Covid-19 - status pause

[Tropic]

Would welcome DSC offer, but obviously options to optimise value will depend on impacts on QFi and other OW carriers due to ongoing or escalating international travel restrictions. Looking at EU and (hopefully) Japan/Vietnam in next 6 months, but if things aren't stabilising by end of March and countries start closing their borders, noone will be going anywhere...

 

[RSD]

I do know that a flight we have booked for a holiday to Bali next month is what will be needed for WP status to be maintained so I was thinking the same today.

I'm booked for Bali in March and at this stage I have no concerns about going - they have closed their border to Chinese etc so I'm not expecting any wild outbreak there.

 

[Pushka]

I'm booked for Bali in March and at this stage I have no concerns about going - they have closed their border to Chinese etc so I'm not expecting any wild outbreak there.

Unfortunately they didn’t close until recently and didn’t test properly. And many from Wuhan didn’t return but stayed in Bali for safety. I’m not worried about catching the virus but of doors closing for 14 days if there is a widespread outbreak that is suddenly discovered. But we will both be fine I’m sure.

 

[justinbrett]

I'm booked for Bali in March and at this stage I have no concerns about going - they have closed their border to Chinese etc so I'm not expecting any wild outbreak there.

Being a small island, Bali is probably safer than Australia.

 

[Tropic]

Bali has a population of around 4.4m with population density around 750/sq km. Health and sanitation services for locals are relatively poor and the level of infectious disease control/response capability in Bali, as in Indonesia generally (population 274 m), is very limited. Bali is a very popular destination for Chinese esp during CNY. If the corona virus gets into the local population in Bali it would be a nightmare.

 

[cqtiger]

Qantas wouldn’t give me any leeway on penalties o
when cancelling a Hong Kong flight due to the virus so I don’t like your chances

 

[juddles]

Being a small island, Bali is probably safer than Australia.

i suspect that the Coronavirus thingy bolted long before the gates were down. In many countries "zero corona virus" really means "zero testing". Once Bali actually notifies of their first cases, expect a sudden shutdown. And would you really prefer to be locked down in Bali or in Australia??

 

[amaroo]

...

Being a small island, Bali is probably safer than Australia.

Indo/Bali will be a disaster, we all hope it’s not already rampant, good chance it all ready is.

 

[Pushka]

i suspect that the Coronavirus thingy bolted long before the gates were down. In many countries "zero corona virus" really means "zero testing". Once Bali actually notifies of their first cases, expect a sudden shutdown. And would you really prefer to be locked down in Bali or in Australia??

They‘ve announced that a Wuhan resident returned home after Bali has tested positive but they are casting doubt on the timing.

 

[RSD]

They‘ve announced that a Wuhan resident returned home after Bali has tested positive but they are casting doubt on the timing.

The timing made it likely that he contracted it after returning home.

 

[juddles]

The timing made it likely that he contracted it after returning home.

My opinion on this is simple - I get the feeling that this coronavirus is not very lethal - and because of this many people who carry it do not suffer huge effects - and thus are not sick enough to get tested. I think the stats of "identifed cases" versus deaths are very misleading - I think the actual deaths are a tad higher, but the actual cases of infection are at least an order of magnitude greater than those published.

What this means for Bali is that a couple of deaths could go unnoticed so far (people die even on holidays of a myriad boring things) but I would be extremely surprised if this virus is not loose in that place...

 

[Tropic]

The poor gentleman sitting first row of Y behind me flying DPS MEL on 31 Jan coughing and spluttering vigorously into his mask for most of the flight was a little disconcerting (no temp mon at DPS or MEL airport at that stage) , but what really got me thinking was the bluebird taxi driver two days earlier telling me he just had three chinese tourists in his cab all coughing, one feverish, which he had dropped at Discovery Centre...no masks in sight. The Guardian (or Watsons cant recall) chemist inside was doing brisk trade on masks with staff selling packs from the box by the handful to crowds of chinese and malaysian tourists. Hopefully they got some too...

 

[RSD]

My opinion on this is simple - I get the feeling that this coronavirus is not very lethal - and because of this many people who carry it do not suffer huge effects - and thus are not sick enough to get tested. I think the stats of "identifed cases" versus deaths are very misleading - I think the actual deaths are a tad higher, but the actual cases of infection are at least an order of magnitude greater than those published.

What this means for Bali is that a couple of deaths could go unnoticed so far (people die even on holidays of a myriad boring things) but I would be extremely surprised if this virus is not loose in that place...

