The Swine Flu thing...

[don Francisco]

Going outside of a terminal during a layover should be easy enough. You just have to put up with TSA screening again on re-entering.

..... but how do you figure destination is not important? Yes, I know this H1N1-2009 has established itself in other places, most certainly in Texas to some extent, but it's still most common in Mexico - so how it visiting Mexico as safe as others?

While you don't seem willing to accept the Mexican government's public announcements about where there are confirmed or uncomfirmed cases, you might do well by understanding Mexican travel patterns. Mexico is a large country and Mexicans don't have the level of intra-national travel that we see in the USA, so most of the travel to and from the hardest hit areas within Mexico is in fact to the good old USA.

The Yucatan Peninsula is a good 1,000+ miles from Mexico City and is an area with little intra-regional travel. Cozumel itself is an island off this fairly remote penninsula. So to say that visiting Cozumel is risky because of flu in Mexico City is like saying visiting Key West is risky because of flu in New York or Texas. If and when this flu does finally appear in Cozumel, or the elsewhere in the Yucatan, it's a safe bet that the route of transmission will be through the USA, with Houston Airport as the most likely crossover for transmission.

The fact is that Mexico is doing more than any other country to manage and contain this flu. Food workers in the USA do not routinely wear masks, Mexicans do. Moreover, Mexico has taken extremely difficult steps to reduce person to person transmission by severely constraining public gatherings, closing schools, and restricting travel.

It remains to be seen whether they're possibly over-reacting, but don't accuse the Mexican government of being asleep, or downplaying the problem.

Ultimately, it's up to each individual to assess any risks, but on careful examination one would have to conclude that travel from the USA to Cozumel is 100% as safe, (for the traveller) as travel to any other destination, and that a visitor from the USA is far more likely to bring this virus in than to take it out.

 

[pilot fish]

It's up to each individual to assess any risks, but on careful examination one would have to conclude that travel from the USA to Cozumel is 100% as safe, (for the traveller) as travel to any other destination, and that a visitor is far more likely to bring this virus in than to take it out.

That's a bit misleading, unintentionally I'm sure, because while the trip TO Coz would be as safe as a trip to any other place, it's the increased infection possibilities in Coz that have people worried. Keep in mind that there have been some cases in Cancun and travel to and from Coz occurs daily.

 

[ggunn]

Well that point is very open to debate. For starters, it's still not proven that the Iraqi General that says his men moved the chemical weapons to Syria was lying. Not to mention that EVERY top intelligence agency in the world said Saddam had WMDs. Bush didn't make that up and get the Russians, Israelis, French, and the UK intelligence services to lie on his behalf too.....

Wanna make a bet on how long it takes for President Teleprompter to use it as an emergency excuse to impliment Socialized Medicine by saying that the poor uninsured masses will be spreading the Swine flu because they won't be going to the doctor?

In my experience, name calling is the last resort when one's argument won't stand on its own.

 

[hammersb]

WOW, you are heading out for a tropical vacation filled with scuba diving.... no negativity there!!

I don't understand what you mean. Are you being sarcastic?

 

[DandyDon]

While, you don't seem willing to accept, the Mexican government's public announcements about where there are confirmed or uncomfirmed cases, you might do well by understanding Mexican travel patterns. Mexico is a large country and Mexicans don't have the level of intra-national travel that we see in the USA, so most of the travel to and from the hardest hit areas within Mexico is in fact to the good old USA.

The Yucatan Peninsula is a good 1,000+ miles from Mexico City and is an area with little intra-regional travel. Cozumel itself is an island off this fairly remote penninsula. So to say that visiting cozumel because of flu in Mexico City is loke saying visiting key West is dangerous because of flu in New York or Texas. If and when this flu does finally appear in Cozumel, or the elsewhere in the Yucatan, it's a safe bet that the route of transmission will be through the USA, with Houston Airport as the most likely crossover for transmission.

The fact is that Mexico is doing more than any other country to manage and contain this flu. Food workers in the USA do not routinely wear masks, Mexicans do. Moreover, Mexico has taken extremely difficult steps to reduce person to person transmission by severely constraining public gatherings, closing schools, and restricting travel.

It remains to be seen whether they're possibly over-reacting, but don't accuse the Mexican government of being asleep, or downplaying the problem.

Ultimately, it's up to each individual to assess any risks, but on careful examination one would have to conclude that travel from the USA to Cozumel is 100% as safe, (for the traveller) as travel to any other destination, and that a visitor is far more likely to bring this virus in than to take it out.

"The Yucatan Peninsula is a good 1,000+ miles from Mexico City" I doubt that's true. I don't know how far it is, but Aeromexico flies from Mexico City to Cancun in 2 hours so I'm guessing around 600-700 miles? Not a big difference, but I am kind of tired of wild claims here.

"Mexicans don't have the level of intra-national travel that we see in the USA..." Probly not, but the Yucatan is no where nearly as isolated as it was 30 years ago. People do travel between the two. Hell, did you know that in the early days of AIDS transmission, that it was a male Flight Attendant who spread it far and wide. Completely different, yes - but don't tell me the Yuc-Pen is isolated.

