Reality Check -- Going to St. Kitts/Coronavirus

[DB-Wis]

We are scheduled to go to St. Kitts for a week starting March 26. We nervous about making such a trip in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, but so far at least we haven't cancelled the trip. I'm curious how others who are reservations in the coming weeks (especially at locations outside the U.S.) are feeling about their trips. We don't have insurance for the trip (a mistake I won't repeat) and so cancelling would be a significant loss.

So far as I have been able to see, no cases have been reported in St. Kitts so far. My primary concern is getting infected while there and having trouble returning home.

Just curious how others are feeling. Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[Cornell]

I am going to Switzerland week for a week starting 4/4. My fear is similar to yours -- I'm not worried about getting sick per se, but mildly concerned about getting detained / quarantined, etc.

I'm not letting any of this, however, deter me from continuing w/my trip and my vacation. I am a cost-benefit analysis kind of person. Right now, the benefits far outweigh the possible costs.

A cruise would give me pause b/c I would seriously go out of my mind trapped on a cruise ship.

 

[Pamplemousse]

We are scheduled to go to St. Kitts for a week starting March 26. We nervous about making such a trip in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, but so far at least we haven't cancelled the trip. I'm curious how others who are reservations in the coming weeks (especially at locations outside the U.S.) are feeling about their trips. We don't have insurance for the trip (a mistake I won't repeat) and so cancelling would be a significant loss.

So far as I have been able to see, no cases have been reported in St. Kitts so far. My primary concern is getting infected while there and having trouble returning home.

Just curious how others are feeling. Thanks for any thoughts.

I have a trip in late April just here in the US so I am on wait and see. The reservation is with DC points so cancelling now when we are less than than 60 days all the way to one day before will yield the same result- restricted points. Right now my airline isn’t offering a change fee deal either. Reports I have read say the air filter systems on planes are good so it’s just a matter of wiping down, washing hands and avoiding close contact as best as possible. So we will wait and see how things look in a month.

I don’t think you should feel bad about not purchasing insurance. Most policies are not cancel for any reason- and those that are are expensive. Insurance won’t help you unless you are actually sick and unable to travel or become sick on your trip. Many credit cards offer some travel insurance so you might check yours too see if would be covered for illness/ trip interruption.

 

[bazzap]

This will always be a very personal decision.
I would not have any qualms going to St Kitts. We live in the UK, currently on holiday in Spain, with trips planned to Turkey, Mallorca and Thailand.
We will only change plans if WHO and UK Government advises otherwise.
For those with underlying health conditions, I would fully understand far greater caution.

 

[samara64]

I would be more concerned about the supply limitations at the destination where we were going. I hear Costco and other major retailers are having lots of empty shelves and huge lines. Eating out would not be my first choice in such circumstance as you are not sure who did prepare the food and if they were infected and do not know.

Also ability to go to places like parks and boardwalks would be limited.

 

[andysnovel]

Now is not the time to travel, even if there is a remote chance of contracting Corona Virus, imagine for a moment coming back from your trip, with no obvious symptoms, and spreading this virus among friends, neighbors, family. I am a senior and most of the spread is caused by travel, non essential travel should be avoided both for personal safety and those around you, this thought is weighing heavily upon me.

 

[Fasttr]

Now is not the time to travel, even if there is a remote chance of contracting Corona Virus, imagine for a moment coming back from your trip, with no obvious symptoms, and spreading this virus among friends, neighbors, family. I am a senior and most of the spread is caused by travel, non essential travel should be avoided both for personal safety and those around you, this thought is weighing heavily upon me.

The opposite of this could also be true. By traveling, you might not get infected by somebody you may have came in contact with had you stayed home. The fact is, there are no assurances either way.

 

[bazzap]

At the last check, there were zero confirmed cases in St Kitts & Nevis and the islands have taken significant pro-active precautionary measures.

St. Kitts & Nevis Fighting Back Against Coronavirus COVID-19

In response to the coronavirus COVID-19 global outbreak and the subsequent international spread of the disease, St. Kitts & Nevis has strengthened

www.eturbonews.com

This compares for example with 564 confirmed cases and 22 deaths in the USA.

