Update from DCL

[Gentry2004]

I'd love to be a fly on the way in these DCL executive meetings that are certainly being held.

 

[smmco]

Well at this point very few healthcare workers are actually caring for someone with or suspected of having the virus.

That we know of. If this is a “real pandemic”that will change. It will probably change as soon as we start testing.

 

[DisneYE]

I'd love to be a fly on the way in these DCL executive meetings that are certainly being held.

Well, The WHO just raised the global risk of the CV from 'high' to 'very high'.
That should add to executives' nerves (and to us future cruisers).... gosh...

 

[smmco]

Only if one of your patients is suspected or diagnosed with Coronavirus. In which case, I suspect your hospital/employer would be monitoring you for possible exposure anyway.


Japan is on my company's list for prohibited travel, along with China, Iran, Italy and South Korea.

They would have no one to take care of the patients if healthcare workers have to self quarantine.

 

[ChicosWife]

Iran I can understand your point, but Japan shouldn't be on that list at all yet. I'm not sure what you are being fed by the news, but let me get you straight on the numbers.
Japan has 226 cases as of today.....not the over 900 that the media would have you believe. 715 cases that are being listed with in Japans numbers are from the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was docked in Yokohama and the majority of those are now back in their home countries which includes the United States. In addition the numbers in Japan are not rapidly increasing like in SouthKorea, Iran, Italy. Just in comparison:South Korea had 571 new cases detected today. Japan had 12 (7 of which were health workers that had been dealing with the cruise ship passengers). In addition Japan is taking extreme precautions to stop this in its tracks. All schools will close for a month, Tokyo Disney Parks are closed, as well as all tourist places that people gather. First case in Japan was detected on January 16. So for the last one month and one week without the measures now being in place, Japan has kept the numbers relatively under control.
Now the first case was detected in the USA 5 days later on January 21, currently their are 60 confirmed cases and that doesn't include any of the over 300 passengers that are now on American soil now from the cruise ship. Now think of the size difference and control measures in place in each country. Japan is roughly the size of California, but its Prime Minister and government is taking the threat seriously and working diligently to prevent the spread. The American governments stance by it's highest official is that we will all wake up one day and the coronavirus will have magically disappeared. Talk to me in one week when the numbers in the USA are surpassing that of Japan. Then let's see if the USA is on that list.

My apologies for a bit of a rant. Its just misinformation and views like yours that is going to cost me my upcoming cruise in 7 weeks on the Magic. Oh and by the way, I am an American in Japan. I've been working overtime and planning the upcoming cruise for three years. I can't afford to take the lose of money that a cancelletion would mean. But also don't worry that myself or my family would ever risk our own health or the health of others.

I understand your point and agree that misinformation is definitely out there, but how can you be so sure of the numbers you received? Everyone is going off the media outlets accessible to them. Unless you happen to work for WHO or a similar entity that would have the most accurate information, I don't think the PP or OP deserves said rant.

 

[Pluto1008]

Any thoughts on how long Disney might keep these restrictions in place? I know it's all a guessing game, but just wondering what people think. We are booked on the June 13 cruise from Rome, but are planning to fly into Venice June 2 and spend time in Northern Italy prior to the cruise. If these restrictions stay in place, I guess we would need to cancel our flight coming into Venice and change our pre-cruise plans.

 

[AquaDame]

Any thoughts on how long Disney might keep these restrictions in place? I know it's all a guessing game, but just wondering what people think. We are booked on the June 13 cruise from Rome, but are planning to fly into Venice June 2 and spend time in Northern Italy prior to the cruise. If these restrictions stay in place, I guess we would need to cancel our flight coming into Venice and change our pre-cruise plans.

The guesswork is going to change by the day...if you had asked my thoughts on Japan yesterday I would have had a very different thought than today now that schools, some events, and TDL are all closed until April. Do you already have your tickets...? If not, I would wait as long as possible as any alteration you make may be the wrong move between now and then. Things are just changing too fast and no one knows what the airlines and trip insurance will allow month or more from now.

 

[Gentry2004]

Any thoughts on how long Disney might keep these restrictions in place? I know it's all a guessing game, but just wondering what people think. We are booked on the June 13 cruise from Rome, but are planning to fly into Venice June 2 and spend time in Northern Italy prior to the cruise. If these restrictions stay in place, I guess we would need to cancel our flight coming into Venice and change our pre-cruise plans.

