Info Here’s what happens if your US return test is positive. A second hand account.

[RIHappyDiver]

10 days of quarantine as a result of a false positive is a lot more than an inconvenience, particularly if you are 100% asymptomatic. My opinion is that we all need to just move forward and deal with this. Those that don't want to take that route should stay home and hide in their closets to be sure that they are safe.

You and I will have to agree to disagree on a few things. But, since this thread is about what might happen if you follow the laws of various countries, let’s please agree to get back on that subject.

Erik

 

[RIHappyDiver]

@brsnow , @tursiops , @Jcp2 , it seems @tursiops has the right idea as far as the length of quarantine depending on the country you are in when you test positive. A friend told me of someone quarantining in Portugal for 5 days. After all, it’s their county that they tested positive in, so that countries rules would apply, not US. Maybe @Saturated and satisfied or @Dive Curaçao could weigh in on quarantine rules in Curaçao

 

[brsnow]

@brsnow , @tursiops , @Jcp2 , it seems @tursiops has the right idea as far as the length of quarantine depending on the country you are in when you test positive. A friend told me of someone quarantining in Portugal for 5 days. After all, it’s their county that they tested positive in, so that countries rules would apply, not US. Maybe @Saturated and satisfied or @Dive Curaçao could weigh in on quarantine rules in Curaçao

@brsnow , @tursiops , @Jcp2 , it seems @tursiops has the right idea as far as the length of quarantine depending on the country you are in when you test positive. A friend told me of someone quarantining in Portugal for 5 days. After all, it’s their county that they tested positive in, so that countries rules would apply, not US. Maybe @Saturated and satisfied or @Dive Curaçao could weigh in on quarantine rules in Curaçao

It is a US requirement enforced by the airlines. You could always use a virtual proctor if you are concerned.

 

[RIHappyDiver]

It is a US requirement enforced by the airlines. You could always use a virtual proctor if you are concerned.

Are you referring to testing or quarantine? It would seem that, unless the country you’re in has no quarantine policy, the quarantine time would be determined by the country you’re in as long it is as long as, or longer than, US requirements.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I'm just not leaving the US till this BS ends. It sucks but otherwise is just 2 risky.

I hear ya. Being cautious, risk-averse people by nature, my wife and I deferred all travel for a long time. But in the past year or so, we have cautiously ventured out on three (I think) trips to the Caribbean and one to Europe, and successfully navigated the hassles and dangers until two weeks ago when Covid finally caught up with us.

In preparation for returning to the US from the Caribbean, we took the teleproctored Abbott Binax Now tests, and we both tested negative. On the flight home, we started to feel a little fatigued but attributed it to the long day of travel, not to mention an airport beer or two. By the time we got home in the wee hours of the morning we felt bad and planned to self-test the next morning. Sure enough, both of us tested positive on an at-home test. We had flu-like/cold-like symptoms for a couple of days--low fever, body aches, headache, cough, phlegm, etc.--then felt generally fuzzy for the rest of the week. Apparently, this is considered "mild" Covid. A lost week, basically.

We let our masks down during most of the two flights back to the US, relying on that widespread belief that the aircraft HEPA filtration is like a hospital's. This was just after the US dropped mask requirements on US-bound flights, and many passengers on the flights had apparently chosen not to wear masks. (A few passengers even cheered when the flight attendants announced masks were now optional.) We masked when standing in lines/crowds ... er, when it occurred to us. We dropped the masks when eating at airport bars. In short, we were not as careful as we had been for the past two years. We admittedly let our guard down and, at times, sort of allowed ourselves to pretend there was no pandemic and this was carefree vacation as it used to be. With the highly contagious Omicron and sub-variants, I could not help but wonder how much of an effect masking has anymore--some, sure, but how much really? In hindsight we feel we did not do everything we could have done to protect ourselves and others, and we regret it. It's my understanding that an infected person is most contagious the day before symptoms appear, and if that is the case, we were at peak infectiousness during our travel home. I can't help but wonder if we infected anyone.

Now, the interesting part, relevant to this thread, is that there were others in our extended group on the trip who were staying an extra day, and we heard some tested positive and had to isolate for some number of days instead of taking their planned flights back to the US. I do not know any details of their isolation requirement and how many extra days they ended up staying. I think, "that could have been us." Maybe it would have been better if we had tested positive and isolated than tested negative and taken the flights home while contagious. Maybe we should have taken a PCR test even though an antigen test is acceptable. We had trip interruption insurance that I believe would have covered at least some days of hotel stay for isolation. My wife had brought a laptop to stay connected with work in case we were unable to return on our planned date. This wasn't entirely a surprise.

 

[brsnow]

Are you referring to testing or quarantine? It would seem that, unless the country you’re in has no quarantine policy, the quarantine time would be determined by the country you’re in as long it is as long as, or longer than, US requirements.

The only reason you take the test is to board a plane to the US. The country you are in doesn’t need to know or require the test to leave.

 

[RIHappyDiver]

The only reason you take the test is to board a plane to the US. The country you are in doesn’t need to know or require the test to leave.

I agree with everything you’re saying. However, any testing facility, even here in the US, is going to report a positive result of a test that they administer to the local authorities. If someone were visiting the US and needed a test to go home, a positive result would be reported to the state that they test in.
This is what makes me question who is determining the length of quarantine.

 

[brsnow]

I agree with everything you’re saying. However, any testing facility, even here in the US, is going to report a positive result of a test that they administer to the local authorities. If someone were visiting the US and needed a test to go home, a positive result would be reported to the state that they test in.
This is what makes me question who is determining the length of quarantine.

I don’t agree on the reporting. Especially here, we have hippa laws in the US. These other countries we visit provide testing as a courtesy and source of revenue. It is possible some might take it more seriously but if you have concerns use a virtual testing proctor.

 

[billgraham]

I see the benefits of bringing the self test kit for something like this happens to me in the near future.

I bought two of these for a surf trip to Ecuador for my return to the US. I was supposed to have a video appointment to do the test the morning I was leaving. Of course that didn't work, the customer service was useless, and I still have them, unopened. On the plus side, it was easy to get a test at the airport. My local friends also told me that you can buy any kind of result you want for $25 without taking any test, lol!

 

[Centrals]

The only reason you take the test is to board a plane to the US. The country you are in doesn’t need to know or require the test to leave.

Depend which country/place you are talking about.