Anyone travel to/from Europe and NOT get covid? If so - where?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t get Covid wading through the wall to wall crowds of the Vatican museums and the other crowded spots of Italy. It’s not like you get Covid any time you step into a crowd…

Since everyone is bashing OP, I will comment that we went to the Vatican spring break, all got Covid, & a 50-yr old otherwise healthy adult in our family ended up hospitalized for 3 days with Covid complications. Not saying you shouldn't go, but Covid is not "over" & raising the question in 2023 is completely rational.

Yes but that could be true anywhere at this point. There is essentially zero masking anywhere in the US anymore. We live our lives right now exactly as we did in summer 2019. The virus has completely spread everywhere in the world, and the vast majority of people have some level of immunity, either from vaccination, previous infection, or both. There is nothing special about traveling and transmission versus your day to day life.

DP. Maybe not YOUR life. But I live in a SFH, where I don't have to worry about covid. I drive a car rather than use public transport. I dont dine indoors. I only go indoors if I have to and when I do I wear a kn95. WHen I hang out with friends, I do so outside.

If I fly to Europe, I am in airports, planes, trains, ubers, and hotels with rooms that may have shared air. I will at a minimum need to go insto restaurants to get takeout. I will be tempted to visit indoor art galleries etc.

There is no reason you can't live that way while traveling if you want to. We traveled some in 2021 and 2022 and masked everywhere indoors, and only ate outdoors. Nothing preventing you from doing that now.

I’m sorry, what? Are you forgetting the concept of a long haul airplane flight? And crowded airports? I don’t put myself in the situation when I’m at home. I have traveled, by car. to cottages and houses.

That’s very different from taking a long-haul flight to Europe

It sounds like you have a different risk preference, which is fine. Sounds like you don't feel comfortable in almost any public indoor space, masked or not. In that case, it appears any transportation with others may be too risky in your assessment. So the final destination doesn't really matter- Midwest, west coast, Europe, Asia, whatever.

We have had 4 shots and 1 (very mild) infection, so our risk assessment is different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread is madness. You can travel, people. JFC.

I had to check the date on this thread because I didn’t believe it was from this year. I’ve gone on about 4 plane trips since 2021 and the time I got Covid was on a US trip where we drove. I take it seriously, but at this point if you’re worried then just don’t travel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought this was a revived zombie thread from 2021! There are completely full 747s landing in dc from Dulles every day and the majority of those people don’t have Covid. How is this even a question?

Exactly.

I started traveling in Dec 2020 and have been all over the world many times. No COVID, no masks. So ridiculous to still be restricting yourself.

+1
So bizarre. You may catch it, you may not - anywhere in the world. It’s just a bad cold at this point. Live your life.

You have no idea what health issues the OP may have that may make precautions completely valid. It's fine if you choose not to take precautions, but don't call those 'ridiculous' who do, or say that their experience will be that of a bad cold.

It is ridiculous. COVID isn’t going anywhere. Maybe you missed it but we can’t shelter and mask our way out of it spreading. At this point you either have to risk it or decide to live your life as a hermit. But if you’re going to pick the hermit route, don’t pop your head out of your hole once in a while to ask where you can fly to in Europe and not get COVID. Get real. The trauma of the pandemic made these precautions pathological with a shocking number of people.

You sound like a delightful person who is open to considering that everyone else’s reality and experience may not line up with your own. I’m so sorry I don’t know you IRL. I bet OP is too - you’d impart some sense onto them and their pathological precautions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought this was a revived zombie thread from 2021! There are completely full 747s landing in dc from Dulles every day and the majority of those people don’t have Covid. How is this even a question?

Exactly.

I started traveling in Dec 2020 and have been all over the world many times. No COVID, no masks. So ridiculous to still be restricting yourself.

+1
So bizarre. You may catch it, you may not - anywhere in the world. It’s just a bad cold at this point. Live your life.

You have no idea what health issues the OP may have that may make precautions completely valid. It's fine if you choose not to take precautions, but don't call those 'ridiculous' who do, or say that their experience will be that of a bad cold.

It is ridiculous. COVID isn’t going anywhere. Maybe you missed it but we can’t shelter and mask our way out of it spreading. At this point you either have to risk it or decide to live your life as a hermit. But if you’re going to pick the hermit route, don’t pop your head out of your hole once in a while to ask where you can fly to in Europe and not get COVID. Get real. The trauma of the pandemic made these precautions pathological with a shocking number of people.

You sound like a delightful person who is open to considering that everyone else’s reality and experience may not line up with your own. I’m so sorry I don’t know you IRL. I bet OP is too - you’d impart some sense onto them and their pathological precautions.

