Sensible opinions please! (Sorry another Coronavirus one)

[TravelBump]

So much scaremongering going on alongside some sensible cautionary advice. With the greatest of respect, if you are a prepper, or someone who is particularly hyper-anxious about things, please don't post. Each to their own and all that but I am looking for a broad view from the balanced and sensible majority (I will probably get flamed for suggesting preppers aren't sensible but hey).

Am I BU to think that as long as sensible precautions are taken it is okay for a pregnant women to book a holiday for mid March?? (2nd trimester) Certain sensible precautions must be:
Obviously not travelling to areas the UK gov are advising not to travel to (China, Korea, Italy etc).
Obviously:

• having good expensive insurance policy
• choosing a less crowded area to holiday in
• avoiding Corona hotspots (as well as Zika)
• adhering to NHS / Gov advice on handwashing, hand gel, not touching face and eyes etc
• avoiding sitting in close proximity to people sneezing / coughing where possible
• checking FO travel advice updates regularly
• ensuring holiday is refundable just in case advice changes

According to the advice, airplane air is less dangerous than air on a bus or tube train because it is filtered. Viruses and bacteria are filtered out and the air is mixed with fresh air every 2 mins. The main way you catch a virus is by being in close proximity to someone who is ill and droplets getting into your system through unprotected coughing, sneezing and touching of fluids.

So, sensible people, I am interested in the general consensus here. For context, I should add that this will be a long-awaited and yearned for holiday after a very difficult year or so, and due to husband's annual leave logistics it will be the last opportunity for at least the rest of this year. However, I don't want to go if it really is stupid to consider it.

AIBU?
YABU - Do not consider a holiday
YANBU - Book the holiday following sensible precautions

What happens if you go and everything is closed/running limited services because of a new suspected outbreak? You're pregnant too, I'm sure you don't need the stress of traveling during all of this.

No one has a crystal ball. There's no guarantee you wouldn't get locked down overseas and there's no guarantee you'd be able to get home easily if you found yourself amid a sudden new Italy-style outbreak. If those are risks you are happy to take then crack on.

A lot will change in a few weeks. If you are determined to go I'd leaving booking until the very last minute and make a judgement based on the situation then. You'd more than likely get a very cheap holiday because all the people you consider to be overreacting will be staying at home.

However, I have bought extra loo roll, pasta, and tins etc so I'm afraid my 'hysterical' advice is probably no good to you.

@IrmaFayLear @faracrossthepond This wasn't posted yesterday?? I'm asking because of what I wrote in my op. Not quite sure why that makes you so cross?! I'm interested in the general view.

I think the best idea is to wait and if we are going to book then do so 48 hours before. I'll keep checking the FO advice in the meantime. If we do book, then we are not looking at the US, and would ensure it's somewhere with decent healthcare should the worst happen.

Unfortunately I think there were a few hysterical responses, such as people saying they would never travel when pregnant full stop! I don't think that's a measured outlook. I am happy with our decision to wait and review in a week or so.

Sorry that should have said we *are looking at the US.

I’m 3rd trimester and just cancelled holiday

A - don’t want to risk getting stuck in quarantine somewhere
B - don’t want to risk going into labour stuck somewhere else when I will be having c section
C - as much as it’s a low chance of infection being pregnant is far riskier

I think there are a few issues with this:

-Up until a week ago, Italy was all considered safe. Because of the way the virus spreads, everything can appear fine and then lots of cases can pop up at once. We don't really know where the hotpots are until it's too late.

-There's a chance of getting caught up in quarentine, which wouldn't be ideal if you were pregnant.

-Risk of losing your money if corona virus pops up but your destination isn't put on the do not travel list on time.

Imo, your chances of catching coronavirus are quite low. The chances of having some holiday disruption are quite a bit higher (imo)

I wouldn’t go abroad but find a really nice luxurious spa hotel in the UK (assuming there are nice treatments you can have), nice long walks etc - maybe some culture. One of my friends had swine flu when we were both pregnant (mid trimester) - it was awful for her and she was in hospital for weeks. You are more at risk when you are pregnant so I personally wouldn’t risk it. Nobody thought 10 days ago Italy would have so many cases of this virus. It is currently just too hard to predict what will happen.

Hi OP I live in Singapore and as you're probably aware we've been living with this since January. Our kids are adults, so I'm guessing I'm older than you. On a day to day basis we wash our hands constantly, I use alcohol gel before and after using public transport. We're recently back from holiday in a nearby country, flight was very quiet, I used disinfectant wipes to wipe down our tray, buckle, seat arms. I also used them at our hotel and on cafe tables etc. Most people here consider the risk of contracting corona quite low but we still take precautions: OH working from home, visit a friend's house and wash your hands, wipe down a shopping trolley etc. The main risk I would say is if you get caught up in a quarantine situation could you cope with being confined in a small space, hotel room, your home etc for at least 2 weeks? My friend was supposed to travel with her 2 young kids around the same time as us. She decided against because the thought of being in lockdown with 2 kids was a risk she couldn't take. Realistically a couple of weeks ago most folk in Europe were quite blaze about this and given the spread in Italy, this demonstrates how quickly things can change. I'm not a scaremonger, I'm pretty relaxed about the whole thing (even when 2 paramedics in full hasmat on their way to collect a patient, walked past me!) but I think if I was pregnant I might holiday where I could get home fairly easily at this time. Nice spa hotel in Scotland maybe?

The reality of it is that Wuhan has a population of approx 11,000,000 and there has been 77,000 reported cases. 0.7% of their densely overpopulated city has been infected

Yes and 11 million people have been living under quarantine for more than a month, despite the vast majority of them being fine. This is what most people here have said they are worried about ' being caught up in a quarantine situation' This seems a reasonable concern to me at the moment.. Covid-19 has seriouy affected all 11M people in Wutan not just the 77.000 infected people.

I would definitely go.

The hand washing advice is something you should follow all the time, not just when there is talk of a virus. You never know where people’s hands have been!

If you go to the US, check your travel insurance with a fine toothed comb. The one I have does not cover birth / neo natal care. I think this is a normal exclusion. If you end up being quarantined and having the baby early, you could be faced with the choice of bankruptcy or a dead baby. Or even both when funds run dry.