Bahamas is opening up, what do you think of their new rules?

[evandbob]

With 4% of the world's population, having 25% of the COVID cases and deaths makes us in America unwanted throughout the world.

 

Even if cruising magically restarted from American ports, there would only be cruises to nowhere as most ports are unwilling to chance more infections.  Sure, even the 3rd world ports on islands have done a better job of battling the virus than we have here in the USA.

[Roger88]

24 minutes ago, evandbob said:

With 4% of the world's population, having 25% of the COVID cases and deaths makes us in America unwanted throughout the world.

 

Even if cruising magically restarted from American ports, there would only be cruises to nowhere as most ports are unwilling to chance more infections.  Sure, even the 3rd world ports on islands have done a better job of battling the virus than we have here in the USA.

That is the thing, Europe will certainly close its border for at least this year for sure and most likely next year as well. Moreover, I guess they will wait for the vaccine cause they are totally afraid of bringing the disease to their homeland from abroad. I wonder how long more it will take before the vaccine will be found.. hope it will happen this year  

[ed01106]

In July of 2020 people traveling from the USA should be treated the exact same as people traveling from Wuhan China in February 2020.  

[SelectSys]

2 hours ago, ed01106 said:

In July of 2020 people traveling from the USA should be treated the exact same as people traveling from Wuhan China in February 2020.  

 

You could do this, but is this the best approach to take?  Obviously the ability to test people has changed radically since February.  

 

The Philippines is doing something like this for passengers arriving from Dubai where arriving passengers get test upon arrival and have evidence of being clear before traveling:

https://gulfnews.com/uae/covid-19-swab-test-a-must-for-dubai-manila-passengers-1.72714186

 

Similar for arriving into Dubai:

https://gulfnews.com/uae/covid-19-negative-pcr-test-dubai-clarifies-rules-for-flight-passengers-1.72558200

 

My sense is that this type of testing will become more prevalent as time goes on and used to vet travelers.  

 

Edited July 23, 2020 by SelectSys

[ed01106]

2 hours ago, SelectSys said:

 

You could do this, but is this the best approach to take?  Obviously the ability to test people has changed radically since February.  

 

The Philippines is doing something like this for passengers arriving from Dubai where arriving passengers get test upon arrival and have evidence of being clear before traveling:

https://gulfnews.com/uae/covid-19-swab-test-a-must-for-dubai-manila-passengers-1.72714186

 

Similar for arriving into Dubai:

https://gulfnews.com/uae/covid-19-negative-pcr-test-dubai-clarifies-rules-for-flight-passengers-1.72558200

 

My sense is that this type of testing will become more prevalent as time goes on and used to vet travelers.  

 

UAE by and large has the pandemic under control.  Those would be perfectly fine for travelers from a country like Canada. But USA is the epicenter of the pandemic.  

[rkacruiser]

On 7/20/2020 at 3:23 PM, navybankerteacher said:

There are still posters on these threads who attempt to deny the existence of COVID as a real threat.  They quote selective “sources” which minimize the numbers of infections and deaths and they throw in meaningless comparisons with (grossly inflated) flu statistics.

 

It is difficult to understand these people or their motivations - perhaps it is just wishful thinking on their part;  but they need to be countered because they continue to spread misinformation - leading in part to so many not taking things seriously.

 

These people are actually prolonging the situation - unless an overwhelming proportion of the population comply with precautions, the thing will spread.

 

Quite agree with your comments.  In a way, though, isn't this kind of minority view--informed or not--an American "thing" given our history?  I think back to the Revolutionary War when there were colonists who did not support the effort to gain our independence from England.

 

I am not justifying or defending those Covid deniers.  But, given the shifting (or failing) leadership that we have nationally and on the State level, such provides "aid and comfort" for these citizens who choose "to believe what I believe" regardless of the realities of the day.  

[VMax1700]

4 hours ago, fyree39 said:

My brother has what equates to a camping Airbnb on the coast of the Beara Peninsula in Ireland. His doors are CLOSED to Americans until further notice. He's utterly dismayed at our insistence that preventing the spread of COVID by wearing a mask etc. is against our constitutional rights.

And it is unfortunate that those who insist that their constitutional rights are infringed by wearing a mask, also consider that they can ignore the requirements of the countries that they visit and that their constitutional rights override the rights of the host nations.

[SelectSys]

29 minutes ago, ed01106 said:

UAE by and large has the pandemic under control.  Those would be perfectly fine for travelers from a country like Canada. But USA is the epicenter of the pandemic.  

 

I don't see the difference.  A person who has been tested showing they don't have COVID isn't a risk regardless of their point of origin.  It's like everyone going into the White House where everybody gets tested.  You don't go in if you are tested as being positive.

