Help! Do I cancel surprise trip?

[hoolydooly]

Sorry in advance for another coronavirus thread! Struggling with a decision and wondering if people can help me decide...

So, one week from now we are due to go on a trip to Japan, booked last September. DH and I lived there many moons ago and I booked this as a surprise - a huge surprise as we're more "camping in Cornwall" types rather than big international jetsetters! Going with 4 children in tow (youngest age 5).

Enter coronavirus. Japan has 20 cases so far. They are asking Japanese nationals they have repatriated to self-quarantine, rather than imposing quarantine as we have in the UK. Japan gets huge numbers of Chinese tourists, and has only restricted entry to those from Hubei province. According to this map (gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6) there are 5k cases elsewhere in China.

If we do go, we will be in Tokyo for a few days and will likely come into contact with a lot of travellers from China. I want to stress I am in no way being racist here (I have seen accusations of racism being bandied about on other threads). It's just a fact that there are more cases in China right now, so contact with Chinese travellers poses more of a risk.

So...now I am worried. I can't discuss with DH as he doesn't know about the trip! I really don't want to cancel. We'd get no money back, and it cost a fortune! But the thought of something happening to our children (or us) is giving me pause for thought. I suffer from health anxiety so perhaps I am worrying too much.

What do you think?

YABU = you're being silly, go and enjoy yourself
YANBU = not worth the risk - cancel your trip

If IABU, please be gentle! ;-)

Strangely enough I put a similar thread on here a week or so ago (about Hong Kong) and the responses said they absolutely wouldn’t go! This makes me feel better, as I still really want to go.

Unless the foreign office says not to go, I would go. Take precautions obviously, but I don't worry about stuff like that. But then I went to Paris a few days after the a major terrorist incident. Security was very tight.
This virus has reached quite a few countries now ( including here), so don't see Japan as a major threat.

I’d go. The coronavirus seems to largely be hitting adults with very few children infected so I wouldn’t be overly anxious about travel with them. 20 cases in a population of 127 million is almost nothing so unless things change drastically I wouldn’t be concerned enough to cancel - you're more likely to die crashing the car on the way to the airport than from picking up the coronavirus.

Just to add, American Airlines have cancelled all flights out of Hong Kong. It's not beyond the realms of possibility that the U.K. would do the same while you are out there and you'd be unable to return home as planned.

Probably worth checking your travel insurance/savings to make sure you'd be covered if this happened

The only other time I have surprised him with a trip to Japan was pre-kids in 2003....when SARS broke out. My timing is terrible!

What was his reaction then? I think that might be your answer.

jaffaeclipse Sun 02-Feb-20 15:53:50
The only other time I have surprised him with a trip to Japan was pre-kids in 2003....when SARS broke out. My timing is terrible!

What was his reaction then? I think that might be your answer.

He was pretty relaxed about it, but I insisted on flying back direct, not via HK.

To the various posters saying they would hate a surprise like that, etc, he really won't! I know him and this is not the first time he's been surprised by me fairly majorly, so that's really not an issue. Also no way he would say he was uncomfortable with going as long as I was. This is entirely my dilemma.

I would LOVE a surprise like that!

Go OP!

And as for the surprise, you know your husband way better than anyone on mumsnet - it sounds like he's v laid back and won't mind at all. I highly doubt the Coronnavirus will be the first or even tenth thing to enter his mind when he finds out you're going to Japan!

How exciting!

Thanks, everyone.
Lots of opinions to ponder on here.
Looks like around 80% of people are saying go, so I am very tempted that way...
Guess I'll have to keep an eye on the news and be cautiously optimistic.

Oh god that kind of surprise would give me the heebie jeebies. But if you’re sure he would like it .... then I would go, unless official travel advice changes between now and then.

Will he like it though? Who are these kinds of people? It makes me feel itchy just thinking about someone springing that on me. Rrrrrrrrrr .... sorry OP

He would definitely like it, don't worry! I, on the other hand, would hate it...as I've said, he is most certainly the laidback one in this relationship!

Face mask and alcohol hand gel constantly if you’re worried. Worth noting everyone who has died were either middle aged/elderly, heavy smokers or had existing health conditions.

I remember swine and bird flu, it’s all a lot of hype about nothing and it will disappear before long as if it never happened.

@Urkiddingright Thanks for your reply. Can I ask where you got that info from? I can't seem to find any figures saying whether children were infected and what percentage of the deaths were in the elderly or people with health conditions, although I have seen that general statement being made.

I wouldn't cancel or tell him early. You seem sure that he'd love it and the FCO are not advising against travel to Japan...

Plus more people have died of the flu in the US alone than coronavirus so far this year. I'm not saying to take careless risks, but it's worth keeping it in perspective.

Go! But don't fly via China/HK if you can. Take hand sanitizer and use it frequently (this helps with the inevitable touching your face). Wear a cotton scarf and wash it daily (or a mask), when passing through any airport (and on the plane, if you feel really paranoid) And watch the FO guidance. But the chances seem pretty small at the moment.

Otherwise, have a great time!

Statistics here state that:

The median age of cases detected outside of China is 45 years, ranging from 2 to 74 years. 71% of cases were male.
People of all ages can be infected by the new coronavirus. Older people, and people with pre-existing medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease) appear to be more vulnerable to becoming severely ill with the virus.

Children can catch it but evidence seems to suggest that they’re not as susceptible and not getting it as seriously. I can’t find anything online about a child dying - the youngest confirmed death I could find info on was 36 years old. If your DC have no underlying health concerns I wouldn’t personally be concerned; swine flu seemed to predominantly effect young children but this virus so far doesn’t seem to do so.

Oh yes! That’s another thing. Have you all had your flu vaccines ?

I would totally go and not give it a second thought!

@MyNewBearTotoro (Love the name!) Thanks for that page. Very useful.

Number of cases in Japan: 20
Number of people in Japan: 126,632,808

The odds are looking good.

@ElloBrian Yes, we've had flu vaccines! Not that it helps with this, but I get what you're saying, I think, that it means we are less likely to catch flu and confuse it for coronavirus?

Go!!!! Unless an official source who will know way more than a bunch of Mumsnetters who are projecting their own dislike of surprises/judgement of you spending family money/fear created by panic spread by the media onto you and the advice they are giving you. Sounds like a fabulous surprise and there is absolutely no advice not to travel.

I would go. There could be more cases in UK than Japan in a few weeks. You just dont know.

I honestly think I have a bigger chance of catching Corona virus back in Australia than in Japan. We have a huge population of Chinese immigrants and students, I’m sure more than are flying in and out of Japan at the moment.

I’m not wearing a mask in Japan and really not worried about it at all. I did get woken up by a small earthquake in Tokyo early the other morning, my hotel was noticeably swaying. That was much more scary than the virus