We all here want to go on trip and have a good vacation. Though it is important to understand and realize how dangerous it can be at the moment of the trip. Personally I'm not going to travel abroad in the nearest future. I'm sure, there are many great places in your motherland. In my opiunion, it is better and safer to go camping than visiting new places.
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Scenarios for travel in the near future
- Thread starter joe
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aap519
100+ Posts
As long as you mentioned camping, we just took a trip stateside from Chicago, Illinois To Phoenix, Arizona in our travel trailer. My wife has a lot of relatives in Phoenix.
We stayed only at private campgrounds. From Illinois to Texas only self contained trailers were allowed at almost all campgrounds, since bathrooms and showers were closed at campgrounds. Most all had contactless check in, so you had to call ahead and make a reservation.
Campgrounds in Texas, New Mexico and southern Arizona had facilities open, but we just kept using the facilities in our trailer to stay safe.
We ran into extreme heat in Arizona 109F (42C) 111F (43C), so the air conditioner had to run 24/7. We also discovered when it's that hot in Arizona you can't take a cold shower to cool off, because the cold water is warm.
Today's daily briefing by the World Health Organisation, in which the Director-General stated twice : "...there will be no return to the old normal in the foreseeable future".
The plot thickens : Greece considering new restrictions as infected tourists enter the country.
Maybe even that is optimistic....
artnbarb
1000+ Posts
I know some would call me a Debbie Downer, but I prefer to think of myself as realistic, even if it's painful. I've said from the beginning that travel won't be safe/possible until there's treatment, testing, and a reliable vaccine that's in general use.
I've never understood people who talked about traveling in the spring of 2021. I can't see an effective vaccine being developed, tested, and put into general use in less than 12 months - and 18 is much more likely. For this reason I'm not going to allow myself to dream about travel in 2021 - I just don't think it's going to happen, or, if it is allowed, I don't think it'll be safe enough for me to consider. I'm really not paranoid, it just is what it is.
The virus itself keeps changing, and there's so much we still don't know. I'm really glad we've traveled as much as we have, and especially glad that a few years back we made a conscious decision to travel as if each year was our last opportunity to travel - to the extent our budget allowed!
I've never understood people who talked about traveling in the spring of 2021. I can't see an effective vaccine being developed, tested, and put into general use in less than 12 months - and 18 is much more likely. For this reason I'm not going to allow myself to dream about travel in 2021 - I just don't think it's going to happen, or, if it is allowed, I don't think it'll be safe enough for me to consider. I'm really not paranoid, it just is what it is.
The virus itself keeps changing, and there's so much we still don't know. I'm really glad we've traveled as much as we have, and especially glad that a few years back we made a conscious decision to travel as if each year was our last opportunity to travel - to the extent our budget allowed!
I agree with artnbarb. When this first began we were hopeful of perhaps getting to France in Sept/Oct 2021, but now we are thinking it will not be until 2022 at the earliest. Here in Australia we have managed to have more control than a lot of other countries. However, a spike in one state through complacency and lack of following guidelines has shown that we cannot relax.
We get into a panic with daily figures in double figures and then I read of US states that are smaller than Australia getting more than ten thousand a day. That is the total for Australia in the whole pandemic. So quite frankly, I am not really interested in leaving what seems to be a safer bubble and travelling overseas at the moment.
We can now travel within our own state and we are content with that.
We get into a panic with daily figures in double figures and then I read of US states that are smaller than Australia getting more than ten thousand a day. That is the total for Australia in the whole pandemic. So quite frankly, I am not really interested in leaving what seems to be a safer bubble and travelling overseas at the moment.
We can now travel within our own state and we are content with that.
CaWino
100+ Posts
Here is an article from Frommer's regarding the challenges that flight attendants face in policing face mask usage. Robert Redfield, M.D., the Director of the Center of Disease Control, recently stated that wearing a face mask is essential to fighting CV-19 and "If everyone in the country agreed to wear a mask, the infection rate would be significantly lower within weeks". Many (a significant minority) remain non-compliant with face mask requirements.
