Ebola Virus

[B-52]

And I can confirm that anyone of us possibly has any number of diseases.

 

Maybe I am just jaded by all the hysteria/hype. Common sense should prevail, not hysteria. I just remember in the 1980's when people thought they could "catch" Aids by just leaving their homes.

 

Why is it that many of us see through this Media BS and others live in fear?

 

 

I remember when nobody in the US knew what AIDS was...it did not exist...yet it spread and everyone's lives today is affected by it in some fashion....

I am confronted with it everyday in my job...sure, I know and follow precautions, but once upon a time it was not there.

Do I want to be confronted with this disease everyday the same way???

 

This current disease, is in it's infancy stage here in the US...just as AIDS was....nip it in the bud now, or else....

THAT is the concern of many people....yes, it may be leading to over reaction and hysteria...but still...now is the time to stop any possible outbreak.

Edited October 17, 2014 by B-52

[SeaPete]

Just saw on cnn that carnival magic has Ebola problem onboard. Will have to watch closely.

[Sitzmark]

That would have the unfortunate side effect of preventing aid workers and supplies from getting to the affected areas, since any aid flights would end up being one way for the plane, pilots, and crew (not to mention that the halting of all imports and exports would further cripple the economies of those countries).

 

That is what the president said. But why would any commercial travel restrictions automatically ban every other type of travel? Do you really think that if the US wanted to get an aid flight into a country that they couldn't?

 

Why do people continue to suggest that if a possible containment step can not be 100% effective that it should be abandoned and instead nothing be done? People could find a way around travel restrictions so we shouldn't bother trying to contain this?

 

Should I leave my home unlocked since people might break in anyway?

 

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have no idea what RCI might do differently to prevent this disease on their ships, but would you suggest they not do anything if their attempt couldn't be guaranteed to be 100% effective?

[shellunderwater]

If I had had contact and knew the incubation period had not yet elapsed, I'd use my brain to say don't travel, and I'd use my insurance to cancel for any reason and err on the side of safety. The "you can't fix stupid" part pertains to not only the health care professional here, but also to the general response in terms of erring on the side of caution, re: CDC

 

Sure, err on the side of caution. But, in a previous thread, how many people said they have no problem lying on a medical questionnaire before boarding a ship because they don't want to miss out on their vacation.

 

So, ask yourself this... if you were running a fever of 99.5, what would you do? Self report to the cruise line and have you left off the ship? Or would you just decide its just a minor fever, I'll be ok, so I can still go on the ship. Hhhhmmm, sounds familiar.

 

Unfortunately, its always someone else should be honest, someone else should.... And, I don't necessarily mean you, LMaxwell, I'm saying this in general. Kinda like we need to clear out Cngress, but not my elected official, everyone else's. Or, we need to cut military spending, but don't close my base.

[Sitzmark]

Does your passport indicate every country you've cruised to, and the date you visited them?:rolleyes:

 

nope, but I bet it would get stamped if I went to Sierra Leone.

[Ocean Boy]

Being given poor information and operating on it when you already may suspect it is poor information doesn't earn a free pass in my book. That's not to say this health care worker suspected it was bad information, but really, wouldn't you think someone in their position MIGHT have that sort of though? Speaking again for myself, I know I would.

 

Now, can we play nice and may I offer you a fresh coffee too?

 

There are many different levels of "health care workers". I'm not sure that I'd hold a lab tech to the same level of thought that I'd maybe hold a nurse or physician to. And, as I uderstand it, the tech on the Carnival ship is not even sick or did I miss something?

Edited October 17, 2014 by Ocean Boy

[LMaxwell]

So, ask yourself this... if you were running a fever of 99.5, what would you do? Self report to the cruise line and have you left off the ship? Or would you just decide its just a minor fever, I'll be ok, so I can still go on the ship. Hhhhmmm, sounds familiar.

 

 

Being totally honest here, I'd report it. Like I said earlier, especially if I KNEW I had been in contact or directly linked to the first reported death in the US I'd report it and use my cancel for any reason insurance. I personally feel a lot of people don't take insurance and then think "Oh, this is a minor bug, it will pass in a day or so with some fresh sea air. I won't ruin my trip over it" You make a great point; many people have no qualms being dishonest on the health question form so as not to disrupt their plans.

[leisuretraveler223]

Just saw on cnn that carnival magic has Ebola problem onboard. Will have to watch closely.

