We are supposed to set sail june 18 feom civitavecchia on the magic. Since our 3 year old still cannot get a dang vaccine, our testing for this one flipping trip includes
Rapid pcr ($300) the night before we fly to rome for DD3
Antigen testing for the rest of us before we board the 10 hour flight in coach with my cranky DD
Antigen testing for all 4 of us at the port to get on the ship
In stateroom antigen testing for DD3 the night before disembarkation (why? Who even knows?)
Emed antigen testing for the rest of us ($25 each) to get back into the US.
So #5 is gone, which is an enormous relief. Enormous. But i would really, really love to eliminate #s 1&4 and merge 2 and 3 so that we could all get antigen tests within 48 hrs of boarding (which would be before we leave the US) and have that be enough.
Iām still dying that this was announced while I was literally in the air on my way to Europe but Iām really glad that I wasnāt the only one willing to toss my tests in the trash and light $200 on fire.
Ok. As someone who has never tested, I have been thinking about this today and legit have a thought that keeps bouncing around. And Iām bringing it here respectfully.
So - if someone is truly concerned about Covid, testing should not bother you. Because in theory a positive would keep you from traveling. But it you donāt test, you still COULD be positive. You just now donāt know it.
Like. I donāt have concerns about Covid. I donāt want to test bc I donāt want an asymptotic positive to change my plans. But for people who are concerned, wouldnāt testing and keeping you from traveling with a positive make you happy?
In other words, ignorance is bliss. If you are asymptotic and have no reason to suspect you have contracted Covid recently, and you are not going to be around people you donāt want to risk infecting (if you happened to be a carrier), then I donāt see much need to test. You can save your test kits for another time. Is that how this works?
ETA: But I see you are asking about whether people can actually be happy if positive because they can change travel plans and isolate. Iām not sure the net result would be happy. Being very upset at changing plans plus mildly (?) happy to know for sure that you have it, would not add up to being a positive result. For me, thatād be very negative - depending on the significance of the travel plans that had to change.
I am saying if people are truly concerned about spreading Covid wouldnāt they want to test so they donāt accidentally spread it.
I havenāt tested ever bc Iāve never wanted to play by the lockdown rules. And Iāve been judged for it. But this COULD sound like - āwhew - even if I have it, at least it wonāt wreck my plans.ā
I think some people are worried about a false positive, which is just disruptive with no benefit. Others are worried about asymptomatic positive, which to be fair is likely less likely to spread than symptomatic.
If someone is symptomatic and likely Covid positive, they probably should not be traveling, but now that most people are vaccinated itās not as a big a deal, hence the removal of the testing requirement.
The entire dynamic has changed with the weakened variants, plus mass availability and general adoption of vaccines. So the danger of spread is dramatically lessened, and those most impacted (most deaths and severe illness) if they catch are the older unvaccinated, which now is entirely a personal choice. As such, I think all testing should be stopped. Testing made sense when not everyone could be vaccinated, and the variants were more dangerous.
This is trueā¦although, little ones are the least likely to have any severe problems as well. Regardless, this is going to change soonā¦one of the vaccines is about to be approved for use in those 6 months to 5 years old.
Thank you and @ryan1 for your polite answers. Iāve just had this āwait a minuteā nagging me today.
To be sure, I want all testing to be eliminated. Iām thrilled for every step we take toward normal. And this isnāt directed at UK liners. I should have waited til their daytime to post.
I am following travel restrictions as closely as I am because I am longing to cruise.
Yay!! I go on an Alaska cruise then I go to WDW a week later and I had this fear I would get Covid on the cruise and then fail the test for the WDW trip
Iām just trying to explain what people are thinking, not what I think necessarily. But that said, if people are concerned about their kids, they should take extra precautions. But Covid is exponentially more dangerous the older you get.
I donāt know about happy, but I would want to follow the guidelines which would mean isolating if I was positive. Iāll be bringing some rapid tests with me when we travel in about a week, and if we test positive weāll be staying some extra days. I need to contact the travel insurance company and ask them what (if anything) theyāll cover in light of the new rules. Under the previous rules, theyād cover up to 10 days of hotel/food/travel costs related to a (+) case on the originally scheduled day of departure.
When talking with folks, Iām actually pretty surprised to see how many people seem to interpret this news as āitās okay to get on a plane with an active case of Covid.ā Including a retired doctor that I know.
Thank you. Better words. And this was what I was thinking. So Thank you.
I am being wholly transparent when I say I donāt ever want to test because I donāt want to follow guidelines. I know that is very upsetting to some people, but Iām being honest. But that is why the question was rolling around in my head. Many people on the forum are more concerned than I am, but seem equally as happy with the removal.
The costs werenāt something Iād thought of. I do see that. I had thought about the stress of scheduling one more thing at already hectic travel time.
I became less concerned about catching it (or spreading it) on a plane after talking to a friend who works for an airline and he explained how the air system works. The entire volume of air in a plane is replaced every 20 minutes, and if you have the little fans blowing directly on you (with fresh air!), transmissibility becomes almost impossible. (Not just COVID, but any airborne illness.)
I am not concerned about testing positive (we all had it in Jan) but it is expensive and a huge PITA to have to waste time on your last day of vacation to take a test.
Europe has a VERY different attitude regarding Covid and kids than the US does. As a result 3 out of 4 places we tried to go in France wouldnāt test my poor 2 year old! We wasted at least 4 hours and I was so anxious that it really soured our last day in Paris.
This time I brought our own but they are bulky and it was suggested that it could take 2-4 hours. So Iām thrilled to forget all about it!
