Good point ! I may end up spending a lot of time in my back garden and be a whole lot richer by the end of the year :)

Kleeblat writes:
The virus isn't deadly to the healthy but it's highly contagious and can be deadly to those with pre-existing conditions.

It can also be deadly to healthy people - think about the case of the doctor who first alerted people to the virus (and was punished by the Chinese govt.). There have been quite a few healthcare professionals who have contracted the virus, and several have died.

Sorry to be a bit late getting back on this. I booked through USAA, whatever company they put through to me. I booked only medical plus evacuation.

We leave April 8th for Sicily and this is disappointing (and yup, there is a case in Sicily now too). It is a big financial loss to just cancel. I am not super worried about the virus for healthy people...I know personally, it is here in NYC already (where i live). We are in a position to just sit and wait it out. Will the warmer weather reduce the outbreak for the season? Will it get worse and then will maybe our airline let us postpone? A lot of unknowns which is stressful.

We already have it in North America and I know for a fact that it is here in NYC. But the kids who came back from studying in Shanghai all tested positive, were quarantined and never got sick. Not sure how much worse this is than the flu? Would I cancel a trip because of a flu outbreak?

Just curious....if you changed your flight, do you have to reschedule to hard dates? Thanks in advance!

And for those living in NYC....I was just saying how I could not believe the virus had not hit anyone yet there. We moved from there 2 years ago. Seems impossible that no one had tested positive yet. Keep us posted please!

Just for a bit of a different perspective: I live in an area where a very large proportion of the population travels routinely for both work and pleasure. I must admit that I am reasonably confident that the virus is already here -- we just don't have diagnosed cases yet. (Or at least, I'm not aware of any.) If it isn't here yet, it WILL be here soon -- or so I believe.

So for me, the question isn't about whether traveling will change my risk of exposure -- the question I ask is about the risk of quarantine. If necessary, I would prefer to be quarantined in my own home than elsewhere. BUT we still know very little about this virus, and so I'm not willing to make a decision TODAY about a trip I might take in a month or two. (And yes, I have plans for a trip starting 2 May.) JMO.

It really seems a very personal choice to me.

" Sending my thoughts and prayers to the people of Italy. Just wasn’t meant to be at this time. Stay safe whatever your plans maybe."

You made the best choice---especially since your trip involved lots of train travel.
Also, you have a good way of looking at it--"it wasn't meant to be at this time." Your words to those affected, in the midst of your own concerns, are especially thoughtful. When you do get to Italy, i'll bet it will be a fantastic trip!

" I’m personally less worried about catching it than passing it on to those whose bodies aren’t healthy enough to fight the virus successfully"

Kleebat, thank you! Good to read compassionate thoughts like yours, in the midst of the horrifying reaction of some (not on this thread, but in the news): NIMBY worries in Southern California; people pelting an evacuees' bus with rocks, and setting fires, in Ukraine. Many of us are anxious but please, let's keep perspective too! We're not sick, we're not terrified we could get sicker, we're not feeling like outcasts, we're not being held on a ship or hotel for weeks.

well said, calinurse. There have been some horrible cases in the UK as well with a young woman in Birmingham being badly assaulted because she stood up for her friend who is of chinese origin, as well as lots of name calling and bullying of people who look "chinese". So nasty and ridiculous.

Personally I find myself relieved for the first time ever that I have no foreign travel planned until June.

Well shit. Ten new cases of the virus detected in Spain over the past 36 hours. And me with tickets to Spain in less than two weeks. Not sure what to do.

https://english.elpais.com/society/2...ronavirus.html

The thing is that no one can predict what anywhere will be like in two weeks or even in two days. It's a tough call.

We were just talking about this this morning. We recently got back from a trip and were questioned multiple times at each airport on our way home. My husband ended up very sick coming home, so we were a bit worried. He is booked for another trip in early April and we are debating about whether or not he will go. He talked to his coworkers in Germany this morning and they said there are 2 cases in their area, one that came from Italy. So we will sit and wait and see what the next few weeks bring. Much easier to cancel than to be stuck somewhere indefinitely.

We leave for Germany in a little less than four weeks. What was the airport experience like? Did they take your temperature or just ask you questions?

I flew internal to the UK at the weekend and nothing noticeable happening at the moment. One man sneezed at the gate and everyone moved to the other side of the room....... :-)

I am going to Italy, close to where the main outbreaks are, in early June. I did get insurance for cancellation and health, but hopefully things will have settled down by then, and I will be able to go. It will be disappointing to cancel, but if I must, I must. DD and family are trying to self isolate as much as possible, even though it is about 40 miles from their town. GS has a heart condition, so he really doesn't need to get sick in any shape or form.

What I am wondering; these people in quarantine in Tenerife and other places; I assume they no longer pay for their hotel. I wouldn't if they made me stay there for 2 weeks extra. Staff still has to work, though, guests need to eat. New guests cannot check-in. Who pays for all this?

It seems to me that if they are required to not leave they might have a choice, pay for the hotel & later transportation costs or throw themselves on the mercy of the agency making the order. It would certainly not do to have tourists sleeping on park benches so I'd suppose the government would have to have an emergency alternative if they can't stay, for whatever reason, at a place of their choice on their own dime. On the other hand, though we usually get out unscathed, travel could be considered a risky activity with costs for "mishaps" if the experience goes south (pear-shaped).