Traveling with the coronavirus threat
 

As Villagers with a lot of residents over the age of 70, I would think twice about any overseas travel now.--Also, if you look @ travel insurance --pandemics/epidemics are not covered

IMHO--stay home--be safe

Wife and I are flying home to UK tomorrow.
We have been practising holding our breath for 8 hours! :icon_wink:

Good luck, hope you don't need it, its transmitted thru eyes,too--bring your swim masks

No surprise, I am getting a lot of email touting cheap travel deals, especially for cruises. This is going to hit all travel connected businesses for a while.

It seems this killer virus is spreading worldwide very quickly. Lets all hope here in the USA it doesn't spread nationwide. This got me very concerned.

We are scheduled to leave on a Caribbean cruise in two weeks. Think we're going to cancel. Just doesn't seem a wise thing to do at this time!

Thanks for pitching in with some useful information.

Try and find masks the drug stores on line are all sold out. Amazon has them but u cant get them until March or April. Oh and by the way they are made in China

Here is an excellent article about how to prepare for a pandemic. This article discusses second and third order events, which makes one appreciate today's world and economy.

So you think you're about to be in a pandemic? - Virology Down Under

Good post and comments thanks

We have a cruise booked soon, also to the Caribbean. But, we were told you don’t get your money back at all. Is that what you were told? Of course, I agree with you though. Our health is our priority!

Know the facts when traveling.
 

If you have travel plans. Stay with the facts, not rumors or false news reports. Go to travel.state.gov. And read travel reports and warnings. This is where the most up to date accurate information on travel and safety is located, Not the news on TV that’s just going for ratings.
Our airports are screening people when coming into the US and so are cruise lines. People are not being allowed in other countries if the show any signs of being sick as a precaution. Know the facts to stay safe.

I’d stay put if you possibly can! Hubby & I are in Hertfordshire awaiting yet another named storm this weekend! Temps very cold & everyone in a tizz due to corona!!

The CDC estimates 56,000 people die annually from the flue, but yet we do not wear masks, we do not cancel travel plans. Another words, put it in perspective. By the way we returned on Tuesday after a month in Asia.

What part of the villages do you live?

I was scheduled to be in Beijing this week; Taipei next week, for a birthday getaway. I cancelled the trip, not really due to any fears that I might catch the corona virus, which for most people has symptoms not any more severe than a common cold, but due to my fears that the US Government might prevent any flights arriving from China, and I might get stuck over there. The flu in this country is much worse than the corona virus, in both severity and death rate. This is another case of the media over blowing a situation, coupled with a toxic political environment.

stay home, stay safe.

Good article attempting to provide perspective and calming through knowledge and planning.

The more information like this should help us all to understand the reality and potential of a given situation.

Unfortunately in too many instances, some information will be distorted by and for media and political gain.

Most of us are in the age groups that are most vulnerable. We do need to common sense plan and become prevention oriented.

we're scheduled to do a river cruise in April. Called Viking, they aren't making any concessions at this time. Travel insurance won't cover this either. Looks like I'm out $$$ if I decide to cancel.

I see what you are saying..
Still, I wouldn't trust it. I'm sure that info was out there for all the people that were on that cruise, and got sick.

Fantastic Article .. Thank You!
 

Very well written and contains excellent real world advice.

Travel with coronavirus threat
 

I had scheduled a trip to China for April, 2020. The company cancelled the trip and refunded all monies. Allianz insurance also refunded the fee paid for insurance.

Panic has set in locally. Lowe's, Ace and Sparr sold out of N95 masks used in sanding applications. Sales person at Sparr told me that one guy came in and bought the last of their stock of 200 masks. Lowe's said they had a panic rush yesterday and had to post an out of stock notice on the entrance doors. The media is in a frenzy and not putting the situation in perspective vis a vis flu, MERS and similar pandemic's.

Interesting article in my old local paper about my good friends trip under this virus threat -> Life aboard a shunned ship - Urbana Daily Citizen

Our daughter and granddaughter are currently on an MSC cruise in the Caribbean. The ship they're on was turned away from Jamaica and Grand Cayman. Island officials are terrified of the coronavirus spreading there.

That's good, hope they'll do same for us. As of yesterday, they wouldn't.

We are leaving for Western Caribbean on Sunday (3/1). The cruise ships are taking precautions. What is going to happen is going to happen. Have you thought about where we live, Central Florida. We are a tourism mecca between Orlando, Tampa, Daytona and Clearwater. WE live in the middle.

Flue
 

The flu is definitely not worse. The death rate is the percent of people who die who contract the illness. All current data indicates a far higher death rate for the coronavirus. There have been far more flu cases, obviously we have no way of determining how many cases there will eventually be for this new strain. There is a flu vaccine, no such vaccine exists for coronavirus.

Thank you for trying to interject...some facts and perspective. :thumbup:

Yes, more people get and die from the flu...as of right now.

HOWEVER, the lethality of the coronovirus is 23 TIMES higher for those who get it...than the flu.

Coronavirus Lethality (click here)

Ohiobuckeye
 

Anybody that Travels over seas right now & gets sick, sorry I can't feel sorry for them. Also just traveling by commercial airlines here in the states to me doesn't sound real safe either because you don't know where the plane has been or who's been on the plane that might of had the virus. You're right CHATBRAT, stay home....be safe!

But the perspective of being stuck on a cruise ship Indefinitely because of a handful of confirmed cases is one which is really unshakable.

True, but this is usually the case when a new virus or infectious disease breaks out. It takes time to gain an understanding of what is happening and how to combat it. The best recent example I can think of is the anthrax that popped up after 9/11. The first case in each city died. After that, we knew to start flouroquinolones for each case and suspected case and no one else died.

The new Coronavirus has far too many undefined risks to be certain about anything. Authorities don’t know its length of contagiousness nor its rate of serious illness or even a valid death rate. There is no vaccine, no reliable test kit, and no approved drug for treatment. There seems to be consensus that it is most deadly for older males most of whom got very sick within a few days. Does that sound like a good risk to take for fun?

No, but still probably about 100 times less risky than driving in The Villages:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

I find it amazing that the doctors on TV are saying that only people who are sick should wear a mask. Really??? Who is listening to that advice?

Hopefully everyone. The masks you buy at the store will generally prevent a sick person from spreading the virus, but aren't very good at stopping you from getting infected. Did you think they were telling you this to try and spread more infection????

You may get on that cruise, but no guarantee when you will get off if someone gets a fever

You get a three week cruise for the price of a 7 day cruise.. Sounds like a deal.. lol