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International travel in the time of COVID

MEmama

By MEmama,
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Drama Llama
Drama Llama

All of you are vaccinated? To me, the goal with covid precautions post vaccination is to live with the mitigation strategies that we can live with so that Rnaught stays down, and do the things th

Lanny
Lanny

This morning (local time in Germany) DD went to get a lab test for COVID-19. It was "Negative", so her 10 day quarantine is over, after 5 days of quarantine and that exam. She isn't sure if it was a P

Farrar
Farrar

I have an Irish friend who has been back to Ireland twice during the pandemic. It seemed like it was very easy. Honestly, of all the places to go... that seems like one of the easier options. Of cours

Lanny

Lanny

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DD has an appointment to get tested for COVID-19 tomorrow morning. (19 August 2021).  God willing she is still "Negative" after her trip from Colombia to Germany and 5 days in the dorm/hotel.  It is free for German citizens.  Possibly will also be free for her?  They told her the results take approximately 20 minutes.  I think the Antigen exam may be OK to end the Quarantine. Seems like the Antigen exam is less invasive than the PCR exam? So I am praying and have my fingers crossed for a "Negative" result for her exam tomorrow.   Also, she has an appointment to get the first vaccination for COVID-19.

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ieta_cassiopeia

ieta_cassiopeia

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1 hour ago, Lanny said:

DD has an appointment to get tested for COVID-19 tomorrow morning. (19 August 2021).  God willing she is still "Negative" after her trip from Colombia to Germany and 5 days in the dorm/hotel.  It is free for German citizens.  Possibly will also be free for her?  They told her the results take approximately 20 minutes.  I think the Antigen exam may be OK to end the Quarantine. Seems like the Antigen exam is less invasive than the PCR exam? So I am praying and have my fingers crossed for a "Negative" result for her exam tomorrow.   Also, she has an appointment to get the first vaccination for COVID-19.

Antigen is definitely less invasive than PCR (and also much cheaper for the provider; it's cheap enough that my library is giving away free antigen tests to take at home for anyone who wants one).

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Matryoshka

Matryoshka

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Posted (edited)
12 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Is it safe to travel as the delta variant spreads? Here's what the experts say (thepointsguy.com)

 

Some countries no longer accept paper CDC vaccine cards. Here’s how you can prove vaccination status (thepointsguy.com)

Apparently Samsung and iPhone now have a way to store your vax status in your phone- part of tge process is that they verify with your health provider that you're actually vaxxed, so no self-entering the data.  And apparently Google Pay is doing something similar. You get a QR code.   

Article Link 

 

Edited by Matryoshka
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Lanny

Lanny

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This morning (local time in Germany) DD went to get a lab test for COVID-19. It was "Negative", so her 10 day quarantine is over, after 5 days of quarantine and that exam. She isn't sure if it was a PCR or an Antigen test. It was Free.

Then, in the afternoon, she went for her first COVID-19 vaccination. They gave her the Pfizer vaccine which IMO is the best. It was Free.

I'm thankful that she changed her reservation to go to Germany 10+ days earlier, so she could do the 10 day quarantine if it was required and it was required, as we had assumed it would be.

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Spryte

Spryte

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9 hours ago, Lanny said:

This morning (local time in Germany) DD went to get a lab test for COVID-19. It was "Negative", so her 10 day quarantine is over, after 5 days of quarantine and that exam. She isn't sure if it was a PCR or an Antigen test. It was Free.

Then, in the afternoon, she went for her first COVID-19 vaccination. They gave her the Pfizer vaccine which IMO is the best. It was Free.

I'm thankful that she changed her reservation to go to Germany 10+ days earlier, so she could do the 10 day quarantine if it was required and it was required, as we had assumed it would be.

That’s great news!  So happy that she has her first shot. 

