem bad now, doesn't mean it can't be.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

In SA we had the issue where it took the authorities several days to disclose that one original positive cases, once they were in hospital, they had attended an auction and had been somewhere else - can't remember what that was. By the time they notified the real estate company, 11 days since the positive test in hospital had passed and even though that auction house then closed up, they were only closed for 4 days because the bulk of the waiting period had already gone. So it is about timely release of info.

It isn't about naming and shaming the positive people. It is all about timely communication of important information once known. And that can be accomplished very easily with no identifying information being released.

And that has been done with those positive people who have been shown to have flown in.

ie
Fifteenth COVID-19 case confirmed in NSW
03 March 2020
NSW Health today confirmed six new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of positive cases to 15 in the state since the outbreak began.
The first new case, the 10th person diagnosed, a man in his 30s, arrived in Sydney from Iran on Sunday 1 March on a flight from Singapore, and transited through Malaysia.
Due to the fact he was unwell during his journey, NSW Health is alerting passengers who were on one of the following flights to monitor for symptoms, and contact their GP or call healthdirect on 1800 022 222 should they become unwell.
Jetstar Asia 3K686 on 29 February, which Qantas offers as codeshare flight number QF5186 departed Kuala Lumpur 29 February 2020, and arrived in Singapore later that same day.
The man then flew to Australia on Qantas Flight QF82 Row 32 which departed Singapore 8.30pm on 29 February and arrived Sydney 1 March 2020 at 7.35am.
The man presented to his GP on 1 March and was referred for testing. He is isolated in Westmead Hospital.
An 11th person, a man in his 50s, has tested positive to COVID-19 having recently returned from Singapore on 28 February 2020 on Qantas Flight QF02 seated in Row 5. The man was symptomatic on the flight and has also been admitted to hospital for isolation at Westmead.
A 12th person, a female in her 60s, arrived in Sydney from South Korea on 27 February on flight Korean Air KE121. She became symptomatic on 28 February and was diagnosed on 3 March. She is currently in isolation at Westmead Hospital.
A 13th person, a female in her 60s, returned to Sydney from Japan on 21 February and was diagnosed on 3 March. The patient is currently under home isolation.
The 14th is a male in his 30s who returned from Iran and arrived in Sydney on 1 March on flight Malindo Air OD171 from Kuala Lumpur. Because he may have been infectious on this flight while seated in ROW 15, passengers seated around him will be contacted by NSW Health. He is currently in Westmead in isolation.
The latest case, is a woman in her 50s, who has not travelled outside of Australia recently and is believed to have acquired the illness locally.

 

[Pushka]

And that has been done with those positive people who have been shown to have flown in.

Not with the example I just made. They flew in from Wuhan. There was no release of their travel itinerary until several days had passed.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Not with the example I just made. They flew in from Wuhan. There was no release of their travel itinerary until several days had passed.

So talking today, which I what I thought we talking about. What are you current issues with information?

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Not with the example I just made. They flew in from Wuhan. There was no release of their travel itinerary until several days had passed.

ok. Not being from SA I was not familiar with the case. But looking at the media reports they are dated Feb 5/6. Sp they must have flown in on a date prior to that. So your case would appear to about a couple from very early on from authorities taking action on Covid19.

The authorities have obviously ramped things up since back then.

Though I do also note it says:
A Chinese couple who had the disease have since recovered. The Advertiser understands they came from Hubei province and had medical qualifications but Dr Spurrier declined to discuss their background.

She confirmed SAPOL had managed to track their movements in Adelaide by using their mobile phones and several individuals had been contacted for health checks, however there was no need for a public alert.

So when and how exactly were the Chinese couple identified as being positive? How long after the flight? Did they self-report etc? Was there anything to suggest that the passengers near them on the flight were not checked?

 

[Pushka]

ok. Not being from SA I was not familiar with the case. But looking at the media reports they are dated Feb 5/6. Sp they must have flown in on a date prior to that. So your case would appear to about a couple from very early on from authorities taking action on Covid19.

The authorities have obviously ramped things up since back then.

Yes, I think they arrived around the 22nd. Like the Princess Diamond I hope everyone is on a steep learning curve.
Interestingly today there was news about an SA mother who arrived with her baby on Sunday but again no flight details released. Yet the Health authorities have asked for people on her flight to contact them. Just curious as to how people know they should do that? Maybe it's just sloppy reporting.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Yes, I think they arrived around the 22nd.

So 22nd Jan they arrived. When were they identified as being positive? I assume after?

The WHO Situation Report at that time was https://www.who.int/docs/default-so...0122-sitrep-2-2019-ncov.pdf?sfvrsn=4d5bcbca_2

Given the above report why would you expect the SA Health Authority to have been making public announcements on it immediately?

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Yes, I think they arrived around the 22nd. Like the Princess Diamond I hope everyone is on a steep learning curve.
Interestingly today there was news about an SA mother who arrived with her baby on Sunday but again no flight details released. Yet the Health authorities have asked for people on her flight to contact them. Just curious as to how people know they should do that? Maybe it's just sloppy reporting.

You mean this one?
The 40-year-old woman who travelled to Australia from Iran via Kuala Lumpur on Malaysia Airlines flight MH139, arriving in Adelaide on March 1, tested positive this morning.