Asia trips and coronavirus

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Just do the normal things you would do to avoid a cold or flu. Wash your hands a lot, avoid shaking people's hands, and on the plane/bus/airport wear a mask

If you wear a mask, make sure it's a properly-fitted N95 one. The regular surgical masks most people wear do very little if anything to protect the wearer.
 
We’ve booked Cambodia (Siem Reap) and Thailand (Koh Lanta/Andaman Sea) in March/April.

Unless there’s a “do not travel” warning for these places (and our insurance would cover), we’re going to travel and have a great time!

TBH I’m far more worried about Dengue fever, than corona virus.
Dengue is far more deadly.
 
I'll be flying through and spending a day in Taiwan at the end of next month on my way to Indonesia, so I too have been monitoring things closely but with the knowledge that the odds are extremely in my favor of being fine. Being informed is good, but currently I'm not at all concerned. Personally I'm more concerned about eating something that won't agree with me.
Make sure you have reasonable amount of surgical mask to last the trip.
At the height of SARS, all passengers flying out from HK required to wear one during the whole duration of the flight. NO mask(your own) NO boarding.
 
If you wear a mask, make sure it's a properly-fitted N95 one. The regular surgical masks most people wear do very little if anything to protect the wearer.
If you are in close contact with a patient then N95 is a must otherwise it is over-killed.
 
And currently some dive destinations (like Philippines) banning entry if transiting thru HK. Don't know about Taiwan

We almost booked on China Air with a long layover... Thankfully we went another route
 
Has anyone traveled to Philippines recently and know what questions they will ask? i.e. if I fly in from Singapore will they actually look at my passport stamp to make sure I was not in HK for last 14 days? Debating whether I can get away with less than 14 days in Singapore if I just fly in from Singapore.
A very smart question you had raised unfortunately the only people who can answer that is the Immigration Officer in Philippines.
The banning of travellers from china, Hong Kong and Macau was announced without any warning! So Duterte might do the same with Singapore since that Island nation has more confirmed cases than HK and Macau combined.
 
I checked the terms and conditions of my liveaboard and thankfully it allows for cancellation due to epidemics. I think I will just cancel/push to next year rather than deal with the uncertainty. Bummer I was really looking forward to the trip but at least no monetary damage.

I also looked into the travel insurance offered by my Chase sapphire reserve card and the written terms does cover mandatory quarantine required by a physician or government body - however if you call and say you want to cancel due to coronavirus they will say it is not covered unless you have the virus. I think the key is if cancellation is voluntary (i.e. due to fear of getting the virus) then it's not covered, but if it's compulsory/outside your control (i.e. due to government ban) then it is covered. Easiest route seems to be going to your doctor say you have a cough/have been in close contact with someone whose's been in Asia and get a note saying they recommend you stay home for 14 days?

Now I just have to hope Indonesia does not extend their travel ban to Hong Kong...
 
I wish there was a cure for media sensationalism!
Been in Cambodia since February 3 and came back from Sihanoukville islands yesterday and only about two percent of people are wearing masks there and in Phnom Penh.
Off to Siem Reap in a few days and will update situation when I get back from there.
Food poisoning and crazy tuk tuks are more of a concern in Asia.
 
Not to be alarmist but

Dale Fisher, chair of the Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network said the Coronavirus has spread to other places where it's the beginning of the outbreak. In Singapore, the virus is at the beginning of the outbreak​

Source: Coronavirus outbreak 'just beginning' outside China, says WHO body

I was planning on a dive trip to Coron but think I will vacation in-country until its August this year ...
P
 
I think this coronavirus is going to be more widespread than SARS or MERS, which seems to have burnt out. This one will be more like the other four strains that cause 1/7 of the cases of the common cold, will transmit as easily as the common cold, and is just a very virulent version of the common cold. Most of the morbidity is in older patients that are either very elderly or have something else going on with them. Younger patients seem to just have symptoms like any other cold, and then they get over it. It'll be a seasonal thing and built eventually into diagnostic tests that already screen for flu in those countries that have the health infrastructure to maintain and administer those tests in an accurate and consistent fashion. Then the patient will be asked to self quarantine at home, as we do now with flu, until they get very ill and have to be hospitalized, just like we do now with the flu.
 
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