Coronavirus outbreak: Live Updates

Pandemic news from around the world.

www.livescience.com

One could reasonably ask where the safer place is to be?

 

[Pamplemousse]

.

 

[mav]

We are headed to London next week, and in April heading to Lisbon. Many other trips planned the rest of the year , a lot in Europe. So far not planning on canceling any of them. We rarely see our neighbors, they all work, and we are mostly gone.

 

[samara64]

What scares me the most is going through airports. Some airports have 100,000's people going through everyday and this COVID-19 spreads like crazy by simply touching an infected person with no symptoms.

Before canceling our trip, we considered driving but it was too long Seattle to SoCal with my MIL that is in her 80s.

We will drive to Seaside, OR instead for few days.

 

[ljmiii]

We are scheduled to go to St. Kitts for a week starting March 26....

I would at this point be more concerned about the airports in the US than St. Kitts. Wait and see would be my answer.

We face similar issues with our trip to LA/Disneyland/DVC scheduled for early April.

That said (and as pamplemousse said), you are within 60 days so there is no win to cancelling early. Also if you have insurance it kicks in if MVC or your airline cancels, not you.

 

[samara64]

At the last check, there were zero confirmed cases in St Kitts & Nevis and the islands have taken significant pro-active precautionary measures.

St. Kitts & Nevis Fighting Back Against Coronavirus COVID-19

In response to the coronavirus COVID-19 global outbreak and the subsequent international spread of the disease, St. Kitts & Nevis has strengthened

www.eturbonews.com

True but when you are home you do not go out and about as much and in case of emergency you know where to go.

Also you never know how many are infected but do not show symptoms yet. This virus can stay dormant for sometime as it did in the US before we found out and sometimes too late.

As I do not have any medical conditions thank God, I never worry about these type of issues but this one seems to be different. I was supposed to be In Wuhan china, which is a heavily industrialized area, on business March 14 to 21 but that was canceled long ago.

 

[burg1121]

we are going to St Thomas 3/25 i'm a fatalist if your going to get it your going to get it you can't beat the big guy up stairs.

 

[Old Hickory]

We're headed to the desert Southwest and warmer weather because we've heard that the virus doesn't like warm weather.

We're rolling the dice(s).

 

[Steve Fatula]

We are scheduled to go to St. Kitts for a week starting March 26. We nervous about making such a trip in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, but so far at least we haven't cancelled the trip. I'm curious how others who are reservations in the coming weeks (especially at locations outside the U.S.) are feeling about their trips. We don't have insurance for the trip (a mistake I won't repeat) and so cancelling would be a significant loss.

So far as I have been able to see, no cases have been reported in St. Kitts so far. My primary concern is getting infected while there and having trouble returning home.

Just curious how others are feeling. Thanks for any thoughts.

Heading to Kauai end of month, no plans to cancel or change. I did buy a can of approved disinfectant wipes just for the airport and ride there and back, just in case, but that's it. Once you get to your destination, in a timeshare, you have very little contact with others, including no daily cleaning service. You can choose how much contact you have, unlike a hotel where things are closer, more people, etc.

 

[Steve Fatula]

We're headed to the desert Southwest and warmer weather because we've heard that the virus doesn't like warm weather.

We're rolling the dice(s).

I think that is a theory currently. It may or may not turn out to be the case.

Wish someone would start a new survey here in MVCI section, asking if people are going or cancelling their trips for say March. A few choices, maybe Cancelling, monitor situation, or, going or something like that. Maybe there are other choices. It would be interesting to see how the voting goes.

 

[bbodb1]

We're headed to the desert Southwest and warmer weather because we've heard that the virus doesn't like warm weather.

We're rolling the dice(s).

This is the kind of logic we need more of!

 

[Panina]

A personal choice but if you are having doubts you shouldn’t decide to go because you will lose money. Take the loss out of the decision and then you will have your answer.

For me if I get it and need to be quarantined or go to the hospital I want to be home.

