Would you go to India?

[Knobblybobbly]

A friend of mine is travelling to India this weekend, a 2 week holiday, involves touring around, mainly by train. Several different hotels. One hotel has moved all of its customers to another hotel due to a report of Coronavirus.

She takes medicine which lowers her immunity (methotrexate) but is generally in good health.

Government advice does not cover India. What would you do?

I would go, 19 officially confirmed cases last time I looked in a massive country with a huge population. I believe most of these cases were tourists who were thought to have brought it with them effectively rather than coming into contact with Coronavirus in India.

if it takes hold in India it will be as big as in China...I would think twice in case I was unknowingly taking in

My friend has just gone there! I think travelling there (airport in particular) is more of a (still low) risk than the destination. Another has come back end of last week from Tenerife. She was doing watersports from in front of the isolated hotel. She said it was business as usual on the island and no issues coming back here.

actually....India have 28 cases in total....21 of those today!!

could be the start of it for India

I figure, at present, her risk of catching it there is about the same as here. Her worry is that it could spiral out of control very quickly in a country like India, and then catching it and being stationed out there for an extended period of time in quarantine may result in her not having access to her medication.

Her travel agent has said carry on as usual. Government advice is the same. However, I think she’s pretty much decided not to go.

I am in India at the moment... return on Monday...I'm more worried about the UK and Europe...but I think here in India there could be a lot of underreporting and mis diagnosis so that's always a worry.

I personally wouldn't, especially if I was on methotrexate. To be fair though, I probably wouldn't travel to India if I was on methotrexate even without Corona doing the rounds , but I am a worrier.

I'm meant to be going in 3 weeks. It's a huge population and the numbers currently are tiny, most of them Italian tourists from an affected area. As long as the planes are flying and there's no FCO advice to the contrary, I don't think the risk is any higher there than it is here.

I’ve just come back from two weeks in S India. You always have to take reasonable precautions there such as using hand sanitizer every time you touch the money, before and after eating. Only have ice or salads if the tour manager says the hotel is safe. Your friend should have taken an extra supply of her medication with her, just in case.

I was watching an Indian news channel today and they are reporting that they are screening ALL incoming international passengers. Which is a lot more than what this country is doing.
It may also manifest itself there very difficulty because of the heat - the temperatures are starting to rise now

Yes, I would go now before it takes hold in India.

She will have to be scrupulous about hygiene when she's there anyway.

*differently, not difficulty