Change of plans? (coronavirus)

[RojBlake]

That is an excellent mantra, Colo. I'm starting to worry that our short trip to Bath in a few weeks is going to be affected in some way, but no one knows what sort of situation we'll have in the UK by then. AT the moment, I'm very glad that we don't have any more trips lined up, because if we were booked to go to Italy or somewhere similar, I'd be very worried.

Not about the virus, though, but about possible quarantines, places being closed and travel bans enforced. It's not a good time for travel at the moment - and I never thought I'd be saying that.

 

[Colo]

RojBlake,

Keep positive - think of this way... little to no lines at what you are suppose to see, easy dinner reservations, and everybody could use 14 days at home to catch up. All said tongue and cheek, but trying to keep positive.

 

[Christian]

I'm slightly pissed off, right now. I won this wonderful prize from "Summerin Italy" during the last SlowEurope contest, so we planned a 2020 trip to Italy that will (or should) take us to Naples, Florence and Venice. So far, we have not changed our plans, but we are really worried. We don't leave for another three months and a lot can happen till then. Hopefully, we can go. Life is short!

Frankly, I think the Press is making things WAY worse than they probably are...and it's tiring. I really hope things get better soon and we can resume living our lives. As far as our trip is concerned, I can cancel most of it with no, or little penalty. That's fine, but it also means NOT going to Italy!!!!

We'll wait another month or two before deciding. I have my fingers crossed. I really want to add another trip report to this wonderful forum I have been a member of for over a decade!

I also want to stuff my face with gelato every day for couple weeks!

 

[Andrew]

Our situation is that we're scheduled to go in April-May, flying into Rome and returning from Croatia, where we'll have our Slow Europe prize stay. We're on awards in both directions, booked separately on different airline alliances. With that, we could postpone without much of a loss, or see about rebooking the Iberia outbound to skip Italy and go straight to Croatia. The problem is that my stepson and his wife are booked at the same time for their first trip to Europe, and we're to welcome them to our house in Umbria. They're booked San Francisco-Rome on Norwegian, which today announced cuts for that time of flights to Rome from some U.S. cities, but not SFO. If the flight operates, the airline has announced no breaks: they take the flight or they're out the money. And then there's speculation that this could mean the end of Norwegian is imminent.

 

[Tim W]

Frankly, I think the Press is making things WAY worse than they probably are...and it's tiring

It is a very difficult line to tread between the press fear mongering "We're all doomed" and social media complacency "Far more people die every year from Flu" because there is so much we still don't know.
The UK Government's "worst case scenario" figures make quite alarming reading.

This morning I had to make the decision to cancel next week's trip to Emilia Romagna. In three weeks reported cases in Italy have risen from 6 to 3000. If the trend continues there is likely to be tens of thousands infected by the time we are due to return home. Because I work in a hospital, I would be expected to have to self quarantine - possibly for 14 days after I return.

Oh Well, Italy will still be there when this is over.

 

[NoSpin]

Tim, sorry you had to cancel, well really postpone, your trip. Considering your work position/situation that is certainly wise.

Don't forget to keep us (me) informed on South Africa. Right now there is only 1 reported case, but I am a little leary of that considering your comment that they may not be looking for it.

 

[Tim W]

Don't forget to keep us (me) informed on South Africa. Right now there is only 1 reported case, but I am a little leary of that considering your comment that they may not be looking for it.

Certainly our family in various parts of RSA have started to realise it might be an issue , and are concentrating on the important stuff like "Should we panic buy toilet paper".
I'll let you know when I find out what is happening with regard testing and numbers.

 

[Pauline]

I’m sorry you had to cancel your trip @Tim W but I think it was a good choice. We didn’t cancel our trip (we are in Israel) because there are not many cases here but it is strange to be travelling right now.

 

[Colo]

Tim,

I know that is tough decision to make, but you are correct - Italy will still be there when this virus is gone.

I found this website concerning travel to Tuscany. COVID-19 Tuscany which I am hoping more accurately describes the current situation. Social Media and the press have locked onto this story. My wife to works in a lab in hospital, but retires April 10th, and we are suppose to leave on the 15th. This is her retirement trip.

The tough part of the trip is the wild card when it comes to the return.... quarantine or no quarantine?

 

[Ian Sutton]

For those prepared to take the risk, a once in a lifetime opportunity to avoid the crowds?

Coronavirus: Tourist hotspots deserted as virus spreads

A gallery of tourist sites throughout the world affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

www.bbc.co.uk

I'm glad we'd not booked anything, but do feel for those that have. It will be a tough decision. Had I got a job I applied for, I might have been working in Milano at this very moment!