One airline (Delta I think?) announced they were waiving fees for flights to Italy. Maybe others will follow suit and you can get a refund or at least a rebooking. And your cruise is still cancellable right?

 

[KashasMom]

So healthcare workers can’t cruise? Are they going to start asking for your tax returns to verify your employment status. There’s no way to enforce this. I think is more of a CYA thing for DCL.

I agree. They won't even be able to tell if anyone has traveled to one of the specific countries or been in contact with anyone who has. They're depending on people who stand to lose thousands of dollars to be truthful. I'm sure plenty of people lie on the health questionnaires as it is.

 

[smmco]

I agree. They won't even be able to tell if anyone has traveled to one of the specific countries or been in contact with anyone who has. They're depending on people who stand to lose thousands of dollars to be truthful. I'm sure plenty of people lie on the health questionnaires as it is.

Maybe once the virus is widespread like the flu. Some of craziness will subside and travel bans will go away.

 

[ohtmeal]

Iran I can understand your point, but Japan shouldn't be on that list at all yet. I'm not sure what you are being fed by the news, but let me get you straight on the numbers.
Japan has 226 cases as of today.....not the over 900 that the media would have you believe.

I agree that we don't want to be alarmists here, especially when the trips we've planned and saved up for so long are on the line. However, precaution from everyone is important when we are trying to prevent a pandemic.

We need to consider that people are starting to suspect whether the numbers Japan is reporting is accurate or not. Chair of the Medical Governance Research Institute, and a practicing doctor in Tokyo said that “Those with mild symptoms are not being tested.” The problem is, coronavirus can spread even when you don't have symptoms.

Basically, not enough tests are being done -> Less confirmed cases.
Link to bloomberg article: Limited Virus Testing in Japan Masks True Scale of Infection

 

[Pluto1008]

One airline (Delta I think?) announced they were waiving fees for flights to Italy. Maybe others will follow suit and you can get a refund or at least a rebooking. And your cruise is still cancellable right?

Yes, I can cancel the cruise with only the loss of the deposit (which is only 10%, thank goodness, since I used OBB). For the flight, we booked with miles, so I can cancel up until right before. I am way too much of a planner and already have all hotels (some non-refundable), tours, flights, train tickets, everything! I have a lot to cancel and/or change if things don't get better. And, of course, all I want to do when I hear the news is try to replan! We have until April 18 to cancel the cruise, so we will just try to be patient and see how things go until then. I am hoping Disney will remove those restrictions.

 

[Miffy]

How could they (or even you) know if you'd been in contact with someone who'd been exposed to the coronavirus? It's a meaningless restriction. CYA for sure.

 

[Karin1984]

I understand your point and agree that misinformation is definitely out there, but how can you be so sure of the numbers you received? Everyone is going off the media outlets accessible to them. Unless you happen to work for WHO or a similar entity that would have the most accurate information, I don't think the PP or OP deserves said rant.

He already said sorry for the rant in the post you are quoting and his next post. There is no need to point it out.

How do we know WHO has the right figures? We don't. But I do think local reliable news sources can be trusted more to be up to date, as there will be probably a dely between the local WHO/CDC transmitting information from the different countries to the WHO and the assessing of the cases by the WHO. Currently the WHO has the UK at 19, while the local news is already at 21.

 

[lanejudy]

They would have no one to take care of the patients if healthcare workers have to self quarantine.

I didn't say "quarantine" - I said "monitor." If you are caring for a patient in isolation at your hospital, you have certain precautions to take before entering that room and upon exiting, and aren't you "monitored" (watched, checked, whatever) more closely due to higher risk for exposure? That's what happens here.

We can really only talk about the current situation not hypothetical what-ifs. So in the current context - any US patient suspected of or diagnosed with coronavirus is supposed to be in a negative pressure isolation room. If you are caring for that patient, likely your hospital has you being monitored anyway. If you aren't caring for that patient then you would not be denied boarding DCL.

 

[tokyodisneydad]

I understand your point and agree that misinformation is definitely out there, but how can you be so sure of the numbers you received? Everyone is going off the media outlets accessible to them. Unless you happen to work for WHO or a similar entity that would have the most accurate information, I don't think the PP or OP deserves said rant.

Those numbers came from the WHO website and are updated every 12 hours. Am I 100% sure of their accuracy, of course not. But the chances of getting the virus here is still very low. This is especially true with the massive amount of precautions being put in place here. Personally I feel you are at greater risk if you travel through California for example.

