Anyone concerned about the Coronavirus in WDW ?

[SaintsManiac]

Have you seen heath insurance deductibles? Of course, people are going to wait as long as possible before visiting their doctor.

This is the problem. And they will still go to work, because of poor sick time policies and they can't lose the income. Then more people will get it. Then they won't be able to pay their medical bills or any bills when they are treated and/or quarantined for 3 weeks.

Things could get very ugly here.

 

[RamblingMad]

This is the problem. And they will still go to work, because of poor sick time policies and they can't lose the income. Then more people will get it. Then they won't be able to pay their medical bills or any bills when they are treated and/or quarantined for 3 weeks.

Things could get very ugly here.

Yep. It’s especially hard as deductibles reset two months ago. A doctor’s visit might be all out of pocket. And sick time accrual in some states suck. This is where European countries have it much better. It’s much easier to contain.

 

[pal6860]

Yes, I've fixed my post as I thought I was clear what I meant by symptoms, which I guess I wasn't.

Have a great day!

I believe you were correct in all of your comments.

This is a really unique situation. Whereas I agree with the others that going to the hospital for simple cold like symptoms is overkill, will overrun the hospitals, increase the risk of infection to hospital staff and patients, etc, the nature of this disease is such that ignoring it can be worse.

The problem is most people will continue about their life when they are sick. It’s what we do. We are a hard working nation that won’t let “simple” sickness (like a simple cold) knock us down. We go to work, go shopping, go to class or church, go on airplanes to all over the world, even to....our favorite amusement park. Yes, some consider that irresponsible behavior in the middle of flu season.

But in the middle of a potential pandemic, it can be worse. The problem with COVID 19 is that it is so virulent, estimated to be more so than influenza. Yes more people have died from influenza. But COVID 19, with no vaccine, being as virulent as it appears to be, with a potentially higher mortality rate than influenza, is altogether a different virus with much more potential for harm.

I do not purport to have any answers (calling a phone number in Italy as one reported is an interesting idea), but ignoring your symptoms (particulary when you have a fever over 100.4) is potentially worse.

 

[Farro]

Have you seen heath insurance deductibles? Of course, people are going to wait as long as possible before visiting their doctor.

Doesn't make what I said wrong.

 

[design_mom]

Edited to add: Interestingly they were told if you have any symptoms do not go to the hospital! They give you a number to call. I think they don’t want people showing up and contaminating others and the hospital.

There were a couple of students at my son's university who were quarantined/tested for the coronavirus. Thankfully, they ended up being negative.

However, the "call first" protocol was put in place on campus/town for anyone who thought they might have coronavirus. (They were returning from winter break in late January when the virus really started taking off in China, and have a pretty large number of international students, as well as a lot of international study-abroad trips that occur over winter break.) They established a hotline with ties to both the school and the local hospital. They wanted you to call first. The person on the hotline would make a determination about whether you need to be seen, and if so, direct you to the hospital or health center following a certain protocol. It sounds like, at minimum, the protocol would have the possible-virus sufferer admitted through a separate entrance and put into an exam room immediately (not going through the main lobby/normal admisson process) and would give the staff a "heads up" that you were coming so they could prepare. Makes sense to me.

 

[RamblingMad]

Doesn't make what I said wrong.

I agree with you. But I think our healthcare system as setup disincentivizes people from seeing the doctor. The last time I caught the flu other than this week was on a Disney Cruise. Can you imagine families going on Disney Cruises with Coronavirus?

 

[Farro]

I agree with you. But I think our healthcare system as setup disincentivizes people from seeing the doctor. The last time I caught the flu other than this week was on a Disney Cruise. Can you imagine families going on Disney Cruises with Coronavirus?

Yes, I can actually! It's one thing if they get on the cruise while they are asymptomatic.
It's another if they willingly choose to get on the cruise when one or more of them are showing symptoms.

I imagine the cruise-lines would be screening and I hope it involves checking for fevers?

 

[osufeth24]

I'm more worried about the economical impact than the actual virus itself

 

[Farro]

I'm more worried about the economical impact than the actual virus itself

Me too. My worry is that the shut-downs will be too excessive. I said in another thread, majority of Americans will not become severely ill from this. I would hope they don't force closings of restaurants, smaller venues, etc as we can decide for ourselves what risks we are comfortable with. I would also hope everyone would make smart decisions.

Obviously those with greater risk for severe illness would need to take greater precautions.

 

[Hikergirl]

So my dh attended a meeting yesterday where more than half of the invited people were not there due to them being quarantined. The other half that were there most likely had contact with those people. These were people visiting, flying in, not people who work with dh directly.
To say I'm just concerned at this point might be an understatement. For some of us this is more than just a news story, it is a bit more personal.

DH has a conference in the fall, our plan was that I go with him but for all we know if things get bad the conference may be cancelled all together.
I have no plans to change my summer vacation plans as they aren't going to be anywhere where a large number of people from other countries are going to be. The conference is.

 

[gwynne]

So my dh attended a meeting yesterday where more than half of the invited people were not there due to them being quarantined. The other half that were there most likely had contact with those people. These were people visiting, flying in, not people who work with dh directly.
To say I'm just concerned at this point might be an understatement. For some of us this is more than just a news story, it is a bit more personal.

