I can't help but wonder if the rapid spread of BA.5 results not only from the inherent makeup of the virus, but is exacerbated by the failure of most people to wear masks.
I was on two plane flights last week. Maybe 20% of people in the plane and the airport were wearing masks and hardly anyone seemed to bother with social distancing. I figure the chances of getting COVID while wearing a mask are doubled if no one else is wearing one. Kind of pisses me off. (So far I'm OK.)
Really glad to hear you are ok so far.
We have the most contagious variant so far of the pandemic, while also dealing with the least amount of masking. Conventions and conferences are taking place with no precautions and it is summer so the whole world wishes to travel, thus planes are crowded.
I guarantee you there are people on those planes who know or think they know they have covid and some of those maskless. There were repeated individuals hacking away without a mask at the airport.
My suggestion? If you Wish to vacation with family right now, use whatever means possible to travel by car. A car will allow you an option to leave if you need too. You have control if things go south with a car. You don’t want to be stuck somewhere far away without a way home.
Also make sure your travel reservations for hotels and transportation are refundable or will give you credit for future use. It will give you options and peace of mind.
If possible, travel somewhere that has a mini kitchen so you can have meal options.
Eat hotel provided breakfasts in your room or outside. Always.
Museums might be ok if you go early, keep distance from others , keep a mask on and hopefully the buildings are large.
Should you mask outside? Depends. Are you right on top of people in a crowded area?
Just thoughts to consider.
If you must travel for work, what is their action plan if you get covid? If they are hosting the conference, what are their safety protocols?
Is telemedicine an option?
My dad who just came back from the UK and my brother in law who wears a mask everywhere, both have tested positive for covid today.
I am telling you, if you are not extra vigilant, you will get it! It is wildfire.
Yikes. So, if I put on a great tight N-99 mask when I go on a plane trip in a few weeks, do not remove it for any reason. Not for a drink, or a bite. I think I can do that for the four to five hours it will take from the moment I enter the airport to emerge into the open air. I will take a taxi once I get there but I will keep the mask on and open the car windows. So can this virus penetrate that mask? It is very tight-fitting, molds to my face.
I confess that I believe people who get it have let down their guard in various situations. On a transatlantic flight, did your parents keep their masks on the entire time? Did they eat anything? You can't keep your mask on if you eat. What are their masks like?
So sorry you got Covid! I, too, have been extremely careful and have not been infected in over 2.5 years. Family emergency required a trip down to Florida for a month in June where virtually NO one wears a mask! I am from NYC and the majority DO mask here. Bottom line: After having 2 vaccines and 2 boosters, I took off my mask for about one hour in the Florida airport to eat lunch, masked up again in the airline and 2 days later became sick as a dog with what I assume is Variant B.5 and I tested positive for Covid via an at home test First 5 days were like a bad flu. Chest filled up terribly. Coughing and fatigue was relentless. I can understand now how the early Covid patients (prior to vaccines) "drowned" in their own chest liquids. It's been 21 days now since initial infection and, thankfully, am much improved - although still fatigued. While Variant B.5 evades prior vaccine protection, I assume all my prior vaccines helped me to survive somewhat. My point to everyone on this site is: BE SURE TO WEAR YOUR MASKS!! This is a very infectious and unpleasant Variant! I plan to avoid any social gatherings until mid-Fall when the new vaccine (which will target Variants 4. and 5) is supposed to arrive. I blame my uncharacteristic "laxness" (in terms of removing my mask that one time) on my becoming ill.
They took it off to eat and drink.
The flight was London to Houston. Second flight on to California.
They ate and drank at least twice.
They took it off to eat and drink.
The flight was London to Houston. Second flight on to California.
They ate and drank at least twice.
Thank you for that valuable information! People keep telling me when they get covid that they were extremely careful. If you take off your mask to eat and drink, I totally understand and empathize with the need to do that, especially on a transcontinental flight, but you can breathe in enough covid droplets when you take off your mask to get infected.
I still have not heard of a covid case in which someone had a strong mask, tight fitting all around, and did not remove it ever while indoors with other people nearby or did not go maskless in a crowded outdoor setting.
I wonder whether any of the intuitives on this site have any feelings as to when this pandemic will subside? It seems like we are stuck in an endless cycle of newly evolving variants, some becoming "smarter & smarter" at evading prior vaccine protection. Scary and kind of dispiriting. Will life EVER be "post-Covid" and our lives go back to normal?
I think that much like the 1918-20 Flu Pandemic, COVID-19 will become endemic but not seasonal, however I do not feel it will "quiet down" for at least 3-4 more years, longer in places (like the US) that refuse to protect at risk populations.
Same here.
I am aware of several family groups that have traveled long distance for the first time since the pandemic began, this summer. All were vaxxed x4. All were super careful, only removing masks to eat or drink on long flights, and wearing masks in public at their destinations. By masks I mean surgical or KN95 style (no cloth).
90% of them came down with Omicron, most severely, ruining their trips. The 10% who didn't get sick weren't even asymptomatic - they were negative on all tests.
My husband is aware of many business colleagues who are vaxxed x4, relatively careful. Appears that about 50% of those cases are similar to common cold, but the other 50% are very sick for about 2 weeks.
No one has been hospitalized or died, several people have high risk factors like MS, cancer survival, etc.
So bit of a mixed bag.
A month or two ago we were thinking of where we would go on our first trip abroad, focusing on countries with lower infection rates. New Zealand? Portugal? Uruguay? Iceland? We weighed all of these, I did extensive research.
Then all the reports of people we know getting very sick after flights longer than 5 hours.
So we ditched that idea again, and this fall will just take a drive up the CA coast (again) to visit friends and relatives along the way and visit a couple of spots we haven't been to yet. And I did start planning for what used to be our regular trip to JazzFest in New Orleans for next April, since we had planned to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary there in 2020 and had to cancel completely. I figure it's outdoor, but crowded, so I will continue to mask, not making any indoor restaurant reservations, staying in a house rental, and a very short flight. I can cancel with no penalty up to March. Fingers crossed.
As I type this my husband is in DC at a conference. Indoors. At a secure government facility. Masks optional but he has good NIOSH N95s with him. He also waived off 2 colleagues and 1 boss because they are all sick with Omicron - reminded them he is high risk and would rather handle it alone than risk illness. They agreed to steer clear, thankfully, but our protocol when he returns on Friday is to test him immediately, then he will sleep in the guest room for 2-3 nights and we will retest then, sooner if he develops symptoms.