Sarcasm aside, the poster had a valid point. Many people, especially in the US, seem to have been traumatized by Covid fears, probably because of the unhealthy obsession of the US media and how it was reported. To use as a case point, no one in Europe is masking toddlers but I still see it happen in US supermarkets.

Contrary to what is fashionable to proclaim these days, we don't live in a world with personal realities and personal truths. There is one reality. That is why it is called reality, not imagination. The data is explicitly clear. For OP, there are two options. Either she has (real) health issues that makes Covid a genuine health risk, or she is much more fearful than she needs to be given that Covid for the vast majority can be handled like a mild virus, if it gets that bad. If she is the former, then travel should be out of the question.

If she has worries, I would advise her to speak with her doctor. If the doctor says no problem, then she has nothing to worry about. The question is whether she will listen to her doctor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, nowhere in Europe is still “covid cautious” in terms of other people masking in large numbers. In Paris some elderly people still mask on the metro. That’s it.

That said, in many European cities, there is ample outdoor dining (because many restaurants do not have a/c indoors). Lots of beautiful patios with sun umbrellas and fans. I was able to eat entirely outdoors and mask indoors on two separate trips last summer. The only challenge was if it rained. I took no precautions on a different European trip in 2023 and luckily did not get sick. It’s not an automatic conclusion.

I don’t know your health situation, but my 70/72 year old parents have covid right now for the first time. They are total home bodies but flew domestically for the first time last weekend. My mom has at least 3 comorbidities in addition to her age, but she is fine. Said it’s like a sinus infection. All our living grandparents had it and were fine. Obviously they’ve all had all the vaccines.

It’s fine if you still wish to mask and are not ready to move on, but everywhere I have been in Europe moved on a long time ago. I hear parts of Asia are still masking more than Europe. Perhaps that might be more comforting an environment.

This. OP is asking the wrong question. You cannot find a Covid free place in Europe. Covid will find you, anywhere, as soon as you drop precautions. It’s a bit unnerving, because you never know exactly how an individual will be affected, and the effects vary so much between people, but getting it, eventually, is unavoidable.

I "dropped precautions" as soon as I was able to--for example the mask mandate ended in spring 2021, and I stopped wearing them. I've traveled to Europe, to central America, multiple domestic flights to other parts of the US, Disney World, crowded sports stadiums (both indoor and outdoor) and who knows how many indoor restaurants.
Two years, and Covid hasn't "found me" yet.

[Anonymous]

Does OP think that if the majority of posters said they traveled to [insert country here] and didn’t get Covid, that OP could travel to that same place and therefore not get Covid? Does she/he think that’s how it works?

[Anonymous]

I went to London and Amsterdam, didn't wear a mask or take any precautions, and didn't get Covid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought this was a revived zombie thread from 2021! There are completely full 747s landing in dc from Dulles every day and the majority of those people don’t have Covid. How is this even a question?

Exactly.

I started traveling in Dec 2020 and have been all over the world many times. No COVID, no masks. So ridiculous to still be restricting yourself.

+1
So bizarre. You may catch it, you may not - anywhere in the world. It’s just a bad cold at this point. Live your life.

You have no idea what health issues the OP may have that may make precautions completely valid. It's fine if you choose not to take precautions, but don't call those 'ridiculous' who do, or say that their experience will be that of a bad cold.

It is ridiculous. COVID isn’t going anywhere. Maybe you missed it but we can’t shelter and mask our way out of it spreading. At this point you either have to risk it or decide to live your life as a hermit. But if you’re going to pick the hermit route, don’t pop your head out of your hole once in a while to ask where you can fly to in Europe and not get COVID. Get real. The trauma of the pandemic made these precautions pathological with a shocking number of people.

You sound like a delightful person who is open to considering that everyone else’s reality and experience may not line up with your own. I’m so sorry I don’t know you IRL. I bet OP is too - you’d impart some sense onto them and their pathological precautions.

Sarcasm aside, the poster had a valid point. Many people, especially in the US, seem to have been traumatized by Covid fears, probably because of the unhealthy obsession of the US media and how it was reported. To use as a case point, no one in Europe is masking toddlers but I still see it happen in US supermarkets.

Contrary to what is fashionable to proclaim these days, we don't live in a world with personal realities and personal truths. There is one reality. That is why it is called reality, not imagination. The data is explicitly clear. For OP, there are two options. Either she has (real) health issues that makes Covid a genuine health risk, or she is much more fearful than she needs to be given that Covid for the vast majority can be handled like a mild virus, if it gets that bad. If she is the former, then travel should be out of the question.

If she has worries, I would advise her to speak with her doctor. If the doctor says no problem, then she has nothing to worry about. The question is whether she will listen to her doctor.

