CDC: Negative COVID-19 test required for air passengers to enter and leave the US

[Toofarfromthesea]

22 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Actually it is with both.

 

I'm one of those old-fashioned people who still believe in personal ethics as opposed to "what I can get away with".

 

 

People who are non-residents still pose a potential risk towards residents.  

[cruisemom42]

3 minutes ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

People who are non-residents still pose a potential risk towards residents.  

 

I am not so concerned with the snow birds as with those who are traveling to Florida (and other states) from other countries solely to get vaccinated.

[Toofarfromthesea]

Just now, cruisemom42 said:

 

I am not so concerned with the snow birds as with those who are traveling to Florida (and other states) from other countries solely to get vaccinated.

 

What's the difference?  It's like they say about masks - it's not to protect them, it's to protect everyone else.

[cruisemom42]

3 minutes ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

What's the difference?  It's like they say about masks - it's not to protect them, it's to protect everyone else.

 

The difference is that they are getting vaccines intended for those who live in Florida, and if they are "medical tourists" they are not going to be protecting people who live in Florida.

 

Meanwhile people who live in Florida and contribute to the economy, as well as pay state and federal taxes (with which vaccines were purchased) are unable to obtain them.

 

It seems, though, that I am in the minority with this opinion. So by all means let healthy younger non-US citizens continue jumping the queue ahead of frail elderly residents and health care workers. No problem. 🤷‍♀️

 

Edited January 18, 2021 by cruisemom42

[SelectSys]

25 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

It seems, though, that I am in the minority with this opinion. So by all means let healthy younger non-US citizens continue jumping the queue ahead of frail elderly residents and health care workers. No problem.

 

Welcome to the US in 2021!  Can you imagine if we tried to implement Canadian policy here?

 

 

Edited January 18, 2021 by SelectSys

[2wheelin]

34 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

The difference is that they are getting vaccines intended for those who live in Florida, and if they are "medical tourists" they are not going to be protecting people who live in Florida.

 

Meanwhile people who live in Florida and contribute to the economy, as well as pay state and federal taxes (with which vaccines were purchased) are unable to obtain them.

 

It seems, though, that I am in the minority with this opinion. So by all means let healthy younger non-US citizens continue jumping the queue ahead of frail elderly residents and health care workers. No problem. 🤷‍♀️

 

I don’t know if we are in the minority but I agree with you. And snowbirds contribute to the local economy because they rarely stay less than several months and usually are not touring around but stay put in their residence.

[kirtihk]

On 1/14/2021 at 1:33 PM, cruisemom42 said:

 

 

While these examples certainly help clarify peoples' thinking, I have to wonder why people are not taking the CDC warnings more seriously to avoid ANY NON-ESSENTIAL travel to almost all countries, globally (this includes the US). Yes, nearly all countries are under the highest level advisory (Level 4, see link), and yet people are looking at ways to vacation and "duck" the general rules.

 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/map-and-travel-notices.html

 

Perhaps the fact that people are not taking these recommendations seriously is one reason why these added testing restrictions have been added....?

 

Really -- I have read post after post on these boards from travelers in the past who have canceled entire cruises due to a Level 2 warning regarding safety in some country such as Israel.  But Level 4 health warnings go unregarded. Strange times we live in.

 

The common sense is to take it seriously, and the majority do that.  Approaching 1 year of restrictions on all levels, however, make one to start to wonder: if this tendency continues for next few years (which most people believe is true as I see from reading all comments), what's left in meaning of life if in those few years I will loose either physical ability to travel or just simply desire (as I see in a lot of people around me - "flights are long", "an itinerary is tense", and so on)?  Basically, those who reached so to speak golden age a year ago and prior decided - "OK, now I can travel; I can afford it, and I want it".  And, now...

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, kirtihk said:

The common sense is to take it seriously, and the majority do that.  Approaching 1 year of restrictions on all levels, however, make one to start to wonder: if this tendency continues for next few years (which most people believe is true as I see from reading all comments), what's left in meaning of life if in those few years I will loose either physical ability to travel or just simply desire (as I see in a lot of people around me - "flights are long", "an itinerary is tense", and so on)?  Basically, those who reached so to speak golden age a year ago and prior decided - "OK, now I can travel; I can afford it, and I want it".  And, now...

 

It's not easy, I know. Believe me, no one wants to get back to traveling more than I do -- and I have traveled all my life. Fortunately I am not yet an an age where travel is burdensome or difficult. But yes, I do have empathy for those who may have waited until retirement to start traveling and now are stuck at home. 

 

Still, I think this is a temporary set-back, and it would be a driver for me to stay in good shape (given that there's not a lot else to do right now) until I can start traveling again.  A year, two years, is not a terribly long period of time in a lifetime...

 

 

[crzndeb]

19 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

But air travel is safe as long as it is undertaken safely, right?     Or so people keep posting.

 

 

 

 

18 hours ago, clo said:

I'm not ready to fly.

It would be interesting to know numbers of flight attendants who have gotten sick. My nextdoor neighbor/ friend, has flown on hundreds of flights in the last year, all over the US, including many overnights, and hasn’t gotten sick yet.

[sanger727]

2 hours ago, crzndeb said:

 

It would be interesting to know numbers of flight attendants who have gotten sick. My nextdoor neighbor/ friend, has flown on hundreds of flights in the last year, all over the US, including many overnights, and hasn’t gotten sick yet.

