NPR readers share how they handled COVID on vacation:
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Last month a woman across the aisle on a flight spent the entire trip coughing and blowing her nose. I wish the airlines had the authority to deny boarding to people with such obvious symptoms.
Luckily I didn’t catch it since I wore an N95.
People just don’t care if they infect others. Just their own convenience.
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If they don’t care about getting Covid themselves, it may be too much to ask them to care about other strangers getting Covid.
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Got back from an 8 day Canadian Rockies tour 3 days ago. Masking required in Canadian terminals and on Air Canada planes. Probably 90+% compliance in terminals and 100% on plane. Alberta required masks on tour bus–100% compliance, though by the end of the week some had to be reminded.
On the last day we sat at lunch with a couple we hadn’t socialized with much on the tour, and by happenstance sat with them again at dinner on the last night. The husband, out of the blue, an hour into the meal, leans over and says “You know, a few days ago I felt lousy, but I feel great now!”
WHY DO YOU TELL ME THIS???
Two days after we get home, wife and I come down with very mild cases of COVID, but COVID nonetheless. Had to isolate 5 days, and mask in public 5 days after.
I think COVID is the price we have to pay if we want to travel??
(When I see that guy in my trip photos, I can’t repeat what I say under my breath…)
Will be traveling to Martha’s Vineyard from NYC in a couple of weeks for a two-week vacation in a rented house. We’re renting a car to drive up (me, DW, S22, D19 and D19’s friend) and taking the ferry over. Yes, ferry ticket for the car was booked back in the winter; otherwise it would be essentially impossible at this late date. S22 will have two or three friends with us for the first week. D19 and her friend will fly back to NYC after the first week. Not especially worried about Covid. DW, S22 and D19’s friend have had it, and DW and I are double-boosted. D19 and I have never had it and take pretty different approaches — she wears a mask in any public indoor setting (though she will dine indoors), while I wear one only where required (still on all public transport in NYC). I’m PCR tested weekly through work, which provides some level of comfort. We’ll see how it goes. D19 is headed to the south of France with friends right after the Vineyard trip, and I hope that all goes smoothly.
We’ve booked a family trip to Jamaica at Thanksgiving, for DW’s 50th birthday. That’ll be my first time on a plane since March 2020. DW went to Portugal late last year for work, uneventfully. And we’re thinking about going to London in December. The travel horror stories are giving me some pause. AirTags sound like a good idea.
Agree, if, in fact, it was Covid. I have asthma and often go into coughing fits. When there were tons of covid cases, I’d tell people near me that I had asthma and often coughed due to pollen, dust etc. I sometimes even took out my inhaler so people would feel more comfortable 
.
The person on the flight could also have had a common cold. I’d feel the same way you did. But there’s really no way to tell unless airlines make tests mandatory again.
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At the outdoor gathering I went to last month, the hostess was coughing and explained it was allergies. The next day, she tested positive. 
I don’t believe any of us attending the event were infected, thank goodness.
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Or, that asthma patient has Covid; there is just no way to know! I think many of us profile people coughing as to having Covid. I work in an allergy office, and I know I have done it. 
People do still get the common cold; it will just take many of us some time to believe that.
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You’d likely hate me coming in. I can totally start wheezing out of the blue or coughing a lot. No rhyme or reason. Mostly a reaction to chemicals, smells and pollen.
Funny thing is, when I had Covid I had zero breathing issues.
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@deb922 I bought some tests in January, removed all the bar codes and mailed it all in as snail mail is the only way to make a claim like that 
and the insurance company says they never got it & I have to start over, so annoying.
Our local area does have freebies at the library and other places
I have asthma and worse so I do have coughing fits from time to time. I am still wary if others cough and claim it’s “ just allergies” or whatever. Often it may be some other infection—viral or bacterial, or it MAY be “just a cough.”
I have not yet gotten Covid and am hoping to delay it as long as possible so better treatments will be available, especially for long Covid which seems so debilitating.
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Any recommendations on travel insurance that covers Airbnb rental? We normally book hotels but for this travel we plan in September Airbnb is the only option and majority of them only have free cancellations within 48 hours
I think it depends on the owners and the policies they set. We are renting an Airbnb for a week and needed to change plans, it was zero problem. And there was no fee. We even got back a night because we shortened the reservation. We can also cancel until a few days before.
Are there other rentals that you like which have more flexible politics? Have you looked at VRBO?
You’ve probably already checked. Since Covid, I only book reservations which can be canceled up to a few days before. Just too many unknowns. I did book one night of our vacation at an excellent price, no refunds. Hope the flight leaves on the right day.
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We recently booked 5-6 airbnbs. Many hosts have cancellation a day or two prior to checkin. I didn’t book any that didn’t offer that flexibility.
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@taverngirl We book our Airbnb’s like you do where we can cancel with a full refund 24 to 48 hours before.
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Canada is reinstating random covid testing at 4 of their airports. They claim that they will only be testing 5% of incoming travelers and it will be done off-site. I’m having a hard time understanding how this would work. Flying in and out of Toronto will be saving me a few hundred dollars, but is now adding anxiety to my upcoming trip.
I don’t believe they will test transit passengers at those 4 airports.
check InsureMyTrip.com, you likely want CFAR (cancel for any reason) as Covid is no longer an extenuating circumstance on ABB:
I offer a link to this coverage to all my guests, perhaps you can purchase it directly?
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Thank you!
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H has picked up free covid tests at our local library. Gets two boxes every time he visits.
We’re going to avoid the airports and instead drive cross-country to see S1. We’ve been doing day trips and a few weekend trips (within a couple hours of home) and feel like we have worked out a good system. No indoor dining, stay at motels with HVAC that vents outside and/or has windows we can open. If we have to go through a lobby, N-95s. A CCer recommended bringing a small HEPA filter, so that arrived from Amazon yesterday. We’ll pack sandwich stuff and stop at picnic areas along the way. Dinner will be takeout. We mask whenever we leave the house, so that routine is solid. We’re seeing some family along the way – in small doses, and we’ll be outdoors, and I should probably talk to my sister about how many people will be around. We’ll be testing to protect them (my niece is due in early September and I don’t know if her 2 yo is fully vaxed yet) and to make sure we’re ok. Will bring the free covid tests H acquired.
H tested positive while we were on a Memorial Day trip – in all likelihood, it was a rooftop reception at a work-related event where food was served. H actually ate, thinking it’d be ok outdoors. I had spent the two days before he tested positive driving in the car with him, plus sharing a hotel room for two nights, and then driving nine hours home.
I qualified for Evusheld injections and had gotten them exactly two weeks before our trip. Thank G-d. I think that’s why I didn’t get sick. Oncologist says they are good for six months, and I can still get a second Moderna booster. So, tomorrow I have an appointment for that. Will wear a surgical or fabric mask in the car on our trip, and N-95 everywhere else. S1 has a mini-PCR device from his employer and will test us when we arrive.
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