 

[Jan55612]

We are in Barcelona during the final days of eight weeks. So far, life as normal in Barcelona. No one seems overly concerned. No panic buying of TP and hand sanitizer like is being reported in US cities. I bought some sanitizing cleaning wipes in a peel pack at the grocery so I can wipe down the airline seats, tray tables, etc. But, all it would take is someone seated nearby who is contagious. Here's hoping we get home without having to isolate!

 

[marshajc]

We just returned home from a cruise (sorry, Pauline) to the Panama Canal - a much needed escape from a heavy winter in Boulder. We stayed 2 days in miami to visit family and then changed our plane reservations to return a day early as we were getting uncomfortable with the increasing risk. United only required a letter from out doc confirming that returning home early was advised in order to refund the $200 per person change fee. United is now offering free changes, cancellations for 12 months for any tickets booked between now and March 31.

 

[marshajc]

I also want to mention this for those of you planning trips to Italy. Our friends had a family trip booked to Rome in June. They called their friend in Bologna who told them to cancel. He said things are crazy in Italy, changing daily, and even if they came, they might not be able to leave. We aslo have a good friend in Milan who has been in the hospital with pneumonia since Feb. 8 - not the virus. She confirmed that the medical system is very crowded and would not advise anyone to come to Italy at this time. Sylvia Poggioli was interviewed from Rome on NPR Friday. She described empty streets, parents frantically trying to find day care for their children because all schools, including the university, are closed indefinitely. Ironically, she said, visiting the monuments was peaceful (the first time she'd been able to actually see the Trevi Fountain as no tourists were there) and no events are happening in Rome. I'm the eternal optimist, but I wouldn't be traveling to Italy.

 

[susan]

I just read that Italy plans to lock down the entire region of Lombardia at least until April 3 as well as 11 neighboring provinces - Modena, Parma, Piacenza, Reggio Emilia and Rimini in the region of Emilia-Romagna / Venice, Padova and Treviso in the region of Veneto / Asti and Alessandria in Piemonte / and the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the central region of Le Marche. My heart breaks for the people of Italy.

I am also so sorry that so many have had travel disruptions or have needed to cancel due to the Coronavirus. It's such a horrible situation on so many levels.

 

[Tina]

I live in Lombardy. The problem is that there aren't enough places in intensive care for those that need them. Coronavirus isn't just an ordinary flu, of the 6387 currently infected 650 are in intensive care. There are 15 million people in the current 'orange/red' zone so the risk to any one individual is low, but the collective strain on the health system is tremendous. Too many people just haven't understood that they need to avoid meeting people and quite simply stay at home to avoid too many people getting infected at the same time.
From a travel point of view as a host I have been trying to get my guests full refunds given the circumstances. This was easy and automatic with Airbnb who had already set up instructions and a full refund for all guests affected. To get a full refund (i.e. not only what I would have received but also the service charges) for guests who had booked for the end of March through Tripadvisor required two lengthy battles with their call centre, something I could have done without considering all the other issues there are to deal with at the moment......

 

[Ian Sutton]

Thanks for that insight Tina. The numbers in intensive care vs. infected is pretty shocking. The risk of not being able to provide that specialist care (in numbers) is pretty clear.

I hope the new measures help.

 

[Andrew]

My stepson and his wife are

booked San Francisco-Rome on Norwegian, which today announced cuts for that time of flights to Rome from some U.S. cities, but not SFO. If the flight operates, the airline has announced no breaks: they take the flight or they're out the money. And then there's speculation that this could mean the end of Norwegian is imminent.

Today Norwegian has posted that people booked with them to Italy up to March 19 can reschedule for a date up to May 18. We'll see what the situation will be as our dates get closer. And then planning to go to Croatia after Italy, when the general advice would be that we should be self-isolating during that time...

 

[Pauline]

I just read that all of Italy is locked down now. It was posted by News of Italy on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1237116190776004610

View: https://twitter.com/newsfromitaly/status/1237116190776004610?s=21

 

[Pauline]

I’ve been posting about the Israel situation in the Other Countries Trip Reports forum. It was announced today that no visitors from any countries are allowed into Israel and Israelis who return from anywhere abroad must self quarantine for 2 weeks. It is not retroactive so we do not have to quarantine or leave (we arrived in israel a week ago) but if it continues past 2 weeks our flight home may be cancelled I think.

 

[lisaonthecape]

Our next trip is six months away, so we're not planning any changes or cancellations. We've heard from several friends in Italy, all of whom have tourist-related businesses, and it's heartbreaking to hear about the impact of the virus on their businesses.