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Bootsie

Bootsie

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If you are planning to travel internationally, my advice is to check and recheck any travel requirements and restrictions and allow plenty of extra time to deal with paperwork and any problems.  The airlines seem to have many new employees who are not experienced in dealing with issues or speedy in handling basic tasks.  In addition, they are dealing with ever-changing requirements in a variety of languages and are overwhelmed.  

I just took DH to the airport.  We are experienced travelers and he has kept up with current requirements.  He is flying into Germany, renting a car, and driving to Austria to our daughter's residence.  Because he will be in Germany less than 24 hours he is exempt from the German quarantine requirements.  But, the airline said he must fill out a form showing where he will be in Germany for the next 10 days (with postal code, address, apartment number, etc.) or they wouldn't let him board the flight.  

Luckily I had just gotten back from Europe and am familiar with the EU locater forms that are being used.  The airline sent him to a form that is only good for Italy, Malta, and one other country.  To reach the one for Germany required some knowledge of German.  (Again we are lucky that DH and I speak some German and DD is fluent in German).  We had to talk to four airline employees and translate German for them for them to understand which information they needed to enter to allow DH to board the flight.  The airline agents were stressed and overwhelmed and passengers (in addition to DH) were having trouble and stressed, afraid they would miss their international flight--which does not make a good combination.

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Lanny

Lanny

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On 8/22/2021 at 4:32 PM, Bootsie said:

If you are planning to travel internationally, my advice is to check and recheck any travel requirements and restrictions and allow plenty of extra time to deal with paperwork and any problems.

<snip>

Amen and plus one for this.  I suggest doing that every 24 hours, as it gets close to the date of the flights.

Not as often as on WTM, but I occasionally post on a Travel Forum for Colombia, which is where we live. Colombia has a form for International passengers to use (arriving or departing) called Check-Mig.  The original Check-Mig form seems to be problematic and I am constantly suggesting to people that they use the Contingency form of the Check-Mig form. That one works properly and gives a QR Code. When people "object" to using the Contingency form, I explain to them that if they use the original form, the airline may Deny Boarding (which I know happens).  Also, the airline may require them to purchase another ticket, for their new departure date.

 I am beginning to think about suggestions for after DD finishes her "Semester Abroad" in Germany in December 2021. There will be 2 options: (a) To spend more time in Germany and avoid issues with Quarantines in other countries in the EU/UK and then on the return to the USA or (b) Visit one other country in the EU or UK after leaving Germany and then go to the USA.

 I believe that with COVID-19 one must be very flexible and ready to change if necessary before the scheduled departure date. 

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madteaparty

madteaparty

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Yes, be flexible and have a sense of humor about it. I also screenshot government requirements because sometimes airline staff doesn’t know. I was transiting through Germany and helped the airline person scroll Aaaaall the way done to where it says I needed nothing.

also, some rules are just bizarre. I can get into France with my cdc vaccination card, but can’t have a coffee outside or a meal or anything without the French covid pass QR. so schlep to the lone open pharmacy on Sunday, straight from airport (you can see it from line of people waiting for covid tests outside), do test, get QR code and feel like you won the lottery AND repeat every three days. 🤷‍♀️

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mommyoffive

mommyoffive

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Posted

What to do if you've booked a Europe trip and entry rules change so you can no longer get in (thepointsguy.com)

 

Here's how the new EU recommendation affects travel from the US to Europe (thepointsguy.com)

 

Some countries are setting vaccine expiration dates for travel (thepointsguy.com)

 

CDC issues 7 new travel warnings, including Switzerland (thepointsguy.com)

 

Hawaii puts caps on indoor and outdoor dining: Everything you need to know about visiting the islands now (thepointsguy.com)

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TCB

TCB

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I am traveling to the UK in about 10 days time to finally see my parents after 2 years. This whole testing and jumping through the hoops thing is nerve wracking!

I just found out on Sunday that they have changed my flight and instead of flying into Manchester I am now arriving in Heathrow. I had booked my day 2 test to be done at a clinic at the airport as soon as I arrived. I’ve had to now book an at home self test so I can do it wherever I end up and am trying to get my money back from the first one. I definitely wish I had just gone with the at home one straight away. I was worried about flight changes so I think it was a bit stupid of me to do what I did!