This is mostly right, but do need to clarify the bolded. That is the case for those with 3+ shots. The key all along with covid has been the naivete of the immune system, that's why it was so dangerous originally. I know 2 healthy people in their early-mid 40s who got covid in March 2020 and it really messed them up- one of them had breathing issues even 6 months later, and one had to go to the ER for oxygen. It's the introduction to our immune system of the viral info , through multiple vaccines, that prepares our body so if an actual infection comes, it is no longer naive and can be handled like a minor virus. Still some risk, as the 35k who die each year of flu can tell you. But if you didn't go in public indoor places in the winter before covid because of flu risk, you are very very much in the minority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought this was a revived zombie thread from 2021! There are completely full 747s landing in dc from Dulles every day and the majority of those people don’t have Covid. How is this even a question?

Exactly.

I started traveling in Dec 2020 and have been all over the world many times. No COVID, no masks. So ridiculous to still be restricting yourself.

+1
So bizarre. You may catch it, you may not - anywhere in the world. It’s just a bad cold at this point. Live your life.

You have no idea what health issues the OP may have that may make precautions completely valid. It's fine if you choose not to take precautions, but don't call those 'ridiculous' who do, or say that their experience will be that of a bad cold.

It is ridiculous. COVID isn’t going anywhere. Maybe you missed it but we can’t shelter and mask our way out of it spreading. At this point you either have to risk it or decide to live your life as a hermit. But if you’re going to pick the hermit route, don’t pop your head out of your hole once in a while to ask where you can fly to in Europe and not get COVID. Get real. The trauma of the pandemic made these precautions pathological with a shocking number of people.

You sound like a delightful person who is open to considering that everyone else’s reality and experience may not line up with your own. I’m so sorry I don’t know you IRL. I bet OP is too - you’d impart some sense onto them and their pathological precautions.

Sarcasm aside, the poster had a valid point. Many people, especially in the US, seem to have been traumatized by Covid fears, probably because of the unhealthy obsession of the US media and how it was reported. To use as a case point, no one in Europe is masking toddlers but I still see it happen in US supermarkets.

Contrary to what is fashionable to proclaim these days, we don't live in a world with personal realities and personal truths. There is one reality. That is why it is called reality, not imagination. The data is explicitly clear. For OP, there are two options. Either she has (real) health issues that makes Covid a genuine health risk, or she is much more fearful than she needs to be given that Covid for the vast majority can be handled like a mild virus, if it gets that bad. If she is the former, then travel should be out of the question.

If she has worries, I would advise her to speak with her doctor. If the doctor says no problem, then she has nothing to worry about. The question is whether she will listen to her doctor.

This is mostly right, but do need to clarify the bolded. That is the case for those with 3+ shots. The key all along with covid has been the naivete of the immune system, that's why it was so dangerous originally. I know 2 healthy people in their early-mid 40s who got covid in March 2020 and it really messed them up- one of them had breathing issues even 6 months later, and one had to go to the ER for oxygen. It's the introduction to our immune system of the viral info , through multiple vaccines, that prepares our body so if an actual infection comes, it is no longer naive and can be handled like a minor virus. Still some risk, as the 35k who die each year of flu can tell you. But if you didn't go in public indoor places in the winter before covid because of flu risk, you are very very much in the minority.

Most people do not need 3+ shots to prevent Covid from getting bad. The vast majority of us will get covid either way and be perfectly fine. Which is what happened to the vast majority who got covid before vaccines and boosters.

There are definitely higher risk demographics who need to pay more attention and be more responsive. Outside those, the risks of covid is now typically the same as getting the flu. Pre covid people could get bad bouts of the flu with the same symptoms as you describe but we didn't succumb to paranoia over it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought this was a revived zombie thread from 2021! There are completely full 747s landing in dc from Dulles every day and the majority of those people don’t have Covid. How is this even a question?

Exactly.

I started traveling in Dec 2020 and have been all over the world many times. No COVID, no masks. So ridiculous to still be restricting yourself.

+1
So bizarre. You may catch it, you may not - anywhere in the world. It’s just a bad cold at this point. Live your life.

You have no idea what health issues the OP may have that may make precautions completely valid. It's fine if you choose not to take precautions, but don't call those 'ridiculous' who do, or say that their experience will be that of a bad cold.

It is ridiculous. COVID isn’t going anywhere. Maybe you missed it but we can’t shelter and mask our way out of it spreading. At this point you either have to risk it or decide to live your life as a hermit. But if you’re going to pick the hermit route, don’t pop your head out of your hole once in a while to ask where you can fly to in Europe and not get COVID. Get real. The trauma of the pandemic made these precautions pathological with a shocking number of people.