Oh, BTW, the first symptoms started to show up in early March in the Mexican state of Veracruz. Know where that is? It at the very bottom of the Gulf there, even closer to the Yuc-Pen. Would you like bus information...?

"Cozumel itself is an island off this fairly remote penninsula. " Ever rode the ferry? It's not all tourists. Cozumel is virtually connected to the Yuc-Pen as many locals who travel the ferry there all hours of the day.

"The fact is that Mexico is doing more than any other country to manage and contain this flu. " Hardly! They're doing all they can now, but many reports indicate they are overwhelmed, after a late start.

"...don't accuse the Mexican government of being asleep, or downplaying the problem." Seems to be a popular conception. They would have us believe that there is no flu at all in the Yuc-Pen, H1N1-2009 or otherwise which is really insulting. Flu strains are quite common everywhere even in April, but they don't have a single case of any strain. Please...?! Or maybe they should look harder...?

 

[jayjoans]

DandyDon--do you work for the swine flu lobby or what!?

geez man, it's as if you have a financial stake in making sure people remain freaked out. There is plenty of information out there now for people to make their own decisions. It is not like the first 24 hours when everybody was going "hog" wild about this. Even the media is toning it down, yet you're still pulling fire alarms left and right.

My assumption is that if someone is a certified diver, they likely have at least half a brain. At this point, that's all you need to decide whether traveling is in your comfort zone or not.

End of a non-story already.

 

[ggunn]

"The Yucatan Peninsula is a good 1,000+ miles from Mexico City" I doubt that's true. I don't know how far it is, but Aeromexico flies from Mexico City to Cancun in 2 hours so I'm guessing around 600-700 miles? Not a big difference, but I am kind of tired of wild claims here.

From Travel Distance Calculator and Map between World Cities
Mexico, Mexico to Cozumel, Mexico - 980.11 Miles

BTW, Austin is only 566 miles from Mexico City. On Cozumel I'll be nearly twice as far away from Swine Flu Ground Zero as I am at home. ;^)

 

[pilot fish]

Why is it that people they recommend caution and that take this flu situation seriously, how can you not?, get jumped on in this thread? He' s just correcting errors and advising fellow divers to pay attention to the warnings. Coz is Don's second home. Hello?

DandyDon--do you work for the swine flu lobby or what!?

geez man, it's as if you have a financial stake in making sure people remain freaked out. There is plenty of information out there now for people to make their own decisions. It is not like the first 24 hours when everybody was going "hog" wild about this. Even the media is toning it down, yet you're still pulling fire alarms left and right.

My assumption is that if someone is a certified diver, they likely have at least half a brain. At this point, that's all you need to decide whether traveling is in your comfort zone or not.

End of a non-story already.

 

[don Francisco]

That's a bit misleading, unintentionally I'm sure, because while the trip TO Coz would be as safe as a trip to any other place, it's the increased infection possibilities in Coz that have people worried. Keep in mind that there have been some cases in Cancun and travel to and from Coz occurs daily.

Don't mean to mislead, and it's possible that you have some info I lack, but to my knowledge, and I'm keeping abreast of this story as it develops, there are as yet no confirmed cases anywhere in the Yucatan, including Cancun.

There are confirmed cases among New York city students who visited Cancun recently, but there's been no confirmation of where they might have picked up the virus. It's just as possible that transmission occured at an airport enroute.

 

[Christi]

Coz is Don's second home. Hello?

?????????????

No one is saying not to keep advised or to stay aware of the situation - they're saying make informed choices - which even Don does and then he ends the same sentence with something like "for those of you foolish enough to put yourself in harm's way..." if you're going to encourage people to make informed choices, then don't chastise them for the choices they DO make.

The irony of it is that the people that ARE staying aware and keeping up with the updates and what WHO and CDC are saying are the ones that now realize this isn't nearly as serious as it was initially thought to be and that the hype caused great damage to many people. Yes, it's a nasty flu virus and no one ever wants to get that...but it has no boundaries! While we still have no reported cases of it here as of today, I suspect a few will pop up eventually - but in my opinion, it's nothing to go hysterical over.

With all of this said I will throw my final punch point out there. Given that containment is an impossibility, along with the fact that the swine flu (or any flu/virus/illness for that matter) has no boundaries...I would argue that your travel DESTINATION is irrelevant. If you are afraid to travel because you are afraid of the possibility of getting the flu - then I would also argue with the same logic that you should cancel ALL travel plans including domestic travel until the risks are completely gone.

BTW - I am not chastising those who have chosen to cancel/postpone their travel plans to Cozumel - especially given those with young children. What I question are those that are citing the REASON for their cancellations to Cozumel specifically because they think that travel to this area puts them at higher risk than anywhere else...including but not limited to airports, airplanes, their local grocery store, local gym, local movie theater, bar, etc. My point is that ALL of these places are breeding grounds on a daily basis for a variety of viral infections and bacterial infections. So, I just encourage people to weigh ALL of the facts and weigh the risks associated with this current hysteria vs. those you take in your normal everyday life when making your travel decisions.

I was actually kind of hoping that all of the drug cartel would contract fatal cases of the swine flu and then we'd have nothing left to worry about here but the possibility of hurricanes