RubyTwins

Just wondering if anyone is there or just back and wondering how the numbers are. The transmission rates here in the US are definitely more than being reported since--well almost everyone I know in the past three weeks seems to have gotten it. And no, its not just a slight cold for many people unless lying in bed for 6 days with a fever is a slight cold (just also recovering from it and I am on day 10 and triple vaxxed and healthy).

I ask because my husband has NOT gotten it and this is really making me question whether or not he should meet me in Italy in October. I was going to go telework from Siena in September and meet him in Naples and head to Puglia in October. Now that I see how sick you can get... it would really be a shame to get Covid over there. More than a shame. I have heard from a doctor they expect their spike in Italy to be the end of October but... who can really predict with this thing anymore??

Thanks for any insight.

hetismij2

I don't think anyone has been able to predict what would happen with Covid at anytime since it left the bat.
The current trend in Italy is downwards, 26% lower than the week before it seems from a Dutch site. Johns Hopkins is the place to get your data.
Who knows what it will be in October? It may well go up again as people start moving indoors again, or a new variant arrives, or it may not.
You would need a good crystal ball at this point to predict what will happen come October.

In the Netherlands, and I assume other European countries they will start another round of vaccinations, with a modified vaccine as soon as it receives EU approval, so Mid Septemberish.

Having said that just because you have had Covid and/or are vaccinated with the current vaccines it is no guarantee you won't get it again. Even the same variant of Omicron can reinfect you after six weeks now it seems. Vaccination and previous (recent) infection reduces the severity of the illness, but people still end up in hospital with it, and in ICU though in very much reduced numbers thankfully.

Sassafrass

Italy is averaging 60,000 new cases recorded per day, as of yesterday.

raincitygirl

We were there for the month of June, in Puglia first for 17 days, then the Italian Riviera then Rome. Puglia was not overly busy with tourists and I've been there in October, it was fairly quiet.
Rome was wall to wall people. I think the covid numbers are higher now in Italy than when we were there, it's peak tourist season so makes sense.

In Puglia people were masking indoors for the most part, same in Camogli, Rome the service workers were but most tourists were not. We ate outside almost all meals.

I ended up with covid as did our friend. I started to feel a bit off on the flight home but thought it might be allergies or the cold air blasting on the plane. Tested at home-positive, husband negative. Two days later he was positive. My friend and I think we caught it while we shopped in the crowded Trident area of Rome, it was hot and although we masked indoors we did not outdoors.I think this variant is so transmissible you can catch it outside. I ended up with pneumonia as well. I had the anti virals which did nothing and I've just finished 7 days of a very strong anti biotic for the secondary infection. Been sick for 4 weeks, it's certainly not great and for me it's not "just a cold". But feel better now.

So I guess you just have to weigh the risks and have good travel insurance.

RubyTwins

Thanks Raincitygirl, I will probably go and do my teleworking and Italian classes in Siena as this last version of Omircon is the one supposed to provide some immunity.... but not sure about the second part--meeting my husband. Maybe we wait and due Puglia end of May with our kids. Arrghh. This virus is just such a PIA and not sure why people just can't help prevent new variants by wearing a mask in crowded areas or where transmission is high? Feel better. We had a super spreader event at work and almost everyone has been sick for the last 10 days. Very few escaped it.

Jean

"... this last version of Omicron is the one supposed to provide some immunity...."

Having any version of Covid will give you some immunity. How long the immunity lasts is the issue. The BA.5 variant (most prevalent in the U.S. now) seems to provide a shorter period of immunity than previous variants.

https://abc7news.com/ba5-covid-immun...g-it/12047575/

"... not sure why people just can't help prevent new variants by wearing a mask in crowded areas or where transmission is high?"

As we know, travelers/tourists are spreading it too.

hetismij2

New variants generally arise in countries with low vaccination rates, so poorer countries, and are spread by travellers/tourists. You could be the one to bring a new variant with you to Italy.
People mask when they are told to, otherwise they tend not to.
BA5 offers little immunity, and people have been reinfected with it, or another Omicron variant as soon as 6 weeks after their last infection.
There will never be zero Covid.
You do know that you are technically not allowed to telework on a tourist visa in the EU. And yes it is a tourist visa even without having to apply for one.

VANAARLE

This will never go away. You say you a are recovering from it after 10dyas of catching the virus: Yo say you are triple vaccinated. That alone says something.
I agree with the above information you are not allowed to do any work whilst in Europe, unless you have a visa. I believe Italy does not have a digital nomad visa at the moment.
My advice is, if you are anxious then do not travel. Stay safe.

Sue_xx_yy

For what it is worth, even Joe Biden (who needless to say gets top care) came down with a rebound infection as of yesterday (30 July) . His doctors say he won't be given more treatment with Paxlovid as he doesn't have any symptoms and feels well, although he will isolate and 'work from home.'