You sound like a delightful person who is open to considering that everyone else’s reality and experience may not line up with your own. I’m so sorry I don’t know you IRL. I bet OP is too - you’d impart some sense onto them and their pathological precautions.

Sarcasm aside, the poster had a valid point. Many people, especially in the US, seem to have been traumatized by Covid fears, probably because of the unhealthy obsession of the US media and how it was reported. To use as a case point, no one in Europe is masking toddlers but I still see it happen in US supermarkets.

Contrary to what is fashionable to proclaim these days, we don't live in a world with personal realities and personal truths. There is one reality. That is why it is called reality, not imagination. The data is explicitly clear. For OP, there are two options. Either she has (real) health issues that makes Covid a genuine health risk, or she is much more fearful than she needs to be given that Covid for the vast majority can be handled like a mild virus, if it gets that bad. If she is the former, then travel should be out of the question.

If she has worries, I would advise her to speak with her doctor. If the doctor says no problem, then she has nothing to worry about. The question is whether she will listen to her doctor.

This is mostly right, but do need to clarify the bolded. That is the case for those with 3+ shots. The key all along with covid has been the naivete of the immune system, that's why it was so dangerous originally. I know 2 healthy people in their early-mid 40s who got covid in March 2020 and it really messed them up- one of them had breathing issues even 6 months later, and one had to go to the ER for oxygen. It's the introduction to our immune system of the viral info , through multiple vaccines, that prepares our body so if an actual infection comes, it is no longer naive and can be handled like a minor virus. Still some risk, as the 35k who die each year of flu can tell you. But if you didn't go in public indoor places in the winter before covid because of flu risk, you are very very much in the minority.

Most people do not need 3+ shots to prevent Covid from getting bad. The vast majority of us will get covid either way and be perfectly fine. Which is what happened to the vast majority who got covid before vaccines and boosters.

There are definitely higher risk demographics who need to pay more attention and be more responsive. Outside those, the risks of covid is now typically the same as getting the flu. Pre covid people could get bad bouts of the flu with the same symptoms as you describe but we didn't succumb to paranoia over it.

I will stop after this, as this is a travel forum and not a health forum. But the difference in risk is much much higher if you aren't vaccinated, compared to the flu. Because your body has almost surely had exposure to the flu before and therefore the flu virus isn't novel. I suggest you read this excellent piece which discusses why covid was so dangerous (yes relatively speaking much less for younger people, but still not good for people younger than say 60) because of the novelty of the virus. Novelty is really the key to understanding why vaccination is so important.

https://www.theinsight.org/p/novelty-means-severity-the-key-to

[Anonymous]

Was in Europe two summers ago. Only our eldest masked everywhere. He ended up with a horrific cold. None of us got COVID. Friend just got Covid in Italy. He masked everywhere.

[Anonymous]

I've been to the Bahamas, Portugal and multiple trips via air to California, Chicago, South Carolina and Colorado in the last two years. The only time I've gotten COVID was from a friend at a wine tasting event in DC last year. I do not mask on planes any longer. I am also a healthcare policy professional who led COVID policy work for one of the largest healthcare associations in the country during 2020-2022, so I'm well versed in the risks. No one I know has gotten COVID traveling, including now long haul trips to Japan, Europe, and South America. Not to say it doesn't happen, but its far from a certainty.

In Portugal last year, there were no COVID precautions taken anywhere that we were and it was very rare to see anyone in a mask. Maybe a handful of folks masked on the plane. And it was very, very crowded. If you are concerned, it may not be the best time for you to travel, as travel seems busier and more crowded this year than ever.

[Anonymous]

From September 2020 through May 2023, we have been to Europe several times and did not get Covid. We masked on the flights where we were required to do so, and indoors on the September 2020 trip.
-Turkey (2020, 2022, 2023)
-Paris and Lyon (late fall 2022 no masking and we were indoors a decent amount for museums and restaurants)
-Rome and Florence (spring 2022 only masked in the Vatican)

For what it’s worth, only I have gotten Covid in the family and I presumably picked it up at a happy hour with clients last July. I also attended a weeklong executive education session with ~50 colleagues where we shared most meals and a classroom, and been to Morocco, Roatan (2x), Mexico (2x), and the Maldives without incident since 2020.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Was in Europe two summers ago. Only our eldest masked everywhere. He ended up with a horrific cold. None of us got COVID. Friend just got Covid in Italy. He masked everywhere.

A lot of good that mask did him…

But “masks work!!!! Follow the science!!!”

Right?

[Anonymous]

The logic with these Covid freaks like OP just blows my mind. Yeah start a thread asking about anecdotal travel experiences about going to Europe. If they didn’t get Covid, then you surely won’t either, right??

Might as well carry around some garlic on a necklace to scare away vampires.

Some of you need major therapy.