Its certainly not up there with ebola or anything like that. I've got friends working up there in the tourism industry and they haven't noticed any increase of people with any sort of symptoms of anything among either tourists or locals. There are enough Aussies living there that if the situation changes we will soon hear about it.

 

[justinbrett]

...


Indo/Bali will be a disaster, we all hope it’s not already rampant, good chance it all ready is.

The population of the island is less than Sydney with around half the amount of flights. With Indonesia also issuing a travel ban, the chances of an outbreak in Bali is less than Sydney, although if an outbreak does occur it will be more difficult to manage in Sydney.

 

[amaroo]

The population of the island is less than Sydney with around half the amount of flights. With Indonesia also issuing a travel ban, the chances of an outbreak in Bali is less than Sydney, although if an outbreak does occur it will be more difficult to manage in Sydney.

Interested to see the details / dates / etc on travel bans

Media paints a very bleak picture!

I think we all agree Indo and a few good other countries will have limited or no means to combat a serious bug.

 

[juddles]

Its certainly not up there with ebola or anything like that. I've got friends working up there in the tourism industry and they haven't noticed any increase of people with any sort of symptoms of anything among either tourists or locals. There are enough Aussies living there that if the situation changes we will soon hear about it.

RSD, just to make my overall position clear, I do not think this coronavirus is particularly harmful. Yes, some frail people die from it. But my concern as a traveller is the impact the various bans etc will have. I suspect that Bali will have this flowing in their system - and as you say from the local sources, it is pretty much business as usual. But the day that a few dozen cases get identified, I suspect the impact on their tourism industry will suddenly become very severe, due to the reactions of governments such as our own. ou can be absoultely guaranteed in the current climate that if half a dozen aussie tourists there get detected with the virus (even if they have barely a sniffle) that Australia will close down the border with Bali, which I suspect might just affect a tad your friends in their tourism game

 

[RSD]

RSD, just to make my overall position clear, I do not think this coronavirus is particularly harmful. Yes, some frail people die from it. But my concern as a traveller is the impact the various bans etc will have. I suspect that Bali will have this flowing in their system - and as you say from the local sources, it is pretty much business as usual. But the day that a few dozen cases get identified, I suspect the impact on their tourism industry will suddenly become very severe, due to the reactions of governments such as our own. ou can be absoultely guaranteed in the current climate that if half a dozen aussie tourists there get detected with the virus (even if they have barely a sniffle) that Australia will close down the border with Bali, which I suspect might just affect a tad your friends in their tourism game

I'm going to Bali in about 40 days and I only booked this week and I'm pretty comfortable with that decision.

 

[juddles]

I'm going to Bali in about 40 days and I only booked this week and I'm pretty comfortable with that decision.

And if you practice sound personal habits then you should be at very low risk of getting this bug. And hopefully by then the cases of Coronavirus internationally will not increase. I cancelled a trip to Vietnam, not due to fear of the disease, but rather due to fear of the measures being taken.

But would you still travel if in a few weeks they get a hundred or so cases there and the Aussie government looks like imposing a travel ban? I hope not. Decisions should be based on real info, not alarm. But if the info changes, so must the plans....

 

[RSD]

And if you practice sound personal habits then you should be at very low risk of getting this bug. And hopefully by then the cases of Coronavirus internationally will not increase. I cancelled a trip to Vietnam, not due to fear of the disease, but rather due to fear of the measures being taken.

But would you still travel if in a few weeks they get a hundred or so cases there and the Aussie government looks like imposing a travel ban? I hope not. Decisions should be based on real info, not alarm. But if the info changes, so must the plans....

Always a risk going to Bali that the volcano will pop its top again while you are there and nobody can go anywhere due to the ash cloud. They won't prevent Australian citizens from coming home, and I don't think that they have banned Australian airlines flying to China.

 

[juddles]

Always a risk going to Bali that the volcano will pop its top again while you are there and nobody can go anywhere due to the ash cloud. They won't prevent Australian citizens from coming home, and I don't think that they have banned Australian airlines flying to China.

True, but two specific things you do not address: the first is that the Aussie government will save you with tax-payer dollars. I agree with that ethos, but it does mean that whatever risk you take as a an individual is eventually paid for by everyone else. And I suspect that I am not alone in thinking that anyone who plans to visit SE asia at the moment for anything but essential reasons is not being very responsible.

The second thing is that although they will not prevent citizens from coming home, this may take the form of a charter flight to an exotic destination like Christmas Island I hope you will be travelling with a stock of good books (have heard the internet is not flash )