A couple of folks asked for an update (original post for reference), so I wanted to share the resolution of our disaster trip to Milan. Here’s what happened after I tested positive:
- My wife never caught the virus! She continued to test negative, and as a result was able to return home after 7 days of isolation in our hotel room. She enjoyed some great ordered-in food from some of the local places (thanks for the recs!)
- After a few days of waiting for further instruction, I was taken to a government-run COVID isolation center, where I stayed for the next 3 weeks.
In the COVID center, the rules for discharge were as follows:
- After my initial positive test, I was allowed to take a single PCR test after 10 days. I tested “weak positive” still and had to wait until day 17 to test again. After my day 17 test it took 3 DAYS to get the results. On day 20, I got my negative test result and was discharged. Testing in the COVID center is very strictly controlled, and only a lab PCR result given on day 10 or 17 is accepted.
It was a long, unexpected trip, but I learned some key lessons:
- The airlines (American), and hotel (Intercontinental) were EXTREMELY gracious, and they gave us a pretty steep discount on our modified accommodations. Really nice of them to do so, and their customer support teams were great! Huge kudos to these companies for putting people over profits.
- The testing strategy is a mess honestly. Public Health Bodies (here's an example from the CDC) worldwide caution against using a PCR test as a criteria for ending isolation. Dead virus can be detected for months on a PCR test. I was lucky to get out after 20 days. For folks w/ a variant case, a continuously positive PCR test could keep you there for literally months. Personally, I was completely symptom free after day 3, and I began to test negative on rapid tests (I brought a box with me) after day 5. I understand the precaution, but I think that the isolation was a bit prolonged, and unfortunately I think it causes some locals to avoid testing altogether (they don't want to go to the COVID center for 21 days, so they just don't test at all).
- I'm grateful for the vaccine! This virus doesn't play around, but the fact that my wife never caught it, and that my symptoms were pretty mild and temporary was something to certainly be grateful for.
- Although the situation was super frustrating, I came to re-appreciate Italy a ton. They went through a huge crisis last year with COVID, and they're trying to run a fine balance between getting their tourism economy back up and running and avoiding a slip back into what they experienced previously. The workers at the COVID center were (mostly) extremely kind, and they helped make the situation a bit better.
- It stings to see so many people enjoying a proper Italian vacation right now, but I've come to accept that what happened to us was just super bad luck. I think we're going to take a long break before we travel again, but once we're ready, we definitely want to go back!
- That being said, this is definitely not an isolated incident! The COVID center was packed full of tourists, all with the same story that we had. Have fun on your Europe trip, but don't go if you're not prepared for the chance that you have to quarantine for 3 weeks!
I don't think I've ever been so excited to come back home after a vacation, but it's over, and I hope that our story helps someone plan their trip (or their trip cancellation) a bit better than we did :)
Stay healthy everyone!
Submitted September 26, 2021 at 10:11PM by vocabking https://ift.tt/3i84JhS
Comments
Post a Comment