 

[sea&ski]

I like the advice which says: if you are willing to spend two weeks in isolation AWAY from home, then by all means go where ever. Just be sure to have all your home-life organized for that possibility. Which can add a lot to the pre-vacation planning.

 

[JIMinNC]

I like the advice which says: if you are willing to spend two weeks in isolation AWAY from home, then by all means go where ever. Just be sure to have all your home-life organized for that possibility. Which can add a lot to the pre-vacation planning.

That's a good way to look at it, but in my opinion, someone may also want to factor in the probability (not just the possibility) of actually being quarantined and factor that into the equation as well. Yes, it is certainly possible that you could be infected away from home and be put into the quarantine situation, but how high really is that probability? Do those odds justify cancelation? For example, in China, where this whole thing started, there have been about 80,000 cases out of 1.4 billion people, so your chances of being infected, even there, are only 0.01%. Even at the epicenter in Hubei province (population about 60 million) where there have been just under 68,000 cases identified, that only represents about 0.10% of that province's population. And those numbers are compiled over a three month or so period, not just a week-long vacation. The infections now appear to be waning in China with only 19 new cases reported yesterday. The about 10,000 cases in Italy so far only represent about 0.02% of that country's population, but cases are still growing rapidly there.

Each person has to assess what their own risk tolerance is, but to make that a valid assessment, you also need to consider a clear picture of how high the risk really is. With so much wall-to-wall news coverage focusing on the rising number of cases in the hot spots, its easy to come away with the impression that the whole world is getting sick, but when you look at the real numbers, it does sorta put it all in perspective.

 

[Steve Fatula]

I am going to Switzerland week for a week starting 4/4. My fear is similar to yours -- I'm not worried about getting sick per se, but mildly concerned about getting detained / quarantined, etc.

I'm not letting any of this, however, deter me from continuing w/my trip and my vacation. I am a cost-benefit analysis kind of person. Right now, the benefits far outweigh the possible costs.

A cruise would give me pause b/c I would seriously go out of my mind trapped on a cruise ship.

I sure agree on the cruise, I have never gone on one and have no desire to. It would drive me nuts even without being trapped.

I have been "stuck" in a foreign country once before, during 9/11. I was in Cabo San Lucas. Not the same though in any way. I didn't feel stuck since they let us stay until we could go back to the US. That part was great, nice place to get "stuck". However, the news was awful of course.

If I got stuck in Kauai end of March/April, barring for me or DW being sick reasons, I can think of worse things. But, no family back home, no job, etc. so not a big deal the way I look at it.

I'm with JimInNC on the numbers at present, subject to change of course as time goes on. And I would add one thing to that... I wonder how many of those that got sick actually took the (now) recommended precautions? I'd be interested to see if that makes much of a difference, I suspect it does. So, if your chance of being infected in China currently is .01% (assuming his numbers are correct), apply the 4% death rate over there, and, now you (currently) have .0004% chance of dying, i.e. 1 in 250,000. Realizing that the numbers change all the time and that's not totally fair per se as far as the computation. It is quite possible those numbers skyrocket over time, we'll see. The point is, to have that death rate apply to you, you first have to become sick. Possible? Yes. But currently, you have a 1 in 218,000 chance of getting struck by lightning and killed. But do I want to get the virus? Of course not.

Seems like quite a few of the worst cases are coming from people being stuck somewhere, maybe cruise ship, maybe nursing home, whatever. It may also be true that longevity of exposure is a factor.

I also agree with the wall to wall news coverage, it's no wonder we have some in panic mode, out of toilet paper, etc. Concern is definitely warranted as is prevention where possible. I was in the 8th largest US casino today, and, it was good to see they are taking some steps. I saw them wiping down elevators, doors, escalators, machines, and had put sanitizing solution out all over the place for people to use in dispensers. Probably 100 or more stations. Of course, they are protecting themselves as well.

To the OP, did you charge the flight, MF, whatever to a credit card? Many cards do have insurance. Though I doubt they will pay over cancelling out of concern.