Would you fly with COVID

[wannabetraveler]

We have a family trip planned for Saturday; transatlantic to see family. My parents haven't seen our kids in a couple of years and it was a chance to really show the kids my home country. this is a big trip with multiple stops (I think 7 different hotels in two countries over a period of 3 weeks) costing around $15K and a year in the planning. Car rental, train tickets, excursions, etc.

My son (primary aged) just tested positive for COVID. Full vaccinated of course. Mild symptoms.

I called the airline and they no longer do COVID-related change fee waivers. COVID is no longer considered a national health emergency. I'm of the opinion that we test on Friday evening and if he's negative, we go ahead and travel (masked, of course.) If he's positive and/or feeling unwell, we see if two of us can delay by 2-3 days and the rest of us go ahead as planned. My husband thinks we should postpone or cancel (until when, I don't know.) Travel insurance doesn't cover cancellation for illness (yes, major cockup on my part.)

I'll be honest, I don't really consider COVID a big deal now; we are all fully vaxxed and wear masks whenever we feel unwell. I don't think the risks of masked travel are high enough to cancel the trip.

What would you do?

Christ you shot yourself in the foot with that test didn't you 🤣

I wouldn't have tested but

I would buy a decent mask and go.

In every crowded place at the moment - so every train, bus, plane, crowded school hall - there will be someone with Covid.

No idea why you would test when the government doesn’t recommend it. But he’s a child and as they have finally admitted on that website- children and young people remain infectious for a shorter amount of time.

There will be other people with Covid on that flight. The filters are actually quite good on flights so better than any other confined space. This is the reality we are living with now.

I've had friends and family fly home from North Africa, Nepal, Egypt, carrying some really nasty diseases. Two of them diagnosed finally by the school of tropical medicine.

We're a world wide village thanks to flying and can return with anything

It might not be a big deal to YOU, but you could sit beside someone who's going to visit a family member with cancer for example and is immunocompramised, how would you feel if you knew the outcome of that and they unknowingly passed it on to the relative... its a lot of planning, I get that. But planes are a small space, don't be a dick.

Yep and you could sit on a bus, train, in a cafe as well next to someone with something nasty. It's a lottery.

For the longest time, I was really adamant that we should all still be testing etc but given that now you are probably in contact regularly in schools, shops etc and most of the time wouldn’t even realise it, now I think it’s a bit pointless not to go. There will be people on the plane who aren’t even aware they have it.

Exactly. Unless people are prepared to never leave the house then there are illnesses everywhere. Best thing we all can do is keep a strong immune system. Those who are immuno-compromised can decide what levels of risk they are prepared to take.

Many who are considered high risk don't even get the boosters.

The European average rate of re-vaccination, or receiving booster doses, was only 29% in the groups of people considered to be at highest risk, such as the elderly and immunocompromised.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-regulator-says-recent-uptake-vaccine-booster-doses-eu-is-rather-disappointing-2022-11-24/

It's true, if you've got on a plane then you have chosen to expose yourself to any illnesses the other people present may be carrying. In the current circumstances, it's likely one of those will be covid 19. Whether you have good reason why you'd like not to be exposed makes nary a shit of difference.

I'd advise anyone who's concerned to get the best quality mask they can, and protect themselves. People who know they're covid positive but choose to travel anyway are likely to be a pretty small percentage of those who could transmit an illness to others.

I would be going. Because I would never have tested.

Yes I bloody did!

You'll probably all have it and be more contagious by the time you get on the flight. It's a shame the airline won't allow you to move flights. Could you get a doctors note that covers you and says you're not fit to fly?

I wouldn't go I couldn't have they on my conscious, but equally people flying are choosing to take that risk. My mum doesn't fly at all now as she is immunicompromised

Just go. Don't bother testing again. We've all done our covid bit, now to get on with our lives.

I'd go unless I was too ill to travel but then I wouldn't have tested, as they are no longer free I don't have any tests

The guidelines for kids was 3 days anyway meaning fine on Saturday!

@bonfirebash

Wow, I have worked throughout in person, even when I've been ill (didn't test positive but everyone else at home did making me sure I must have had it (heavy cold symptoms) I do have my own office and don't need to be in the same room as anyone else.

If a few germs are going to kill you then don't sit in a metal tube with hundreds of other people for a 8 hours, because quite a few of them are going to be sick.
Chuck out the tests and the masks OP, and have a lovely holiday.

I was going to say you'd be unreasonable to go but actually today is only Tuesday and presumably he tested positive yesterday so monday - children only have to isolate for 3 days so he'd be fine to go by Saturday anyway
(I'm in ni where there still is isolation rules IF you happen to test but no one actually tests)

I inadvertently flew whilst positive with Covid, no symptoms, they came and hit me like a train the following day once home. It's a tricky one, not sure what I would have done, stay stuck abroad?

I wouldn't know if I had covid as I wouldn't test.

Two things
I worked on the clinical side of test and trace , air travel was a virtually guaranteed way of passing on covid , even with mask regulations . A mask becomes saturated with moisture and ineffective after 20 minutes. After that it becomes a sponge for disseminating virus.

I now no longer work because not so long ago I caught covid for the first time. I ended up in hospital and now have long covid . I cannot work and my life is severely curtailed . I am not immune compromised but I was a female health worker and we are over represented in long covid statistics.

I hope I caught it from someone who didn't know they had it . I really hope I didn't catch it from someone who knew but didn't bother protecting anyone else.

You'd be absolutely bonkers to miss this holiday for that. It is almost statistically guaranteed at least one other passenger will have COVID, a cold, or any other virus with no symptoms or that there is no available test for on the plane. If it was a realistic public risk, they would still make sure people tested negative at the airport. If someone is so immunocompromised they can't risk catching COVID or any other extremely common constantly in circulation virus, they shouldn't fly on a plane.

All those people saying they wouldn't travel in OP's situation, are you really - hand on heart - prepared to lose thousands of pounds? The official guidance/advice is that you can travel, so insurance doesn't come into it (if you're well enough to travel, that is). I honestly don't believe all the people who say there's no way they would travel in OP's situation and lose all that money.

OP - I totally get why you might feel bad about it, but there is nothing official to say you shouldn't or can't travel, so I think you should just go. Wear FFP2 masks ideally and don't sit your son next to someone not in your party.

As others have said, there will be loads of covid on the plane, most of it coming from people who are unmasked and unaware, and a few other viruses too most likely. Your son's viral load, 6 days after testing +ve is going to be tiny - I don't think you should worry about it.

If you could claim on insurance, that would be different, but you can't. So you shouldn't be out of pocket simply because you did a test.