US Ending International Covid testing requirement

Walt Disney World Other
41

You’re spot on and this was something that I just didn’t want to go into when this was announced because I didn’t want to put a downer on what’s essentially good news.

I’ve been hoping the testing requirement would be removed since we booked the trip back in February. Then when it was announced, I took a beat and thought, what difference does this make? It’s actually a little worse. Now there will be more likelihood of people on the flight who are positive. That’s a nightmarish thought for me.

I really was worried about the whole false negative thing. We had planned to use home tests right before leaving for the official tests and I kept thinking, what if I think we’re all negative and they randomly tell us one of us is positive. I am very grateful that that one small stress is now eliminated, but it does open a can of worms for other worries.

At the end of the day, I’m still going to be paranoid about any of us getting covid and having to cancel. I honestly won’t believe that this trip is happening until I have my feet on Florida soil :woman_shrugging:t4::laughing:

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42

I totally get why it seems hypocritical - it kind of is.

For us, if we are symptomatic, we will test. I wouldn’t deliberately put anyone at risk.

But if we happened to be asymptomatic, I don’t think there is much risk of passing it on. We’re planning to wear masks most of the time in the airport and on the plane anyway because we don’t want to catch it on the way and have our holiday ruined. (I’m not sure if you still have to or not). We may also wear one at times at Disney. I think that anyone else who is worried about catching it will also be wearing a mask. Anyone who isn’t is presumably willing to take their chances, knowing that most people on the plane won’t have tested.

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43

I’m also going to throw out there that this was (at least in my mind) one of the less effective mitigation measures out there. I was not happy when the masks went by the wayside; this one went away, meh. You can be positive and test negative - most people test negative on rapid tests for at least a couple of days after symptom onset even when they’re positive. Planes will have Covid (+) people on there regardless of the testing requirement. And removing the (-) test requirement doesn’t change isolation guidelines, so I assumed that most knowingly (+) people would isolate.

Now that the test requirement is gone and I see how many folks are willing to get on a plane with Covid, I am viewing the measure in a slightly different light. There will be a bigger increase in the Covid (+) population on planes than I anticipated. But I’m trying to stay as positive as possible about it since there’s no use crying over spilled milk. Positive in attitude, I mean, hopefully not positive in the infected sense!

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44

The ventilation system on planes is pretty amazing, and definitely helps reduce the spread of illness enormously. I think “almost impossible” is a bit of a stretch, though. And your risk varies a lot depending upon whether you’re sitting close to someone who is (+) or not. Given the lack of masks, if you’re sitting next to a contagious person you’re likely to get Covid, especially on a long haul flight. From Your Local Epidemiologist:

I’ve noticed dangerous rhetoric around the perceived lack of transmission on planes… A scientific group reviewed 18 peer-reviewed studies or public health reports of flights published between January 24, 2020 to 21 September 21, 2020 and concluded that “transmission of SARS-CoV-2 can occur in aircrafts but is a relatively rare event.”

But, like any mitigation layer, ventilation/filtration isn’t perfect in stopping transmission. This is because of two things:

  1. You need to get to the airplane, and many spaces, like crowded boarding areas, don’t have great ventilation. Also, filtrations systems are not turned on during the boarding process…

  2. SARS-CoV-2 is spread through aerosols and droplets. Filtration is great for aerosols, which float and suspend in the air for hours. But the air actually has to get filtered first. You can inhale SARS-CoV-2 aerosols before they reach the filter. Also, filtration isn’t effective for larger droplets, which can travel up to 6 feet, but then fall to the ground due to gravity…

Because modes of transmission differ, scientific studies have shown that proximity to the index case (i.e., person originally infected before boarding) on a plane impacts risk of infection during a trip… A great modeling study was published in 2021 with a few very interesting findings, too:

  • During a 2-hour flight with no masks, the average probability of infection was 2%. But if one sat next to an index case, the probability rose to 60%.
  • During a 12-hour flight with no masks, the average probability of infection is 10% (or 1 in 10). If one sat next to an index case, the probability rose to 99%.
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45

We took the kid to the airport in early May, almost the day after federal transportation masking regulations were lifted. The kid opted for masking anyway saying, “I’ve got plans for the week after I return so I’m masking.”

Even in line for tsa screening, folks were attempting to maintain some distance but this was terminal 2 in St Louis, not the poster child for congestion. Except when boarding. Then it was like Disney - fill in all the spaces. :flushed:

Yes, @QwertySC , I too wondered as you did about the reactions to test requirements. And earlier wondered much the same when federal mask requirements were lifted, which of course affected us more than international travel restrictions.

Where we live it’s pretty much always been what covid. My sister said recently that the hospital she works for was never over whelmed, except in low revenue coming in while waiting for large numbers. This week she had to actively search to find info on current numbers. A lot of counties simply don’t report any more. The best reporting comes from wastewater testing tho that’s not done everywhere.

For anyone interested, the graphs of reporting counties still have nearly a sine wave as numbers rise and fall. The peaks tho are barely noticeable if you’re not in healthcare. There’s rarely a time when there’s not at least one person in the hospital because of covid and there was rarely a time when all the beds were occupied. In central and north central Missouri.

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46

Here is my view.

I’m 53 and overweight, but I’ve never had (symptomatic) COVID. I’ve never tested positive. At home I’m basically a hermit and rarely come close to other human beings. I’m triply vaccinated.