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Amira

Amira

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3 minutes ago, TCB said:

I am traveling to the UK in about 10 days time to finally see my parents after 2 years. This whole testing and jumping through the hoops thing is nerve wracking!

I just found out on Sunday that they have changed my flight and instead of flying into Manchester I am now arriving in Heathrow. I had booked my day 2 test to be done at a clinic at the airport as soon as I arrived. I’ve had to now book an at home self test so I can do it wherever I end up and am trying to get my money back from the first one. I definitely wish I had just gone with the at home one straight away. I was worried about flight changes so I think it was a bit stupid of me to do what I did!

Good luck!  All the moving pieces are hard to juggle right now, but you’ll get there.  I’m glad you’ll be able to see your parents again.

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MEmama

MEmama

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On 9/7/2021 at 7:28 PM, TCB said:

I am traveling to the UK in about 10 days time to finally see my parents after 2 years. This whole testing and jumping through the hoops thing is nerve wracking!

I just found out on Sunday that they have changed my flight and instead of flying into Manchester I am now arriving in Heathrow. I had booked my day 2 test to be done at a clinic at the airport as soon as I arrived. I’ve had to now book an at home self test so I can do it wherever I end up and am trying to get my money back from the first one. I definitely wish I had just gone with the at home one straight away. I was worried about flight changes so I think it was a bit stupid of me to do what I did!

We were able to buy at home kits straight through the airline and we got them in just a couple of days. 
 

It’s hard to know the “right” thing to do. Ordering them was a last minute decision for us, vs testing in a clinic before flying home. 

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J-rap

J-rap

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29 minutes ago, MEmama said:

We were able to buy at home kits straight through the airline and we got them in just a couple of days. 
 

It’s hard to know the “right” thing to do. Ordering them was a last minute decision for us, vs testing in a clinic before flying home. 

Which home Covid test did you get?  My dd is flying to France on Saturday to visit her sister, and was planning to find testing site there, but a home test would be so much simpler!  (Might be too late at this point to order it though.)

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Laura Corin

Laura Corin

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6 minutes ago, J-rap said:

Which home Covid test did you get?  My dd is flying to France on Saturday to visit her sister, and was planning to find testing site there, but a home test would be so much simpler!  (Might be too late at this point to order it though.)

You would also need to check the local regulations to see if home testing is allowed.  Each European country has set its own rules.

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MEmama

MEmama

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7 hours ago, J-rap said:

Which home Covid test did you get?  My dd is flying to France on Saturday to visit her sister, and was planning to find testing site there, but a home test would be so much simpler!  (Might be too late at this point to order it though.)

Binax. 
 

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MEmama

MEmama

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7 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

You would also need to check the local regulations to see if home testing is allowed.  Each European country has set its own rules.

Yes, this. We didn’t have to test to get into Ireland since we are fully vaxxed, but rules everywhere are changing fast.
 

The Binax tests are approved by the US for return back home. 

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Lanny

Lanny

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2 hours ago, Harpymom said:

Dd just bought her ticket back to Switzerland, via Lisbon.  Denial no more!  Researching the requirements looks like not much for Switzerland - quarantine no longer required for vaccinated people.

When looking at some different routings for DD to return from Germany (or possibly from the UK or another EU country) to her destination in the USA, I have seen TAP show up with very low fares on a number of occasions. More interesting is that they will permit a FREE stopover in Portugal (airfare only) for up to 5 nights, if one arranges that when booking the reservation. That is very cool if someone has the time and interest and money in seeing some of Portugal.

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J-rap

J-rap

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3 hours ago, Harpymom said:

Dd just bought her ticket back to Switzerland, via Lisbon.  Denial no more!  Researching the requirements looks like not much for Switzerland - quarantine no longer required for vaccinated people.

