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How safe is it to fly to the Philippines during Covid?

Discussion in 'Travel Tips and Advice' started by CatchFriday, Feb 11, 2021.

  1. CatchFriday
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    CatchFriday British Expat living in Alicante, Spain

    Wife wants us to visit the Philippines during May to June - this will mean a long flight from London to Cebu, it suggests that Filipinos and their spouses may not have to isolate, but the risk of getting Covid on a plane concerns me.
  2. ChoiAndJohn
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    ChoiAndJohn Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    Frankly I would suggest you instead ask yourself : "do I mind getting covid-19 and what happens to me when I get sick with it in the Philippines'. I wouldn't personally travel to the Philippines right now for a bull that p×ssed Jack daniels.

    Edit; plus you'll have to be in quarantine in the UK when you get back won't you?

    Further edit: Filipina friend of ours travelled to the phils. Got covid. She's dead now. Likely she would have lived in the UK... Suggest you are certain your trip is worth it...
    Last edited: Feb 11, 2021
    • Agree Agree x 4
  3. Mattecube
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    Mattecube face the sunshine so shadows fall behind you Trusted Member

    At present there is a "state of calamity"imposed in the Philippines and only returning Filipinos their children and spouses can enter the Philippines
    There has been some debate as to spouse meaning returning spouse ie a long term resident or a visiting spouse traveling with his/her Filipino wife/ husband.
    You need to check then you need to consider quarentine periods there and when you return to UK
    Then there is the risk of illness whilst there Then travel insurence given UK has banned all but essential international travel would you can you get travel insurence. A trip to
    Blackpool will be safer!
    • Agree Agree x 3
  4. Aromulus
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    Aromulus The Don Staff Member

    My wife, a few weeks ago mentioned going back to Cebu for the Sinulog Festival and the Talisay Fiesta.......

    I only said..... I will miss you...
    • Like Like x 1
  5. Druk1
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    Druk1 Well-Known Member

    Sinulog was cancelled this year, would have been a long trip for nowt :oops:
    • Like Like x 1
  6. Aromulus
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    Aromulus The Don Staff Member

    She watched the Novena night Mass live streaming on yutchub
    Nine nights on the trot..........

    Respect her unwavering faith
    • Informative Informative x 1
  7. CatchFriday
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    CatchFriday British Expat living in Alicante, Spain

    She is definitely determining to go ..................
  8. Mattecube
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    Mattecube face the sunshine so shadows fall behind you Trusted Member

  9. CatchFriday
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    CatchFriday British Expat living in Alicante, Spain

    Let's just say that I didn't hear of flight attendants dropping dead all over....
    will having the vaccine mitigate the risk?
  10. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    If she has had the vaccine at least 3 weeks before she travels then there is some mitigation of risk but given that you need the second dose to have the best immunity that means she would need the vaccine 14 weeks prior to travel given current government plans, a 12 week gap from first vaccine dose to the second and two additional weeks for the second to dose to take effect.

    There are no vaccine passports and even if there were you would need other countries to agree that they were valid so there is no way round the travel restriction policies in place in these countries, obviously being fully vaccinated would give your wife some reassurance but she needs travel insurance either way and no vaccine is 100% effective, though the Astra Zeneca vaccine does appear to prevent hospitalisation in almost all cases.

    I would not travel after only the first vaccine shot and I absolutely would not travel if the first shot was the Pfizer vaccine given the mess this government has made of the science regards Pfizer.
    • Agree Agree x 1
  11. ChoiAndJohn
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    ChoiAndJohn Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    Maybe you weren't looking carefully enough. If I google 'flight attendant death covid' I find a number of flight attendant deaths with zero effort and a number of cases where flight attendants have tested positive. I feel your desire to please your wife is causing you to ignore the facts here.

