Covid surging in Bonaire

[uncfnp]

Traveling to Your Buddies™ on Bonaire - USA - Buddy Dive Bonaire

Please find the latest rules for traveling to Bonaire on the Bonaire crisis website: https://www.bonairecrisis.com/en/travel-to-bonaire/

buddydive.com

I found this link and though I won’t be staying at Buddies it does answers some of my questions. It seems fully vaccinated travel companions, as in the US, are not required to quarantine and that a same day PCR test is acceptable if the antigen test is positive.

 

[Joneill]

It would be interesting to know as well at what point they tested positive. Assuming a week trip was it the 5 day NAAT/PCR or the return 6 day antigen? Assuming Omicron, it seems the incubation is shorter, perhaps 3 days. But I would still be most suspicious that the positive tests were either infected before the island or on the way down.

My understanding is that the positives were the day before return tests.

 

[Dan]

I’ll ask - but, bottom line is that traveling at present is quite risky in terms of a forced quarantine. I traveled 3 times last year and had little concern, but will not do so until Omicron burns out in the next month or two.

It’s crazy transmissible. I hardly had any first hand knowledge of anyone in my circle that had Covid over the last 2 years, but the last month has changed that dramatically - a huge number of friends, co-workers and family members have tested positive in the last month.

Luckily, it’s been mild for virtually all, except 1 death. That person was unvaccinated, had significant comorbidities (as is the case with the vast majority of bad outcomes) and waited 6 days before seeking medical help.

This is my experience as I posted in another thread:

Omicron is indeed very contagious, but if you’re vaccinated, you have much better chance to survive without much ill effect. I have 2 examples that hit home.

Example 1
My nephew works in hospital. Guess what? He contracted it and had a mild cold-like symptom. CDC says 5 days at home from first day with symptoms then 5 days out with mask on. He was asked by the hospital to be back to work after 5 days at home. He lives with his parents (my brother & sister in-law). They never got sick and tested negative. They were all have been fully vaccinated (Moderna) including booster shot.

Example 2
I ride bicycle about 100 miles / week with my cycling buddies. Two of my cycling buddies (husband and wife) contracted Omicron without symptoms. They were cycling apart from the group for 2 weeks to insure that they won’t spread it to us. We are all have been fully vaccinated, including booster shot.

Knock on wood, I haven’t contracted it. I have been fully vaccinated with Moderna and Pfizer booster shot. I have been on 10 liveaboard trips, 1 dive resort and 1 ski resort in the last 12 months. Got negative Covid test 17 times. Statistically and inevitably, one of these days, I would contract it, but it’s comforting to know that Omicron is just like a mild flu and I would survive it since I have been fully vaccinated

 

[Dan]

Our trip coordinator recommended to check out squaremouth.com, but said to call them (800 # on website) and talk through needs based on the specifiic destination and they can help pick the proper coverage. I have a few trips planned this year (Fiji, Truk Lagoon and Raja Ampat) so will be checking them out shortly.

I’ll be in Thailand for the whole month of February and to get Thailand Pass I have to have travel insurance that has Covid rider with minimum of $50,000. I got one from WorldTrips that meets Thailand Pass. Here’s the letter of coverage:

 

[uncfnp]

My understanding is that the positives were the day before return tests.

So again assuming a 7 day stay they would have been negative on day 5 but positive on day 6 with a less sensitive antigen test. 9 people. I would have been screaming for a retest. The odds of that seem quite long.

 

[Joneill]

So again assuming a 7 day stay they would have been negative on day 5 but positive on day 6 with a less sensitive antigen test. 9 people. I would have been screaming for a retest. The odds of that seem quite long.

Regardless, it highlights what you need to be prepared to deal with if you choose to travel at present.

 

[O-ring]

Regardless, it highlights what you need to be prepared to deal with if you choose to travel at present.

Not a Bonaire anecdote, but perhaps relevant to the current discussion.. I just got back from Socorro on the Nautilus Belle Amie. Mexico doesn't require anything, but Nautilus required PCR or antigen within 7 days of boarding (I did a PCR) and then they did an antigen the day of boarding. One of the divers that was supposed to be on our boat tested positive the day of boarding. None of the other people he traveled with tested positive (they came all the way from Switzerland). Nautilus ushered us all out of the shop while they retested him, but unfortunately, he tested positive again. He was not allowed to board. When we got back after 9 days at sea his travel companions told us he was still testing positive and had been in quarantine the entire time. I'm not sure if he has been allowed to leave Mexico yet. As far as I know, nobody else tested positive when trying to come home, but this is a huge risk/negative to traveling right now. It's bad enough traveling all the way from Switzerland and not getting to go on your liveaboard vacation, but then to also be stuck in a foreign country in quarantine on your own dime and not allowed to leave your room makes for a pretty awful experience. I'm not sure how he'll get home...does he have to satisfy the requirements of Switzerland, Mexico, the airlines and any countries he has to connect in just so he can get home? It's not an area I plan on exploring. I might just sit tight for a while before booking anything else.

 

[NDL_Diver]

So again assuming a 7 day stay they would have been negative on day 5 but positive on day 6 with a less sensitive antigen test. 9 people. I would have been screaming for a retest. The odds of that seem quite long.

Antigen tests have a high (~99%) Specificity rate but a low sensitivity rate. This translates to 99 out of 100 who are negative, test negative (1% false positive). Statistically very unlikely to have 5 false positives. Very little can go wrong administering this test.

The PCR test takes alot if time to get results and a special machine. Much more complicated growing the sample. It probably takes days for them to process all the PCR tests. They probably got the results of the antigen before they recived the results if the PCR. Plus this virus replicates rapidly. One day is can make a difference on a 3 day incubation period.

They can retest all they want at $40 per test.

 

[uncfnp]

Antigen tests have a high (~99%) Specificity rate but a low sensitivity rate. This translates to 99 out of 100 who are negative, test negative (1% false positive). Statistically very unlikely to have 5 false positives. Very little can go wrong administering this test.

The PCR test takes alot if time to get results and a special machine. Much more complicated growing the sample. It probably takes days for them to process all the PCR tests. They probably got the results of the antigen before they recived the results if the PCR. Plus this virus replicates rapidly. One day is can make a difference on a 3 day incubation period.

They can retest all they want at $40 per test.

Most of the info to respond is found throughout this thread if you read through. Admittedly it is a few pages long.

Test specificity and sensitivity rates are given by the manufacturers and are done under ideal conditions. This was certainly the case when covid tests first hit the market.

Yes, false positives on antigen tests are rare but they do happen. That is why a confirmatory retest, idealy PCR, is recommended when possible. There is one known instance of a test recall related to false positives but more typically false positives are technique related and can include cross contamination and simple human error.

It seems, per other posters, that the “PCR” test given in Bonaire is the Abbott ID now test and results are known in less than an hour.

Yes, one day can make a difference but for 9 out of 40? Not saying it can’t happen but it seems quite notable. Especially when going from PCR to antigen. I would more easily accept the reverse.

 

[uncfnp]

The critical questions for travel to Bonaire for me personally…

If I or my husband test positive on arrival (if done) or on the 5 day test will the spouse be required to quarantine for the duration?

Can isolation be completed at our rental or alternative rental of our choice? This would be ideal since I could stay where I have already paid and with a kitchen. Or if at end of stay, a cheap alternative also with a kitchen.

To me these are the critical questions and would also help determine if I needed trip insurance.

The other step I intend to take before my trip is to get my booster shot at the end of this month if I do not test positive before then.