 

Now people are applying the concept to travel as I showed above.  As cost of testing goes down, adding $50-100 test doesn't seem to be a big deal if someone wants to travel internationally. 

 

As background, here is a reference regarding some back and forth regarding the accuracy of the test of the machine being used at the White House:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-abbott/abbott-says-new-data-on-rapid-coronavirus-test-used-in-white-house-shows-high-accuracy-idUSKBN22X2S8

 

 

 

 

 

[SelectSys]

27 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

And it is unfortunate that those who insist that their constitutional rights are infringed by wearing a mask, also consider that they can ignore the requirements of the countries that they visit and that their constitutional rights override the rights of the host nations.

 

I totally agree 100% with this perspective!  Every nation should have the right to set their own rules for the benefits of their citizens.  Unfortunately, this concept gets lost at times by many where I live.

[ed01106]

29 minutes ago, SelectSys said:

 

I don't see the difference.  A person who has been tested showing they don't have COVID isn't a risk regardless of their point of origin.  It's like everyone going into the White House where everybody gets tested.  You don't go in if you are tested as being positive.

 

Now people are applying the concept to travel as I showed above.  As cost of testing goes down, adding $50-100 test doesn't seem to be a big deal if someone wants to travel internationally. 

 

As background, here is a reference regarding some back and forth regarding the accuracy of the test of the machine being used at the White House:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-abbott/abbott-says-new-data-on-rapid-coronavirus-test-used-in-white-house-shows-high-accuracy-idUSKBN22X2S8

 

 

 

 

 

There is a huge difference between the odds some one in Canada coming in contact with someone who has Covid 19 between the time of test and getting to destination and the likely someone coming from the USA.  

[SelectSys]

1 minute ago, ed01106 said:

There is a huge difference between the odds some one in Canada coming in contact with someone who has Covid 19 between the time of test and getting to destination and the likely someone coming from the USA.  

 

To me it depends on the time between the test and the flight.  We'll see how this plays out.  I am pretty sure things will become more nuanced with time and exceptions are made.  

[ed01106]

1 hour ago, SelectSys said:

 

To me it depends on the time between the test and the flight.  We'll see how this plays out.  I am pretty sure things will become more nuanced with time and exceptions are made.  

Here is the problem, while testing capacity is increasing community spread is increasing even faster.  Once we have the capacity to test every school student to ensure our schools are safe we can discuss wasting test kits on vacationers.

[ilikeanswers]

3 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

Quite agree with your comments.  In a way, though, isn't this kind of minority view--informed or not--an American "thing" given our history?  

 

This a better comparison:

 

Mask resistance during a pandemic isn't new – in 1918 many Americans were 'slackers'

[SelectSys]

1 hour ago, ed01106 said:

Here is the problem, while testing capacity is increasing community spread is increasing even faster.  Once we have the capacity to test every school student to ensure our schools are safe we can discuss wasting test kits on vacationers.

 

I am sure testing capacity will continue to go up.  You don't think Abbott Labs wants to crank out more test machines and kits?  My daughter works at a big biotech company with a local office in San Diego.  At her facility, it's all COVID-19 related work at this time.  The desire to make a buck and/or do good will lead to solutions.

 

Regardless of what you personally believe, test kits are already being "wasted" on vacationers.  I cited several instances above where test kits are being used in support of travel - some of which is discretionary.  My sister's husband is taking a fishing trip to Alaska soon and is required to take a test to before going.  I am sure the people in Alaska who will be making money off his visit don't think that his test is a "waste."

[navybankerteacher]

3 hours ago, ed01106 said:

Here is the problem, while testing capacity is increasing community spread is increasing even faster.  Once we have the capacity to test every school student to ensure our schools are safe we can discuss wasting test kits on vacationers.

As long as test results take more than an hour or so to show up, testing will have limited effect.  When it takes, at best, 24 to 48 hours for results to come back, all that is known is that the individual was not infected at the time the swab was taken. A lot can happen in that day or so that can remove any real comfort.

 

Until two things happen: a) we test every student every day and b) the test results are close to immediately available  - a lot of this testing talk is blather.

[SelectSys]

4 hours ago, K32682 said:

 

This is not a new trait among Americans.  Each year several are caught coming into Canada with concealed firearms in the belief their Second Amendment rights apply here too. The lucky ones have their vacations cut short and leave with a much lighter wallet.  The not so lucky have their vacations extended and are provided free room and board in lodgings you won't find reviewed on TripAdvisor.

 

 

Nor is this a trait specific to Americans.  Where I live, many thousands of people come into the US every year expecting they have many rights as well.  Large numbers of them also carry contraband as well that run afoul of US laws.  

Edited July 24, 2020 by SelectSys