    Your issue is - what happens to YOU if you catch Covid-19 either before you go, on the aircraft, or in the philippines (a distinct possibility) and then have to rely on Philippines medical care with no ventilation and no expensive drugs? Are you young enough not to be concerned?

    Your life, your choice of course. But I frankly think it's foolish to travel right now.
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2021
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  12. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    I don't think Larry or his wife are particularly young.

    Interesting point the pre-flight Covid PCR tests are to prevent you boarding a plane in an infected state the airports which are doing additional lateral flow tests immediately before departure will help a bit but they are not that accurate with accuracy rates of 50% or lower being quoted, so flights end up being Russian roulette pot luck and if you have to transit which 90% of Philippine flights will require then it all goes out the window as who knows the safely of the environments you will pass through. And then there is the quarantine on arrival in the Philippines of uncertain length if you actually test positive, we have a relative who went through hotel quarantine on arrival in Manila for a week a few weeks ago got out on a negative PCR test .
    • Informative Informative x 1
  13. aposhark
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    aposhark Well-Known Member Lifetime Member

    Wouldn't it be prudent to wait until she has had the two vaccine jabs?
    • Agree Agree x 1
  14. Mattecube
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    Mattecube face the sunshine so shadows fall behind you Trusted Member

    Larry,, don't you work within the NHS if I Remember correctly from another thread!
    Do you think some fancy Dan trip is worth the potential risk you may put onto the NHS
    • Agree Agree x 1
  15. CatchFriday
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    CatchFriday British Expat living in Alicante, Spain

    Well actually
    i did some work for the NHS last year as a team leader on track and trace - I have a poor opinion on the service offered. I have to respect that my wife has a choice, she hasn’t seen her family in three years, misses them greatly. She has some admin work in the Philippines to attend too.
    I may travel back with her if we go business class, if a deal comes in that is .........
    I think though next year would be better.......
    • Agree Agree x 1
  16. DavidAlma
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    DavidAlma Well-Known Member

    Seemingly, the majority here are of the opinion that one is more likely to catch Covid here in Philippines than in UK. I respectfully suggest that the opposite is true. Whilst the actual numbers are always to be regarded with a certain amount of caution, they do show that case numbers and deaths are far higher in UK than here. Truthfully, there is no way I would leave here to travel to UK right now.
    • Agree Agree x 2
  17. ChoiAndJohn
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    ChoiAndJohn Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    That's not actually what I said. The point is that Philippines medical care is primitive and ventilators and beds are in a short supply. Therefore the traveller is likely to experience a worse and certainly a more expensive - outcome if he falls ill - whilst in the Philippines.

    Suppose we agree that you're more likely to catch covid in the UK. Let's pretend you're twice as likely to catch it. You're also much more likely to survive the experience. It cancels out.

    I would personally choose a bigger risk of getting sick and surviving over a smaller risk of being forever dead.
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2021
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  18. Druk1
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    Druk1 Well-Known Member

    I can get the exact figures if need be, but I was told a while ago of someone in Davao Doctors in icu on a ventilator, the whole ER scenario, for a month, I think from memory it was over a million peso.
    • Informative Informative x 1
  19. ChoiAndJohn
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    ChoiAndJohn Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    Yeah. So it basically boils down to a choice:

    Should a person:

    a) Travel to a land with inadequate and expensive medical facilities and take the risk that they will wind up losing a lot of money or dead or both?

    b) Not travel and remain in the UK with superior free medical treatment.

    This thread is frankly funny. It's pretty obvious which choice above is the wise one.
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2021
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  20. CatchFriday
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    CatchFriday British Expat living in Alicante, Spain

    Well I just got my Vaccine dates - 25th Feb and 13 May ........ think that she should wait till they call her before going........ this thread though is full of useful advice though! It has helped me say NO.

    I am 67 and she is 45 ........

    My British niece aged 53 most unfortunately has been in ICU almost a month on a ventilator with Covid-19 and is very-ill.

    I have now told her she is not going.
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2021
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