DH has a conference in the fall, our plan was that I go with him but for all we know if things get bad the conference may be cancelled all together.
I have no plans to change my summer vacation plans as they aren't going to be anywhere where a large number of people from other countries are going to be. The conference is.

My goodness, that is concerning. It's one thing when it's in the news. It's another when it affects a family members workplace.
Hoping the quarantined folks turn out to be healthy.

 

[ww52]

We should all understand that right now we (the US) are preparing for a worst-case or very severe case scenario because that's the prudent thing to do.

Preparation for an event doesn't affect the probability of it happening. Wearing a seat belt doesn't make an accident more likely.

Or less likely either.

Quite frankly - at the risk of controversy - this is an area where our government fails us. Lead, follow, or get out of the way.

Given the statements made to date, I'd say the last option is best.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Its been a bad couple of days for Cornovirus news. I wonder how this will affect summer and fall crowds at WDW?

 

[buttersnix]

I believe you were correct in all of your comments.

This is a really unique situation. Whereas I agree with the others that going to the hospital for simple cold like symptoms is overkill, will overrun the hospitals, increase the risk of infection to hospital staff and patients, etc, the nature of this disease is such that ignoring it can be worse.

The problem is most people will continue about their life when they are sick. It’s what we do. We are a hard working nation that won’t let “simple” sickness (like a simple cold) knock us down. We go to work, go shopping, go to class or church, go on airplanes to all over the world, even to....our favorite amusement park. Yes, some consider that irresponsible behavior in the middle of flu season.

But in the middle of a potential pandemic, it can be worse. The problem with COVID 19 is that it is so virulent, estimated to be more so than influenza. Yes more people have died from influenza. But COVID 19, with no vaccine, being as virulent as it appears to be, with a potentially higher mortality rate than influenza, is altogether a different virus with much more potential for harm.

I do not purport to have any answers (calling a phone number in Italy as one reported is an interesting idea), but ignoring your symptoms (particulary when you have a fever over 100.4) is potentially worse.

I understand but you should still quarantine at home at this point and call. Not go straight to the hospital. They will check on you and you can go to the dr but they will prepare the office/hospital so that the risk of you infecting someone else is low to nothing. If this is what you were trying to say, ignore it but it wasn’t very clear.

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

I think it depends on how things go. My husband in on his way to Milan as we speak, he just boarded his flight. I plan to join him on March 13th. For the first 10 or 11 days he will be further South that the heavily impacted areas, but started on Monday the 9th he is supposed to go to an area where cases are reported.

I guess if I were you I would think about the cancellation policies for various aspects of your trip and go from there. For example, while I hope to join him on March 13th, I cancelled our car reservation while I was thinking about it earlier today. I will rebook if we proceed or I will rent a car at our new destination. I think being flexible is key as is evaluating your risk tolerance.

Also, where in Northern Italy are you planning on going. There are towns under complete lockdown. Others are functioning very normally. My mom was born in Italy and we still have relatives. Her hometown is less than an hour from Venice and people are still out and about, restaurants and shops in towns are open, etc.

We have a trip to Italy planned for August. Right now obviously we're just holding tight and seeing what plays out. For us, some of our accommodations have 30 day cancellation windows, so I'm thinking we'll make our final decision about 45 days in advance.

I debated booking a Disney hotel just as a backup considering it’s free cancelations close to the actual check in date. Thankfully my italy hotels are refundable about a week out. Only real loss id take is the 300 change fee for the flight, with the rest id switch to Orlando. This is a last resort though as I’ve never been to Europe and I’d love to go. Hope it works out for everyone

 

[DLgal]

Jet Blue has just announced they are waiving change fees for anyone who wants to take advantage. That's huge.

 

[Hikergirl]

My goodness, that is concerning. It's one thing when it's in the news. It's another when it affects a family members workplace.
Hoping the quarantined folks turn out to be healthy.

Me too.
I'm not freaking out or anything, but I've been lysoling the whole house this morning

 

[Iowamomof4]

Jet Blue has just announced they are waiving change fees for anyone who wants to take advantage. That's huge.

For all flights? Or just international? Or do they even fly outside the country? I'm not very familiar with Jet Blue since they don't fly out of our airport.

 

[kiddo76]

Jet Blue has just announced they are waiving change fees for anyone who wants to take advantage. That's huge.

Not quite. Only new bookings

"Due to evolving coronavirus concerns, we are suspending change and cancel fees for all new flight bookings made between February 27, 2020 and March 11, 2020 for travel through June 1, 2020."

https://www.jetblue.com/travel-alerts

 

[Iowamomof4]

Not quite. Only new bookings

"Due to evolving coronavirus concerns, we are suspending change and cancel fees for all new flight bookings made between February 27, 2020 and March 11, 2020 for travel through June 1, 2020."

https://www.jetblue.com/travel-alerts

That almost doesn't make sense. So if you booked before all of this started and are now worried, you're out of luck. I guess they just want people to continue to book flights and not let the virus panic keep them from traveling.