 

That's because CNN is alarmist crap for stupid people. Carnival Magic has a passenger who handled one of the Texas patient's lab samples. When he heard about the diagnosis, he self-quarantined himself. He is asymptomatic 19 days out.

 

Alarmist crap...

[Sitzmark]

Sure, err on the side of caution. But, in a previous thread, how many people said they have no problem lying on a medical questionnaire before boarding a ship because they don't want to miss out on their vacation.

 

So, ask yourself this... if you were running a fever of 99.5, what would you do? Self report to the cruise line and have you left off the ship? Or would you just decide its just a minor fever, I'll be ok, so I can still go on the ship. Hhhhmmm, sounds familiar.

 

Unfortunately, its always someone else should be honest, someone else should.... And, I don't necessarily mean you, LMaxwell, I'm saying this in general. Kinda like we need to clear out Cngress, but not my elected official, everyone else's. Or, we need to cut military spending, but don't close my base.

 

I'd tell the truth, are you implying that you would not?

 

If a method of protection or containment can not be 100% effective you are arguing that it should be abandoned, but abandoning it will be 0% effective to achieving the end goal. If you have a better solution to offer in it's place fine, offer it, but you can't just say that since something can't guarantee success then it should not even be tried.

[snorkelman]

Now there is some confusion as to whether the ship in fact allowed everyone off in Belize except the infected nurse and her husband. The country of Belize seems to be claiming, "nope, safety is most important, we won't risk it." But on Carnival's main page there is a Forum for passengers currently on board to communicate back home and people on the Magic have posted. Seems the people who have posted DID get off the ship and spend the day in Belize. So Belize didn't let the lab technician and her husband enter but they certainly allowed all the crusie passengers in to spend money in their country.

 

Post #443 in this thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2115736&page=23

[ryano]

Magic never got clearance to dock from Mexican authorities so she is headed to Galveston. 200.00 OBC and 50% future cruise credit is the compensation for missing Cozumel today.

[snorkelman]

Magic never got clearance to dock from Mexican authorities so she is headed to Galveston. 200.00 OBC and 50% future cruise credit is the compensation for missing Cozumel today.

 

$200 per person?

 

OBC that is refundable or non-refundable?

 

----not that any of those ^^ details really matter.

[ryano]

$200 per person?

 

OBC that is refundable or non-refundable?

 

----not that any of those ^^ details really matter.

 

Yes, per person according to John Heald. :) I bet its a "use it or lose it" OBC.

[sandyh422]

That would have the unfortunate side effect of preventing aid workers and supplies from getting to the affected areas, since any aid flights would end up being one way for the plane, pilots, and crew (not to mention that the halting of all imports and exports would further cripple the economies of those countries).

 

If commercial flights are banned, humanitarian workers and supplies could be sent via military planes.

 

As for the economy of those affected countries, how about our economy here in the US? If people are fearful of traveling on planes, cruises, etc, that could have a very significant effect on our own economy.

[phoenix_dream]

Magic never got clearance to dock from Mexican authorities so she is headed to Galveston. 200.00 OBC and 50% future cruise credit is the compensation for missing Cozumel today.

And herein lies another problem until this whole thing is really figured out. Other countries are starting to prohibit travelers who have been to affected countries in Africa. Countries like Mexico refused to allow a cruise ship to dock because ONE person onboard perhaps was exposed over two weeks ago. Are countries going to start prohibiting cruise ships from docking unless or until they can prove there is no one onboard at risk (based on what determination I don't know). I would not be surprised if soon some got so paranoid that they prohibited ships from docking with any staff or passengers from anywhere in Africa. I'm sure they are hesitant to take too drastic of steps if they are heavily dependent on tourism, but for smaller islands in particular with limited medical staff already, any outbreak no matter how small initially could literally spread like crazy throughout the island.

 

We all hope and pray that this will be contained soon and eliminated (vaccine, whatever) even sooner. I am the first to speak out against our wonderful, biased, and inflammatory news agencies here in the US. But at the same time, this is a very, very serious situation. No one truly knows for sure how it spreads, or how it may mutate in the near future. It is true that right now, as I write this, in the US you are much more likely to die of the flu or a car accident or a number of other things. But contrary to what we had been told, the disease seems to spread easier than we thought (or those two nurses in head to toe protective gear would not likely have caught it, if it was as hard to catch as we were told) and it's mortality rate is horrible. Over and over people liken this virus situation to AIDS and what took place when that was first discovered. I am neither an Ebola nor AIDS expert, but I would hazard an educated guess (admitting it is only that) that those two nurses would not have caught HIV in a similar situation. That remains to be proved, but this seems to be a really different situation entirely. Yes, there are parallels to the false information and press inflaming the story, but I think the similarities end there. I consider myself a realist, not an alarmist. I am not cancelling cruises or fearing to book............yet. But I am watching and waiting.

