To not want to go on this work trip? (Coronavirus)

[Moo7878]

I'm due to go to the USA for work in a couple of weeks.

Normally I'm quite rational about things and have been reassuring others in the office for weeks about the fact that coronavirus is just like SARS, bird flu, swine flu etc etc and the world returned to normal after that.

But I am genuinely getting nervous. I know there aren't many cases in the USA (yet!) but it's the whole thought of being at an airport and in an enclosed environment for severe hours on a plane not knowing who has been where or has got what.

I've read threads on here that with people saying their employers have stopped all non-essential business travel.

Mine hasn't! It's a fairly big, well-known company that is generally pretty good at looking after their staff. To be honest I'm surprised that they haven't done this.

Unless there is direction from the company, I'll of course go ahead with my trip as planned. However is it unreasonable to be nervous and not want to go?

Unreasonable.

Not unreasonable

Travel is a significant part of my job - I’m off to San Francisco on Sunday. I’m not worried.

We're due to go on holiday to NY in 4 weeks time. I'm getting anxious about it, not because I worry we'll get ill, but because I'm concerned we'll end up in lockdown in the UK if it spreads here and we'll have to cancel our holiday

Work has cancelled my trip to the US for this reason. I'm not happy - I reckon I'm less at risk travelling there than catching the tube to work every day!!

We've stopped trips to East Asia, but everything else is wait and see. DH is in the Middle East at the moment.

A real mix of views. Interesting.

Genuinely happy to be convinced I'm unreasonable.

I guess the thing that worries me most is the event of being quarantined away from the DC and DH

Large global company.

We've prohibated travel to:

Milan/Italy, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Macu, South Korea.

Everything else is still deemed safe.

I would be ok with travelling to the US currently.

US should be fine but the plane is a worry. I'd wear a mask and bleach wipe bloody everything.

@Rootd

Yes - the plane is what worries me much more than being over in the US.

Unless you worry the same amount about catching the flu when you travel then YABU

tbh, I'm beginning to think everything will be cancelled this year due to COVID19. EURO2020, most private travel, Hajj, Glastonbury, Olympics, Abra'een.. you watch.

My Twitter is full of how Trump removed the entire pandemic-preparedness team at CDC & is currently publicly sniping the CDC head = Nancy Messonier. Not the most prepared country. The Alt-Right have got a conspiracy theory going about how Messonier is just out to get Trump. USA has advantage of large distances between population centres & many unconnected places & homes, at least.

Are you flying business class and staying in a nice hotel though?

Flu has killed more and is worse.

FWIW if you did contract it you couldn't ask to be anywhere better. The US has waaaay more resource in terms of hcp's per capita and facilities. The US will have a far better shot at containing it and treating it than the beleaguered NHS. Running a public health initiative in the UK is like shovelling while it snows....

@Parker231, the mayor of San Francisco has just declared a state of emergency in the city because of coronavirus.

It hasn't struck in any real numbers there and the state of emergency is declared so that health infrastructure must prepare. But SF would be hit hard if it struck thanks to the numbers of homeless

I think YABU. Sorry!

I always shovel while it snows...

The US has a massive disadvantage wrt epidemics in the shape of its fragmented chain of control, its limited public health system, and the atmosphere of terror that the Trump administration has created among immigrants. Would you go to a hospital if you thought you would be separated from your family and deported? Or would you take your chances at home?

My work trip to the US (business class flights, nice hotel) got cancelled - was supposed to go today!

Wouldn't bother me. I had swine flu and I was fine (well I was horribly I'll for a few days but then fine)

It's in a couple of weeks... a lot has changed this week alone ... I think it'll probably be cancelled as pp said, SF has seen cases pop up, but I think if it were me I might be chewing the boss' ear on wether it was strictly necessary.

I wouldn’t have an issue but have you checked with your company what they expect? We were all emailed by our MD giving guidance on if we’d been near an affected zone, but also to say if we’re due to travel for work somewhere unaffected and uncomfortable doing so, then it was fine for us to not do so.

We have family abroad now and more due to fly soon, I'm slightly worried about them getting stranded. Things seem to have taken a turn today so who knows what will be going on by the time of your trip.

I flew from Chicago to DC yesterday.

How long before I start to show signs of Coronavirus?