This is what we found too, on the Travelcheck website and others.  (Even though our dd is going to France and has a layover in Paris, she actually lands across the border in Geneva.)  What we're not sure of is if she's allowed on a public shuttle (into France) without France's health certificate.  (Although not a huge problem...she can take a ride-share car instead if she needs to.)

Another family member is flying to the UK next week, and has been told that vaccinated travelers from the U.S. can fly there but need to take a Covid test on day 2 of their arrival.

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MEmama

MEmama

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34 minutes ago, J-rap said:

This is what we found too, on the Travelcheck website and others.  (Even though our dd is going to France and has a layover in Paris, she actually lands across the border in Geneva.)  What we're not sure of is if she's allowed on a public shuttle (into France) without France's health certificate.  (Although not a huge problem...she can take a ride-share car instead if she needs to.)

Another family member is flying to the UK next week, and has been told that vaccinated travelers from the U.S. can fly there but need to take a Covid test on day 2 of their arrival.

This is a useful site for checking each individual countries regulations. Be aware that just passing through can come with its own issues, and that things are changing fast. 
 

www.reopen.europa.eu

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J-rap

J-rap

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44 minutes ago, MEmama said:

This is a useful site for checking each individual countries regulations. Be aware that just passing through can come with its own issues, and that things are changing fast. 
 

www.reopen.europa.eu

Thanks for the site!  it's really helpful.  I hadn't seen that one, although it does link to sites we've been checking almost daily, so that makes me feel better!  Yeah, it's so much to think about, because it's not just the layover city, but, what country are you coming from right before the layover city, etc.   Well at least in two more days, she'll either be on her way there, or not....

Pre-pandemic, another dd had been traveling through Ecuador and then planning to fly to another Latin American country on her way back to the USA to visit us.  Going directly to the USA would have been easy, but the country we were in required her to have proof of a Yellow Fever vaccine before boarding the plane.  So, she was stopped at the gate, and that was that!  She did have that vaccine a few years earlier, but it took her a couple days to get her medical records and she was out of money at that point, so wasn't a great experience.  We've learned to be extra careful now, but of course with Covid, it changes all the time and even countries right next to each other handle it differently!

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SKL

SKL

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Ugh we may be invited to an overseas wedding that may be in December.

I want to take my kids to this couple's wedding, but I don't want to travel yet.

Also, I don't know how they're going to have a normal wedding with all that's going on.

This is a tough one.  How to say no and get people to take no for an answer.

My gut tells me that December is too soon.

Edited by SKL
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J-rap

J-rap

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On 9/10/2021 at 3:12 PM, MEmama said:

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/france-us-travelers-restriction-covid/index.html

I didn't see this until just now!  Well, my dd made it to France just a couple hours ago.  She had her Covid vaccination card and a copy of her medical chart showing it as well.  She didn't take a Covid test ahead of time...  Every site we checked said it was unnecessary.  She flew from our state to Chicago, where she got on her int'l flight.  That flight included a quick layover in Paris before flying to Geneva.  Then she had to cross the border back into France (her final destination).  She was planning to take an airport shuttle there, but it seemed too risky.  (France requires a Health Certificate to use public transportation.)  Her sister -- who she was visiting -- was able to arrange a ride-share for her, which is private.  It's called Bla-Bla and is similar to Uber except multiple passengers go together and split the cost.  Another couple hours and she made it to her sister's.  Just over 20 hours total.  😄  I actually haven't heard any details yet so not sure if she ran into any problems along the way.  I just know she made it!

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TCB

TCB

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I just did my pre flight Covid PCR test at CVS a couple of hours ago. They don’t do the rapid tests here. I’m also going to drive to a nearbyish town tomorrow where I can get an antigen test that should result within a few hours. I’m praying that one of them, at least, comes back before Wednesday afternoon when I fly, and that, of course, it’s negative. I don’t have any symptoms at all and I’ve been wearing a happy mask, or KN 95 every time I’m inside anywhere public, so hopefully all will be well.

