To travel or not to travel

[lowlysubaruguy]

Ive been reading here and other places seems like theres some that are traveling regardless.

Whats your overall view on it. Are we I or us being selfish for thinking about traveling out of the country or even to say Florida just to dive.

It could be several years before this really is under control. And watching people in public I can tell you the whole social distancing thing is only vaguely effective. I watched a woman lick her finger to pull out a night drop envelope at my shop Friday, shes paranoid as all get out of the disease but more than happy to spread what ever she has to my crew. It inspired me to make more changes to the front area to help us sanitize things our customers have had contact with. But you can only do so much.

 

[happy-diver]

If the No1 civil right was not to mess with other peoples rights then that would be the No1 civil right right

instead of squeezing themselves into recirculating aluminium petri tubes taking their pestilence around!

 

[lowwall]

I won't fly until things are under control. Not sure what under control means yet, but I'm hoping the vaccines turn this into months rather than years. I cancelled a spring trip to the Yucatan and a summer non-diving trip to Europe in 2020. We also skipped the annual summer trip to bring my kids to their grandmother in Wyoming.

We did go to Florida however over the Christmas break. We drove from Chicago and stayed at a friend's rental property in Boynton Beach. We were very careful about wearing masks and avoiding crowds and never ate inside a restaurant. It was certainly riskier then staying home, but we had to weigh that against our kids' mental health. They are 12 and 7 and being cooped up in our apartment was getting to them. It's not easy here. Their school is online only. All Chicago public playgrounds are locked up. I don't want to risk indoor activities like the museums and the crappy weather limits what you can comfortably do outside.

My son got his Junior Open Water certification while we were in Florida. The weather kept boats from going out for most of our time there, but we still got a few dives together. It was pretty much the highlight of his year. I'm glad we went and my wife and I agreed that we will do it again in the spring or maybe next fall if conditions haven't improved enough for us to consider flying to a dive destination like Cozumel.

 

[Raphus]

Cancelt everything and wait until its better.
With better i mean i dont bring some new virus mutation back from my holiday, dont get sick myself and dont bring the virus to the destination.

In my opinion traveling is selfish and should not be done atm.
The south african virus mutation is here in germany now, because someone did holiday in south africa, during lockdown. Probably thousands of people will die because of that.
I dont want to be in that position.

This virus would not be sich a problem if all people stick to the rules and do more then that(stop traveling, stop or reduce meeting other people, even if allowed)

 

[Blackcrusader]

I am not traveling atm. As much as I would love to go diving some countries are not ready. Taiwan has no local Wuhan Virus cases and also Palau does not. We may get a travel bubble with Palau but even then there would be strict requirements. Diving in Palau is on my bucket list and all the money I have not spent in the last year can go to a nice long dive vacation when I can safely travel.

I could fly to the USA and Mexico but in the current situation that would be nonsensical. Why go and place myself at risk with people who don't even want to wear masks?

 

[ontdiver]

Are we I or us being selfish for thinking about traveling out of the country or even to say Florida just to dive.

After living through this for almost a year, many are still rationalizing their decision to travel. I hesitate to say that this is selfish, but it is clear that many folks are in denial about COVID and its global impact. I suspect that we would be in much better shape now if more governments had imposed a total travel ban.

Stay home, stay safe, be patient.

 

[flyboy08]

You are at greater risk going to your local grocery store than flying in an aircraft. Just sayn.

 

[tna9001]

The US has the worst COVID response of any other country. If you want to reduce your chances of getting COVID and dive at the same time go to Roatan. Where I live in NC the deaths per 100k are 50X what it is in Honduras. Traveling by air is one of the safest things you can do besides sitting in your house so long as you take common sense precautions.

 

[drrich2]

I haven't flown. I'm decent with masks, and fair with social distancing, when away from home. Haven't taken any distant trips (e.g.: flown); work commitments are a part of that, but the pandemic also.

At this point, yeah, I'd be willing to fly to a destination for a solo dive trip. I've been blessed with the 1st injection of the Moderna vaccine and enough time for it to take effect, so likely to have considerable resistance (granted, no guarantee).

The main risk concerns seem to be:

1.) That I'm going to 'export' COVID to another country (or destination - Florida's not technically another country) and spread harm and death. But COVID seems pretty widespread, so unless I sneak into the Cayman Islands or some such, how is that different from going to Wal-mart? A lot of people have to get screened before boarding planes for some destinations, but not to go in Wal-mart.

2.) Getting sick while I'm abroad without good access to first world quality medical facilities. I'm in my early 50s, there's always some risk, and I've had a dose of vaccine. Willing to take that chance.

3.) That I'll 'import' COVID, particularly one of the more transmissible variants. Well, the U.K. version is already widespread here and per the CDC might become the dominant strain in the U.S. in March. I don't fly to the U.K., South Africa or Brazil. So unless a destination I'm aiming for gets a rep. for this being a big issue, unlikely to dissuade me.

So, I would be willing to travel now giving plenty of time, money and a good opportunity, and I don't think I'm being overly selfish is I do.

 

[ontdiver]

I've been blessed with the 1st injection of the Moderna vaccine and enough time for it to take effect, so likely to have considerable resistance (granted, no guarantee).

So, I would be willing to travel now giving plenty of time, money and a good opportunity, and I don't think I'm being overly selfish is I do.

On balance, I think anyone who has had their first injection is probably good to go for travel - and is not being selfish.