Still tough decisions to make-even if Canada is welcome

As a Canadian, I would love to visit my beloved Italy; but the thought of being on two planes there and two back stops me from even thinking about a trip.
Mind you, with the jetlag I usually have coming home from the East to the West, a 14 day quarantine would be easy for me.
I sleep for about 10 days on return from a European trip! ;)

Don't care about quarantine on return, since we're retired. And we would fly Premium or Business class, so I don't have a concern about the flights. But the sticking point for us is the travel insurance coverage, or rather the lack thereof right now.

Don’t mean to be a Debbie Downer- I fly business or first for the lay down bed- but Prem Economy/Business etc provides you with little to no benefits in regards to Covid. That air circulates through the entire plane, passengers walk about, staff walks about, passengers use restrooms, boarding and exiting the plane lines, etc. The decision to travel is a personal one but please do not fool yourself into believing you get special virus protection by flying in the different section of the plane.

Onefastbob, good to hear us plebs are breathing the same air. Maybe that will be a premium in the future?

Just the quarantine alone would be enough for us to skip such a trip.
Also, I don't think touring Europe will be anywhere near normal this year.

Onefastbob- I said nothing about "special protection". However Premium or BC does ensure greater spacing - no 3 or 4 seats crammed in a row. And I'm satisfied that the current ventilation systems in modern aircraft do a good job of minimizing the amount of cabin air that is recirculated. With mandatory masks, I'm also not concerned with the thought of someone (crew or pax) momentarily passing by my seat. There is no form of long distance travel that is 100% safe; not even your own vehicle if you have to stop for gas or meals. But this is one risk I would be fully prepared to take.

Thankfully, I am not a summer traveler, so holding pattern is normal for me...though the though of Venice with fewer people has its appeal. I was antsy in March and April as I was due for a month vacation that got cancelled, and desperately wanted to run away from my essential service work at hospital lab, but can just hope by November we don't have to do the quarantine when we get home. If we are still having to quarantine next April I will not be amused. That is when I rebooked my missed trip which only happens one time a year.

If any of you tested positively for Covid antibodies, you won’t have to worry so much about air circulation within the aircraft or airport.

Continental, unfortunately antibody tests are only available here for scientific studies at the moment. If and when they become available to the general public, I would be sure to get one, since I think I may have had this back in April ( but couldn't get the COVID test because I didn't meet the testing criteria at the time).

Covid-19 facts continue to evolve. As of 6/30/20 the CDC posted: "If you test positive or negative for COVID-19 on a viral or an antibody test, you still should take preventative measures to protect yourself and others." "We do not know yet if people who recover from COVID-19 can get infected again."

Source: cdc.gov. Coronavirus Disease 2019, Test for Past Infection. This is a comprehensive article that may be helpful for future travel decisions...

Just because someone with a functioning leg could theoretically hop on it all the way from Saskatoon to Calgary, it doesn’t mean it’s a great idea, or that people are embracing the chance. Same goes for being able to fly from Canada to Europe right now.

Regarding antibody tests, my doctor said last month that they have provided an inordinate number of false negatives, and even if one gets a true negative response, it just means you had the disease at one point. Not that you won’t get it again, or how soon.

Tough times, not-so-tough decisions. We’re staying home until it’s safer to travel. Stay well everyone!

Cyn, well said.

Everything is moving too fast to make a decision unless you have to. Wait a month and things will be different.

Mmmm. I did not read to the end of the article the first time around. Air Canada's end of seat distancing on planes has put a spanner in the works for me, plus I found out today that the plane model is smaller (3-3-3 seating). Have to wait and see. Air Canada can do no right, encouraged by our goverment.

Allan, I've been trying to figure out if Canadians would be allowed in anyway. One article I read said it was if countries reciprocated. As Canada has not shown any signs of opening up to international travelers I assumed that meant we would not be welcome. What have you seen?

Lisa, I read this morning that Italy is not allowing anyone but other EU members in anyway. The countries are free to make their own decisions.

out here in BC our top doctor : Dr Bonnie Henry stated in her daily press briefing that the 14 day quarantine will be in effect until the end of august .
I have not seen an article yet from the federal government on this
It will be interesting to see on how the EU responds if this is true , i would assume they would make Canadians quarantine as well

Booked late last night. One way WestJet nonstop to Paris in mid-August. Our situation is different though, as we are moving to Italy for an indefinite period of time. We'll drive from Paris, drop DD at her new university in Lugano, then carry on by car to Abruzzo. If we have to quarantine for two weeks on the shores of Lake Lugano, or quarantine after a non-stop drive from Switzerland to our new home, we will gladly do so. We were held up by the lockdown in April; staying here and paying rent into the fall, and risking a "second wave" outbreak, would have a more negative impact on us, mentally, financially and maybe physically. So we're gettin' out while the gettin's good. We hope. Still many chances for missteps between here and that plane lifting off...but we're going to try our best.

Our little mountain town in Abruzzo has had zero cases of COVID-19 through all this time. We will do all we can to not be the vectors that bring it in. But we need to get there and start our new life.