But I have taken three trips to WDW — in October, February and March. I wore a mask whenever I was required to do so and whenever I felt more comfortable doing so. I wore N95s.

I’d read what @ryan1 has read about the air in planes and as soon as I sat down I aimed the nozzles at my face.

I’m due to fly to Orlando in a couple of weeks and here’s where I’m sitting:

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This is what the cabin looks like:

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I’m in that solo row, with no-one opposite me. Just a low wall, actually.

So I have zero concerns about the flight.

When I’m around people I try to keep my distance and I wear a mask if I can’t. That will be my policy while I’m at WDW.

But here’s the thing about the testing. It was stressful and expensive. And I didn’t see the point of it.

You see — and maybe this makes me some kind of MAGA crazy — I no longer see what’s so special about COVID. Compared with other illnesses and other risks. Seasonal flu is a killer — but they never routinely tested you for that. I’ll be spending time on roads, on trains, in planes: that all carries some level of risk.

The risk of COVID killing me is incredibly small. And I have a sufficiently negative view of life that I don’t care if it does. I’m going to die at some point of something. While I’m waiting I’m spending as much time as possible in theme parks.

As to the risk I pose to other people — I’ll put my MAGA hat back on — you have a responsibility to mitigate your own risk, just as I do. You’re worried about me? Don’t come near me. And, if you do, wear a mask. Otherwise, shut up. You’re not my responsibility. And same goes.

Going to WDW gives a huge fillip to my mental health. Not going would send me down a spiral of doom. So, yeah. I’m going.

Oh yeah. The day before I fly, I’m sitting in a thousand-seat theatre. I deliberately chose a seat at the end of a row, so that I’m only sitting next to one person and I can get in and out quickly. And I’ll be wearing a mask.

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47

I’ve been feeling more and more like this since our infection in February.
We spent Mar 20 - Feb 22 being hermits and terrified of both getting and spreading covid meanwhile watching the rest of the world out having fun, going on holidays, meeting friends and all the rest.
I’m still bitter and angry about the fact that all we did was work and school for so long and in the end the school ended up not protecting my children properly and DS got infected there. My only solace is that I can hand on heart say without a shadow of a doubt that as a family we did not pass our infection on to anyone else. And my thanks for that…?? - DD got her school attendance penalised because I apparently kept her off too long ‘against official advice’ :face_with_symbols_over_mouth::face_with_symbols_over_mouth::face_with_symbols_over_mouth::face_with_symbols_over_mouth:
Anyway, I’m much less concerned about spreading it than I used to be because I’m basically raging with society for making me feel like I needed to lock myself up to protect myself from them and then them infecting my kid despite my over the top preventative measures.

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48

:frowning:

And I’m sorry about the bitter and angry. I really am. I have days where I’m bitter and angry my stupid home state got so stupid and I had to move my family 13 stupid hours away. (Not just Covid things.) Being bitter and angry is it’s own infection. I keep working on not spreading THAT and trying to keep it from developing into a chronic condition. :woman_facepalming::pleading_face:

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49

Yeah I’ve not really checked myself on this thread this morning :see_no_evil::see_no_evil::rofl::rofl:

I’ll do better going forward… :+1:t2::laughing:

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50

I wasn’t suggesting you were misbehaved!!! If that’s as bitter as you get, you are no threat to yourself and others!

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51

Oh I know. It’s just that I deliberately didn’t go down this path when this was announced and then this morning I’ve just went and spewed all my negative onto this thread :see_no_evil::see_no_evil::rofl::rofl:

I apologise, but also say thank you because it is a little cathartic :sweat_smile:

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52

Hahaha.

Well - I thank everyone for responding so kindly. I really had that, “Wait a minute…” moment and it wouldn’t go away. I’m glad that others notice that piece as well.

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53

I would not deliberately fly if I knew I had Covid and should be isolating. But I too already got it, and it was a PITA to get the test - when in my case, they never even looked at the results. It was also a pain to get a stupid travel letter to say you recovered, most places would not do it, or wanted to charge for it.

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54

Here’s fun.

I had a look at my COVID test details. I am just within the legal timeframe to cancel and get a refund. I e-mailed the provider.

We are now in a dispute over the interpretation of “14 days”.

My confirmation e-mail was received on 29 May. They say the count starts then (legally, they’re wrong, but we’ll gloss over that). They say 29 May is Day 1. So today (12 June) is Day 15. Therefore sucks to be me.

I say 14 days means 14, erm, days. So one day has passed on 30 May. Which means we are at 14 days today. In fact, as e-mails are time-stamped, I was just within the 14 days.

They say no dice.

So I have escalated the claim, filed a complaint with Amex and threatened to report them to Trading Standards and trash them on Trust Pilot.

We will see.

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55

Wow. I’m just not going to do mine.

56

I wasn’t going to bother. But then I thought “£30 is £30”.

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57

Especially when you go to WDW every other month.

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58

Well, quite. £30 is about five hours at Pop.

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59

Oh - I would argue that, too. I’d say you get 24x14 hours from when you booked it.

Because that some serious snack money.

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60

Because of the special nature of cruises - thousands of people together on a ship with limited medical facilities - they will be the last to drop testing requirements. And I honestly don’t see them dropping vaccine requirements even if testing is eventually dropped.

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