 

Flight Attendants Are Contracting COVID-19 at a Lower Rate than the Public (tripsavvy.com)

 

Defense Department study finds low risk of coronavirus infection through air on a packed airline flight (msn.com)

 

All the evidence points to the fact that flights are relatively "safe". I have flown once since the pandemic started. I have a family member that has flown several times. So far so good. 

 

I look at this way. If you are currently self quarantining, working from home, only going out for essentials - then flights pose a significantly higher risk

 

If you are currently working in person, dining out to restaurants, seeing friends and family - flights are probably lower risk than that. So, no real harm done.

[navybankerteacher]

11 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

What's the difference?  It's like they say about masks - it's not to protect them, it's to protect everyone else.

If I get hurt it will be more annoying if it by someone who had no legitimate business being anywhere near me than by pure accident.

 

p.s. Only idiots say that about masks.

[navybankerteacher]

3 hours ago, crzndeb said:

 

It would be interesting to know numbers of flight attendants who have gotten sick. My nextdoor neighbor/ friend, has flown on hundreds of flights in the last year, all over the US, including many overnights, and hasn’t gotten sick yet.

The fact is that flight attendants are aware of the risks and have been cautioned and are smart enough to wear masks properly and wash/disinfect their hands.  Another fact is that recent surges have occurred in environments where large groups of people have gotten together and ignored basic precautions. 

 

Those basic precautions are by no means sure protection - but they do seem to make a difference.

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, sanger727 said:

I look at this way. If you are currently self quarantining, working from home, only going out for essentials - then flights pose a significantly higher risk

 

If you are currently working in person, dining out to restaurants, seeing friends and family - flights are probably lower risk than that. So, no real harm done.

 

We have to look at it from a societal standpoint and not a personal one. If it was just a matter of personally avoiding the virus, this might make sense.

 

But in the above example, you have two separate sets of people -- one at much lower risk and one at much higher risk. However, it's virtually impossible to ensure that there isn't overlap or mixing of the groups. Someone who goes out only for essentials will eventually end up at the local drugstore browsing for the best buy on heartburn medication right next to the guy who is working onsite, dining out, traveling. Or they will stand behind them just long enough in the grocery store express checkout line to get exposed. (There is no way people stand 6 feet apart -- most seem to think 3 feet is sufficient.). 

 

And all their precautions will be for nothing....

 

If someone has to work onsite -- understandable. You gotta do what you gotta do to survive. But that person should be equally careful about exposing him or herself to others if they have a higher likelihood of being exposed or positive. And if you read the article linked in one of the posts above, there clearly have been instances where contact tracing of disease has led back to exposure on flights.

 

Why does anyone "have" to go anywhere on a vacation right now?  Infection rates are higher than ever in the US, and the end posts are are least clearer now that we have the vaccine. What's the big deal with delaying that totally non-essential vacation a little longer?

[sanger727]

3 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

We have to look at it from a societal standpoint and not a personal one. If it was just a matter of personally avoiding the virus, this might make sense.

 

But in the above example, you have two separate sets of people -- one at much lower risk and one at much higher risk. However, it's virtually impossible to ensure that there isn't overlap or mixing of the groups. Someone who goes out only for essentials will eventually end up at the local drugstore browsing for the best buy on heartburn medication right next to the guy who is working onsite, dining out, traveling. Or they will stand behind them just long enough in the grocery store express checkout line to get exposed. (There is no way people stand 6 feet apart -- most seem to think 3 feet is sufficient.). 

 

And all their precautions will be for nothing....

 

If someone has to work onsite -- understandable. You gotta do what you gotta do to survive. But that person should be equally careful about exposing him or herself to others if they have a higher likelihood of being exposed or positive. And if you read the article linked in one of the posts above, there clearly have been instances where contact tracing of disease has led back to exposure on flights.

 

Why does anyone "have" to go anywhere on a vacation right now?  Infection rates are higher than ever in the US, and the end posts are are least clearer now that we have the vaccine. What's the big deal with delaying that totally non-essential vacation a little longer?

 

Of course there has been some spread on flights. But it's been much lower than spread in the general population. Which makes flying potentially a safer activity than one of many others people are engaging in now. 

 

Does anyone have to go on vacation "now". Of course not, no one "has" to go on vacation ever. But for us, it was between being trapped in a building at work where we have 2-5 people new positive cases a day at now and in general being out and about in a location that is "purple" (the highest case level our state uses). Vs hoping on a plane (where the study says chance of infection is actually very low), and spending a week at a resort where I spent a vast majority of time outside and away from other people. The fact of the matter is from that "society" perspective, I believe I was less likely to catch/spread covid on that vacation that I am in my normal every day life. 

[2wheelin]

7 hours ago, sanger727 said:

 

Of course there has been some spread on flights. But it's been much lower than spread in the general population. Which makes flying potentially a safer activity than one of many others people are engaging in now. 

 

Does anyone have to go on vacation "now". Of course not, no one "has" to go on vacation ever. But for us, it was between being trapped in a building at work where we have 2-5 people new positive cases a day at now and in general being out and about in a location that is "purple" (the highest case level our state uses). Vs hoping on a plane (where the study says chance of infection is actually very low), and spending a week at a resort where I spent a vast majority of time outside and away from other people. The fact of the matter is from that "society" perspective, I believe I was less likely to catch/spread covid on that vacation that I am in my normal every day life. 

And along the way you helped a few other people feed their families. They need work too. Sounds like you are one of the few who actually understand how transmission works.

[Aplmac]

American Airlines

will make its mobile health passport service available

to all customers entering the U.S. beginning Jan. 23.

 

Read more here...

 

https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/American-easing-US-reentry-for-all-flyers