On the opening day of the Coronavirus panic in the United States, I was on a cruise ship. According to many experts, this was a very dangerous place to be during a pandemic due to the shared and cramped spaces, buffet-style eating, and diversity of origin points of travel. We had limited access to news on the ship and were only traveling to small island countries with minimal contact with the outside world. So when we docked in New York City on our last day, we weren't expecting the craziness that was about to ensue.
US customs was a mess; they didn't even bother asking about what we brought back with us. The terminal had many people running around and several nurses in scary medical gowns, masks, caps, gloves, and more were taking everyone's temperature. We got out of the terminal in record time surprisingly. New York Port Authority wanted everyone on that ship out of the city as fast as they could get them out. With New York being the epicenter of the pandemic at the time, there were over 3,000 cases in the US (all but a few of those being in New York). So the authorities were nervous about the spread of the virus. When we left on our cruise 10 days earlier there had only been 30 cases in the US, so there was little concern.
The next criuse ship to arrive was banned from entering the port, despite haing no cases of COVID-19 on board. Our ship also had 0 cases, but it was one of if not the last ship to dock in NYC and let passengers off. We were extremely lucky. Several more ships tried to dock that day and all of them were sent away to Florida (where ship passengers would then need to fly back to New York to get their cars at the pier... tell me what that makes sense?). Many ships had several cases of the virus onboard and all of the passengers and crew remained quarantined in their tiny, windowless cabins for in some cases over two weeks. The next day's cruises were all canceled due to the virus. We left New York, driving 6 hours home and missed the cut off to be stuck in the state by a mear 8 hours. New York State's borders were closed to contain the spread to that one area.
We thankfully did not catch anything. We stayed home for 2 weeks straight and saw no one as soon as we got home. My mom brought us over a few groceries before we arrived that day so we would be all set. Naturally, we were running low on toilet paper at the time. Of course so was everyone else apparently because the shelves were empty for months after that. We were in for the long haul.
Norwegian Cruise Lines was absolutely exceptional about taking care of us on board though. As soon as there was a concern of a spread from China, we were informed prior to our cruise. There were questionnaires to take at the terminal before boarding the ship too. The staff members, despite being anxious about losing their jobs (due to that week being the end of many of their contracts) were friendly and amazing at keeping it together. The ship stayed spotlessly clean and the buffet was now served to us. Many changes were made to keep guests safe, while still enjoying their vacations.
After all the anxiety of COVID-19, we were grateful to be in our home state of Vermont. It is the safest state to be living in during this pandemic. The U.S.'s slow response to this catastrophe has been sad, but Vermont is following the rules and a glowing example to the rest of the country according to Dr. Anthony Fauci. With only about 1,700 cases in Vermont, we are doing exceptionally compared to the next closest state which is Wyoming with around 4,800 cases (and a smaller population than Vermont). I am very grateful to be where I am now, but life cannot go on like this forever.
Trying not to get sick when traveling is always important, but now it is dangerously important. If I needed to travel somewhere I definitely don't want to bring my germs with me. Getting myself or someone else sick is just not worth the trip right now. Having had pneumonia twice as a child, I understand what serious respiratory illness feels like and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Therefore, I'm going to list a few tips that I find helpful when traveling normally. Hopefully, these can be applied if you must travel now, or in the future when we are able to contain the virus to reasonable levels.
Bring resealable disinfectant wipes (these are easy to store anywhere flat and you'll never know when you'll wanna wipe down an airplane tray or restaurant table)
Cut your finger nails (according to the CDC, having longer fingernails can harbor more bacteria than short nails)
Wash your face very well (washing your face is of course good hygiene practice, but having a clean and dry face will remind you to stop touching it. I find that when my face is clean, it feels awful to touch my greasy and germy hand to my face. This helps me avoid spreading the germs so often)
Stay an actual 6 feet away (6 feet is a lot further away than you think it is, remind yourself of this everytime you walk past a person, whether they are sick or not)
Take vitamin C (Vitamin C supports your immune system. I always find myself chewing on Nature Made's Vitamin C gummies before a trip to stay ahead of the germs, but now I take them daily to keep on top of the coronavirus or anything else that may come my way. Plus they taste good!)
Personally, COVID-19 has caused me to miss 3 trips to Singapore, Greece, and Spain. I had put a lot of work into trying to make those trips happen back when those countries had limited cases of the virus. I thought I could make it possible with proper hygiene and distancing. The truth is those things help, but the best thing you can do right now is stay home. Watch documentaries about other countries, video chat with friends from abroad, or send pen pal letters to people in different countries. It is very hard to wait. Believe me, I have waited 20 years to take a trip abroad, and during the peak travel opportunity time in my life a global pandemic hits. Patience will get us through and we will be rewarded with good karma for taking care of ourselves and our global community during this crazy time.
Remember to bring compassion (not germs) wherever you go.
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