[Ocean Boy]

Magic never got clearance to dock from Mexican authorities so she is headed to Galveston. 200.00 OBC and 50% future cruise credit is the compensation for missing Cozumel today.

 

Is Mexico paying as much attention to who is landing there on airplanes or are they just in cruise ship mode this week?

[avatexrs]

From Peggy Noonan's column in today's Wall Street Journal, comparing the government's position on banning travel from certain countries to the common sense of a child:

 

If you had a group of 11-year-olds, they would surely have a superior answer to the question: “Sick people are coming through the door of the house, and we are not sure how to make them well. Meanwhile they are starting to make us sick, too. What is the first thing to do?”

 

The children would reply: “Close the door.” One would add: “Just for a while, while you figure out how to treat everyone getting sick.” Another might say: “And keep going outside the door in protective clothing with medical help.” Eleven-year-olds would get this one right without a lot of struggle.

 

If we don’t momentarily close the door to citizens of the affected nations, it is certain that more cases will come into the U.S. It is hard to see how that helps anyone. Closing the door would be no guarantee of safety—nothing is guaranteed, and the world is porous. But it would reduce risk and likelihood, which itself is worthwhile.

[snorkelman]

At first I just thought that this thread attracted some fear-mongering people, but apparently lots of people are crazed with fear.

 

A Reuters/Ipsos poll from yesterday showed that nearly half of Americans are so concerned about the Ebola outbreak that they are avoiding international air travel.

 

"I had plans to go to California in the winter but if Ebola is spreading (in the United States), I will not go," poll respondent Deena Greenebaum, 68, said in an interview. "I will not go to the casinos, I will not go anywhere public. I will stay in my house in New Jersey."

 

Greenebaum said her friends and relatives shared those sentiments, adding: "A friend of mine just canceled a trip to Paris. Nobody I know is traveling internationally. Nobody wants to go anywhere."

 

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/16/us-health-ebola-poll-idUSKCN0I51Q920141016

[shellunderwater]

I'd tell the truth, are you implying that you would not?

 

If a method of protection or containment can not be 100% effective you are arguing that it should be abandoned, but abandoning it will be 0% effective to achieving the end goal. If you have a better solution to offer in it's place fine, offer it, but you can't just say that since something can't guarantee success then it should not even be tried.

 

There currently is a process on Royal to fill out a medical questionnaire. And, in past threads, posters had indicated they lie. So, it is ineffective at best already. I didn't argue it should be abandoned at all. Just said folks will chant they want this but then they will lie. I didn't say you would, didn't day anyone specifically. Just merely that others have ALREADY said they lie. So, it's a false sense of security.

 

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[lewinr]

Now there is some confusion as to whether the ship in fact allowed everyone off in Belize except the infected nurse and her husband.

 

She is not a nurse and she is not infected.

 

She is a lab technician and is perfectly healthy 19 days after having contact with the lab sample.

 

Please don't contribute to the media misinformation and frenzy.

[time4u2go]

nope, but I bet it would get stamped if I went to Sierra Leone.

Why would you think that?

[luvtheships]

Is Mexico paying as much attention to who is landing there on airplanes or are they just in cruise ship mode this week?

 

They denied USA pax entrance correct??

 

Hmmm

 

Maybe we need to return the favor.

 

 

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[luvtheships]

She is not a nurse and she is not infected.

 

She is a lab technician and is perfectly healthy 19 days after having contact with the lab sample.

 

Please don't contribute to the media misinformation and frenzy.

 

Did you read somewhere that she is perfectly healthy?

 

I hope she is. Btw.

 

I still want the blood test results

 

 

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[time4u2go]

They denied USA pax entrance correct??

 

Hmmm

 

Maybe we need to return the favor.

 

 

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It wasn't just USA passengers. It was all the passengers.

 

Not sure what you mean by "return the favor". Are there Mexican cruise lines that call on the US? And if there are, have any of their passengers been exposed to Ebola?

Edited October 17, 2014 by time4u2go

[KPfromCT]

Carnival is certainly treating these passengers on the Magic, very well.:D

$200 OBC per passenger, and 50% off a future cruise with Carnival.

Way to go Carnival!:D