Some uniform federal regulations would be helpful to addressing these health issues. Unfortunately, the USA's federal government is in full retreat in meaningful management of the health issues, preferring to politicize the issue for their perceived self-interest.
Pharma company Moderna had some promising preliminary trials for a vaccine, with phase III trials beginning July 27, 2020. Even if ultimately successful, a vaccine solution is still many months away. I'm hopeful for a vaccine that is effective, fully tested, and universally available by Spring of 2021, possibly slightly sooner. My more realistic side tends to think 2022 before I start any bookings with required deposits, etc. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Some uniform federal regulations would be helpful to addressing these health issues. Unfortunately, the USA's federal government is in full retreat in meaningful management of the health issues, preferring to politicize the issue for their perceived self-interest.
Pharma company Moderna had some promising preliminary trials for a vaccine, with phase III trials beginning July 27, 2020. Even if ultimately successful, a vaccine solution is still many months away. I'm hopeful for a vaccine that is effective, fully tested, and universally available by Spring of 2021, possibly slightly sooner. My more realistic side tends to think 2022 before I start any bookings with required deposits, etc. Keeping my fingers crossed.
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aap519
100+ Posts
On the radio the other day there was a virologist who mentioned two pharmaceutical companies, one had great testing results for immunity with a pill and the other had great results for immunity with a nasal spray. I didn't recognize the name of either pharmaceutical company, so I have no idea what country they were in.
There's a regular column in The Guardian called "Vaccine tracker", you can get up-to-date info regarding these issues exactly. It's well written.
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Pauline
Forums Admin
All looked good for our Switzerland trip at the end of August but I read today that they are having an increase in cases and have banned more countries. The UK is still allowed in, for now. I have booked the Chunnel and hotels for driving across France but these can be cancelled. There was no deposit with our Switzerland booking. We will see what the next month brings.
Things are good in our corner of England. There never were many cases or deaths here and that is still the case.
Things are good in our corner of England. There never were many cases or deaths here and that is still the case.
More not-so-encouraging news :
Antiviral antibodies diminish almost completely within weeks after infection, according to a report in Nature, that summarized the most comprehensive research done to date on this. Which means, theoretically, that even if a vaccine can increase the amount of specific antibodies in the recipient's body, this might not prove to be effective in preventing infection for any useful amount of time.
Well, maybe just enough for that trip to Italy.....
Antiviral antibodies diminish almost completely within weeks after infection, according to a report in Nature, that summarized the most comprehensive research done to date on this. Which means, theoretically, that even if a vaccine can increase the amount of specific antibodies in the recipient's body, this might not prove to be effective in preventing infection for any useful amount of time.
Well, maybe just enough for that trip to Italy.....
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Dave123
10+ Posts
Sacré bleu !:
The Local (FR) - The five things the French find most annoying about Brits
15 July 2020 12:08 CEST+02:00
“They don’t realise their food is disgusting,” said Baptiste.
I think you'll find that it is 'unprepossessing' ...
“They have a terrible accent”, said Charlotte.
Only 'darn sarf' ...
BTW My ancestry is part-French/part-Scottish, AKA 'the Dream Team', but not trying to take everything too earnestly in difficult times. Vive la différence !
The Local (FR) - The five things the French find most annoying about Brits
15 July 2020 12:08 CEST+02:00
“They don’t realise their food is disgusting,” said Baptiste.
I think you'll find that it is 'unprepossessing' ...
“They have a terrible accent”, said Charlotte.
Only 'darn sarf' ...
BTW My ancestry is part-French/part-Scottish, AKA 'the Dream Team', but not trying to take everything too earnestly in difficult times. Vive la différence !
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Here's some encouraging news for a change (at least in comparison to what I usually post ) :
A common anti-cholesterol medication could be used to significantly lessen CoVID's attack on the lungs.
Backed by promising initial findings, there is also the advantage that this drug is already in use and in supply.
So with a bit of this and a bit of that, it might just be possible to start looking for flight tickets....