Raincity, I am so sorry to hear about your Covid pneumonia. According to a pulmonologist who works at Houston Methodist, it seems regaining strength from that pneumonia can take a long time, from several weeks to many months.

https://www.houstonmethodist.org/blo...recovery-take/

Sue_xx_yy

On the subject of masking, this CDC article contains some useful tips I'd not known about till now.

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7007e1.htm

RubyTwins

You can telework from Italy as long as you are not working more than 3 months--I checked. I am only there a few weeks. I am less worried about myself. I know exactly how I caught Covid-- it was a super spreader work event. I am normally much more careful. It is just I am not sure whether my husband should meet me there --as he has not had Covid and he definitely suffers from "man-sickness". I also went through a ridiculous amount of rapid tests to get to my negative day--wondering how easy it is to get those home tests there.

I do want to finally get down to Calabria and meet my elderly aunt and uncle before that window closes forever. So even if its just me, I should take the plunge.

Joe Biden got a Paxlovid rebound case.

raincitygirl

Raincity, I am so sorry to hear about your Covid pneumonia. According to a pulmonologist who works at Houston Methodist, it seems regaining strength from that pneumonia can take a long time, from several weeks to many months.

https://www.houstonmethodist.org/blo...recovery-take/[/QUOTE]

Thanks sue, I am feeling a lot better now but yes it sure seems to take a long time. Thanks for the article.

Christina

Biden testing positive doesn't mean he got a new case. It just means he still had it but tested negative for a while but now is testing positive or the viral load is a little higher and perhaps some recurrence of symptoms. That's what rebound cases are, they are not new re-infections, in case that isn't clear, it's the same infection he had. The rebound term is just used for those who did test negative but then positive again. I'm not impressed with the handling of Biden's case but maybe it's just the media. All they reported is that he was just getting testing with rapid tests, and I thought, seriously, the Pres of the US and they aren't bothering to do PCR tests? They are known to be more accurate and certainly they can afford it. They have rapid PCR tests now, also. I don't understand what's wrong with those folks if that's true as he could be transmitting it to a lot of people if he has contact with them. If the rapid tests are positive, it's true that is likely true, but there is a much higher rate of false negatives with those and more with the latest variant, I believe.

yestravel

PCR tests can show you being positive for weeks even months after you are no longer contagious. Giving Biden one would be meaningless. "When it comes to testing, the PCR tests are more likely to continue picking up the virus following infection.

"PCR test can stay positive for a long time," Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said in March.

"Those PCR tests are very sensitive," she added. "They keep picking up dead virus in your nose for sometimes for weeks, but you can't grow that virus in the lab. You can't spread it but it can be positive."

bvlenci

Rapid at-home Covid tests are widely available, and not very expensive. (I don't remember the exact price, but I think it was less than €5 per test.) You can get them in pharmacies or at most larger supermarkets.

RubyTwins

thank you!

Hermesblanket

My husband and I just returned from the Venice Biennial. We didn't bother with masks as we are vaccinated with Moderna. I would say that 15% of attendees to the Biennial were masked indoors.

None of the waiters at Michelin restaurant Vini di Gigio were wearing masks, nor at top restaurant La Columbina either.

We forgot to put our masks on when we got on the #5 bus to Piazzale Roma and no one said anything.

Venice was crowded and so hot we thought we were standing next to a pizza oven.

I think most Italians have left Covid behind. Now everyone has to worry about monkey pox.

What a nightmare. What a disaster.

Ciao, Mr Biddle

kleeblatt

Sorry to hear about catching Covid and pneumonia. That's a worst case scenario. Knowing what you now know, would you do the trip again?

twk

Covid is everywhere. You're just as likely to get it at home as you are traveling. Take whatever precautions you deem appropriate, but structuring your life around avoiding covid seems futile at this point.

For what it's worth, I was pretty sick a couple of weeks ago, with persistent fever as high as 104.5, so I took a home covid test that was negative, then went to the doctor hoping that they could do something that would help. They just gave me another covid test (again, negative), then told me to go home and call them back if the fever didn't go away in 3-5 days. I felt a lot worse with this fever than I did when I had a mild case of covid in 2020. Just goes to show that there are plenty of other bugs going around that can impact you just as much as covid, but they don't get the headlines.

raincitygirl

Yes, I still would do the trip again, the thing I'd do differently is mask outside in crowded areas which is where I think I caught it. I am still masking in stores, etc, have been all along but let my guard down outside in Rome. Won't make that mistake again, but the trip was fantastic. Other thing I will do differently going forward is see my Dr if I get covid again and it doesn't improve after a week because I'm obviously prone to secondary infections.