Once I get there I’m going to wear an N95 in the airport, and also in the car, and around my parents inside, until I can get tested and be clear from the journey. It’s nerve wracking for sure.

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Lanny

Lanny

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1 hour ago, TCB said:

I just did my pre flight Covid PCR test at CVS a couple of hours ago. They don’t do the rapid tests here. I’m also going to drive to a nearbyish town tomorrow where I can get an antigen test that should result within a few hours. I’m praying that one of them, at least, comes back before Wednesday afternoon when I fly, and that, of course, it’s negative. I don’t have any symptoms at all and I’ve been wearing a happy mask, or KN 95 every time I’m inside anywhere public, so hopefully all will be well.

Once I get there I’m going to wear an N95 in the airport, and also in the car, and around my parents inside, until I can get tested and be clear from the journey. It’s nerve wracking for sure.

My original plan for my DD, who was unvaccinated because of her age, was that 2 days before her trip began she would go to 2 different labs for 2 different PCR exams. Then things began to go awry in what I saw in the news about Spain finding some arriving passengers from here with False PCR results and I decided that it would better to spend $$$$ and get one PCR exam in the most expensive hospital in the city of Cali. I think her appointment was at 11 A.M. that morning and she got the Negative result about  6 P.M.?   

Interesting that in Germany, after 5 days in quarantine, she was eligible to go for a Covid-19 exam. I'm not sure if they did a PCR or Antigen exam. The results from either of those exams were ready in about 30 minutes. I guess it depends on the procedures of the lab checking the results.  Her exam was "Negative" and that ended her quarantine and she got the first Pfizer BioNTech jab that afternoon and 2 days ago she had the 2nd jab.

Have a safe trip!

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J-rap

J-rap

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Posted
2 hours ago, TCB said:

I just did my pre flight Covid PCR test at CVS a couple of hours ago. They don’t do the rapid tests here. I’m also going to drive to a nearbyish town tomorrow where I can get an antigen test that should result within a few hours. I’m praying that one of them, at least, comes back before Wednesday afternoon when I fly, and that, of course, it’s negative. I don’t have any symptoms at all and I’ve been wearing a happy mask, or KN 95 every time I’m inside anywhere public, so hopefully all will be well.

Once I get there I’m going to wear an N95 in the airport, and also in the car, and around my parents inside, until I can get tested and be clear from the journey. It’s nerve wracking for sure.

I know of several people who have gotten two tests before traveling, either two different Covid PCR tests or a Covid and an antigen test.  I think for all of them, both tests arrived in time.  Regular test (vs. rapid test) results here seem to be coming more quickly too, but I know it's a little nerve-wracking waiting!  The last regular PCR test we took, about a month ago, we got results in about 24 hours.  Last spring we took a rapid test but for that we had to pay out-of-pocket, and it's not cheap.

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madteaparty

madteaparty

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3 hours ago, J-rap said:

I didn't see this until just now!  Well, my dd made it to France just a couple hours ago.  She had her Covid vaccination card and a copy of her medical chart showing it as well.  She didn't take a Covid test ahead of time...  Every site we checked said it was unnecessary.  She flew from our state to Chicago, where she got on her int'l flight.  That flight included a quick layover in Paris before flying to Geneva.  Then she had to cross the border back into France (her final destination).  She was planning to take an airport shuttle there, but it seemed too risky.  (France requires a Health Certificate to use public transportation.)  Her sister -- who she was visiting -- was able to arrange a ride-share for her, which is private.  It's called Bla-Bla and is similar to Uber except multiple passengers go together and split the cost.  Another couple hours and she made it to her sister's.  Just over 20 hours total.  😄  I actually haven't heard any details yet so not sure if she ran into any problems along the way.  I just know she made it!

I was expecting and was prepared, but I was not asked for my pass sanitaire on public transport (trains) in France when I dropped DD off...

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