And - I've just had my first close brush with CoVID. My son-in-law got infected (positive result in test and very mild symptoms for two days), so he, my daughter and their two 5-year-old children went into isolation together. The outcome : strangely enough, my daughter and their children got negative results on their tests, which they immediately did after learning that he tested positive, and did not develop any symptoms.
My other daughter had just visited them prior to his getting a bit sick, and had then visited us - but she also tested negative. So it looks like they, and we, got off lucky.
Another trial in the "new normal" : my wife and I joined her brother and his wife for a small dinner at a pub/restaurant. I was a bit worried, but it was hard to say no to them. This is the first time this year since the virus hit, that we've eaten out in any manner. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised. Distance was kept, the waiters behaved perfectly and were well protected, and things went completely smooth. Even the food and beer were good!
It seems that it is somewhat possible to enjoy going out in the "new normal". It is still scary out there, though...
A common anti-cholesterol medication could be used to significantly lessen CoVID's attack on the lungs.
Backed by promising initial findings, there is also the advantage that this drug is already in use and in supply.
So with a bit of this and a bit of that, it might just be possible to start looking for flight tickets....
And - I've just had my first close brush with CoVID. My son-in-law got infected (positive result in test and very mild symptoms for two days), so he, my daughter and their two 5-year-old children went into isolation together. The outcome : strangely enough, my daughter and their children got negative results on their tests, which they immediately did after learning that he tested positive, and did not develop any symptoms.
My other daughter had just visited them prior to his getting a bit sick, and had then visited us - but she also tested negative. So it looks like they, and we, got off lucky.
Another trial in the "new normal" : my wife and I joined her brother and his wife for a small dinner at a pub/restaurant. I was a bit worried, but it was hard to say no to them. This is the first time this year since the virus hit, that we've eaten out in any manner. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised. Distance was kept, the waiters behaved perfectly and were well protected, and things went completely smooth. Even the food and beer were good!
It seems that it is somewhat possible to enjoy going out in the "new normal". It is still scary out there, though...
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Pauline
Forums Admin
We haven’t tried going to a restaurant yet, but normally we only eat in restaurants when we travel. But I got a haircut. And we did a walk into town and dropped into 3 food shops, which was a huge outing. I am wearing a mask in shops but it only becomes the law on Friday.
Our beach town, West Bay, is packed with tourists. Brits who normally go to Spain and other places are now all doing stay-cations (we’ve used that term here for the past few years) and many of them come to our area. We walked through West Bay the other day. No masks, but we are all outdoors, and very little social distancing. On the footpaths in the more touristy areas many people don’t step aside - like all the locals have been doing - so you get a bit close.
It makes me nervous and I think back to what @joe said months ago - do you want to travel if you have to wear masks and socially distance? We still plan on driving to Switzerland a month from now but I need to calm down about it all. We won’t be in any large cities.
There have been very few cases in our area. 4 or 5 people have died from Covid in our town in total.
Our beach town, West Bay, is packed with tourists. Brits who normally go to Spain and other places are now all doing stay-cations (we’ve used that term here for the past few years) and many of them come to our area. We walked through West Bay the other day. No masks, but we are all outdoors, and very little social distancing. On the footpaths in the more touristy areas many people don’t step aside - like all the locals have been doing - so you get a bit close.
It makes me nervous and I think back to what @joe said months ago - do you want to travel if you have to wear masks and socially distance? We still plan on driving to Switzerland a month from now but I need to calm down about it all. We won’t be in any large cities.
There have been very few cases in our area. 4 or 5 people have died from Covid in our town in total.
Pauline
Forums Admin
Some news today about cases resurging in France and Spain! They may do lockdowns again.
The Guardian - Europe warns of need for vigilance as Covid-19 cases rise sharply
Spain, France and Germany weigh up new lockdown measures after July resurgence
www.theguardian.com
The Guardian - Europe warns of need for vigilance as Covid-19 cases rise sharply
Spain, France and Germany weigh up new lockdown measures after July resurgence
Europe warns of need for vigilance as Covid-19 cases rise sharply
Spain, France and Germany weigh up new lockdown measures after July resurgence