 

[smmco]

I didn't say "quarantine" - I said "monitor." If you are caring for a patient in isolation at your hospital, you have certain precautions to take before entering that room and upon exiting, and aren't you "monitored" (watched, checked, whatever) more closely due to higher risk for exposure? That's what happens here.

We can really only talk about the current situation not hypothetical what-ifs. So in the current context - any US patient suspected of or diagnosed with coronavirus is supposed to be in a negative pressure isolation room. If you are caring for that patient, likely your hospital has you being monitored anyway. If you aren't caring for that patient then you would not be denied boarding DCL.

That may be fine I if you have one patient in the hospital with cv, but that wouldn’t be a pandemic what it?
Most hospitals have a couple of isolation rooms for things like TB. Flu patients are in regular rooms on droplet precautions. I think maybe 8 out our 24 patients on our floor are on droplet. We work as a team we’re in and out of rooms helping each other. There’s multiple people from different departments in each room. You can monitor yourself for symptoms but by the time your symptomatic if you get symptoms you’ve already infected other people.
In a true pandemic the hospitals will be so overwhelmed it will be a hot mess. We run at more than max capacity everyday. Patients already wait in er for hours or days for a bed.
People are really naive to think we have enough negative pressure rooms to put cv patients in.
My cruise isn’t for 5 months so I can only think of hypotheticals.

 

[tokyodisneydad]

The guesswork is going to change by the day...if you had asked my thoughts on Japan yesterday I would have had a very different thought than today now that schools, some events, and TDL are all closed until April. Do you already have your tickets...? If not, I would wait as long as possible as any alteration you make may be the wrong move between now and then. Things are just changing too fast and no one knows what the airlines and trip insurance will allow month or more from now.

Just to clarify this point.... which is a very good point.
The reason for school closures, public place closures such as Tokyo Disney Resort, and massive cancellations of events is preventative. It’s to stop the spread of the virus. It’s not going to “ magically disappear”.
trust me with theOlympics coming...EVERY THING that can be done will be done and it’s being taken very seriously.

 

[tokyodisneydad]

I agree that we don't want to be alarmists here, especially when the trips we've planned and saved up for so long are on the line. However, precaution from everyone is important when we are trying to prevent a pandemic.

We need to consider that people are starting to suspect whether the numbers Japan is reporting is accurate or not. Chair of the Medical Governance Research Institute, and a practicing doctor in Tokyo said that “Those with mild symptoms are not being tested.” The problem is, coronavirus can spread even when you don't have symptoms.

Basically, not enough tests are being done -> Less confirmed cases.
Link to bloomberg article: Limited Virus Testing in Japan Masks True Scale of Infection

Totally agree that not enough tests are being done. And any and all reported numbers from any country are to be under suspicion.... it’s government after all. Though Japan with the Olympics coming have a lot to lose if they are being dishonest. Though I also wouldn’t be surprised if they were... see above comment about government. Even though I’m American, I would be more suspicious of the numbers coming from the US government in attempts to protect the stock market. That’s not a criticism, just an opinion.
As for my earlier “rant” I do apologize to the poster. It really wasn’t directed towards them and each person is allowed their opinions. However, saying that it was more directed to the situation and the total helplessness I feel at the moment.
On another point though... I spent an hour on the phone speaking with DCL directly. If anyone is in a similar situation as mine and wants to share information, please feel free to PM me.
I can say that Disney’s response was very professional and reassuring.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Just to clarify this point.... which is a very good point.
The reason for school closures, public place closures such as Tokyo Disney Resort, and massive cancellations of events is preventative. It’s to stop the spread of the virus. It’s not going to “ magically disappear”.
trust me with theOlympics coming...EVERY THING that can be done will be done and it’s being taken very seriously.

Of course it will die down dramatically when the seasons change. This is how the flu and cold viruses operate, and it is why the Japanese have been very proactive and are closing schools until that seasonal change. It sounds like on one hand, you are saying everyone needs to calm down, but then on the other hand, you are saying go ahead freak out. This is a cold. The New England journal of medicine has said it will be no worse than a flu. I see no reason for people and institutions to change their daily activities no more than they would for the flu. The media has gone completely insane and is enjoying the drama. Millions of people are infected with cold and flu viruses everyday, every year, and no one worries unnecessarily about that risk. In a month or two, this will be a memory as the flu season is every year.