What back up plans have you made in case of illness?

Hi Ruth, this was my plan I wrote back in 2022 when I returned to traveling internationally. At the time, a negative Covid test was required to be able to return into the US. As you can see, having a place to stay with a window or preferably a balcony for fresh air is important to me.

Covid Risk Plan

1. Pack a proctored Covid test. Log into eMed.com (account is set up). Have my passport handy. It will take me to Navica app (account set up).
2. Take a few home tests. When arriving in Rome. If positive,
3. Have someone go to the grocery store & buy these: cough drops/hard candy, fruit, veggies, herbal tea, apple juice
4. Search on Booking.com for options for a place to stay.
5. Go to the pharmacy & get a valid Covid test to begin the countdown.
6. Book the apartment if the pharmacy test is positive.
7. Contact Allianz Travel Insurance.
8. Schedule another Covid test for Day 7. If positive or negative,
9. Deliveroo is a food delivery in Italy. Deliveroo app is great for having meals but also items like paper towels, soft drinks, groceries, shampoo, snacks, wine, etc delivered.
10. Schedule a QuickMD “Letter of Recovery”. (Can use for Sept. trip!)
11. If negative, schedule flight home.
    
12. If positive, retest in another 7 days.

13. Use letter of recovery for airline test document.

    1. Take a home test when arriving in Rome. If negative,
    2. Get a valid Covid antigen test the day before the flight home.
    3. Negative? Fly home.
       

Hotel:
Get one with a restaurant for food delivery.
Get one with windows that open.

Apartment:
Get one with windows that open.
Get one close enough for food delivery from Uber Eats.

Ruth, if you’re on a RS tour, the guide on the Adriatic tour last year helped one couple where the husband tested positive to arrange a hotel & transportation options.

There’s only so much you can do to plan in advance. I would have a hotel booking app on your phone in case you need it. I think having a list of hotels in each location is overkill, because you won’t know if they have availability.

I bring a small supply of basic medications (ibuprofen, Mucinex, Pepto, cough drops) in case of illness. Pharmacies are everywhere, but if I feel sick at 10pm, I want to have something available immediately.

I told my kids where the Will was.

Oh, and I have evac and medical insurance. So I can get home before they get to the Will.

Others may be more comfortable locating a private clinic or doctor in each city. The embassy usually posts a list on their website.

Know that 112 in the EU = 911 in the US

As I’m often alone on trips, I always have a plan B.
I buy the best travel medical and trip cancellation and interruption insurance.
I bring an extra 10 days worth of OTC and prescription meds with me.
I have a small first aid kit with gauze, tape, bandaids, OTC sinus, cold, anti diarrhoea, and pain meds among other things.
It also has a small packet of enough salt to gargle away a sore throat.
I look for and bookmark hotels that I might need to move to , to isolate or stay longer if I’m sick.
I put a good amount of money in my credit card account before I leave on a trip in case I have extra expenses.
It’s a good idea to make a note of the closest Embassies and Consulates of your home country, in the places you will be visiting.
Also, a list of English speaking doctors and clinics.
I have used all of these plans twice now, once in Paris, once in Florence , and was very glad to be prepared!

I researched transit so that I would know how to get from any of the tour cities back to my departure city.

Hoping I’m not opening up a pro/con discussion on this one, but I always have my passport with me in my money belt. If I needed a hospital for some reason, my passport & trip insurance card are with me.

When my trip is a solo one, I also have a rubber wristband through “Road ID” with a brass engraved plate on it. It’s engraved with this since I tend to gravitate towards Italy. : )

My name
United States written in Italian
Mio marito & my husband’s name
My husband’s phone number.

That info is in my passport, but this would be noticed sooner if I was injured.

" We plan to wear masks on the plane and to bring Covid test kits."
I know I am in the very small minority now, traveling or not, but a well- fitting N or KN95 worn stringently has kept me Covid- free to date, including two international trips and at least 6 recently in the US. A respiratory virus, of any kind, is just as likely to be picked up from one of your tour companions as someone on the plane.
If you're really concerned about being ill enough to have to change/cancel your plans, I will add the suggestion to consistently mask from the time you go out your door! Most people don't want to go to these lengths, but until COVID is actually "over" and behaves predictably it's a risk. You can't control others' level of concern or zero concern, so my best preparation is protecting myself in the first place.
My first aid kit for international travel, often to areas that don't have convenient pharmacies, weighs almost a pound. I also now include an oximeter.
Healthy travels!

Forgot. I am wearing a dog tag with my name and passport number and blòod type. And another with a QR Code that opens a file with all the important stuff for insurance, medical, emergency contacts, where to ship the body etc.

My plan partially repeats some of the things others do.

• Pay down my CCs so I have as much money as possible available in case I need to charge extra hotels, transit, food. I am generally a "pay-it-off-every-month" person but I also go in the day or two before I travel and pay off anything that might have accrued on the cards by that time of the month.

• I used to take a pulse oximeter. I started carrying one when I returned to travel in Oct 2021 (just before Omicron). I did not take it on my last trip (Scottish Islands in August). I DO have some breathing/lung exercises saved in googledocs from a friend's personal trainer which can help with breathing. I do use them when I have a cold here at home.

• I have used a properly fitting N95 mask on the flights and train journeys for the 5 international trips I've done since 2021. I did not mask on tour for my last 2 tours as they were very small groups (5 and 10 people). I take about 10 masks with me.

• I do load up with OTC meds (cold meds, allergy, Immodium, Pepto, Motrin, zinc lozenges). At home I use a neti pot every day. I take a nasal irrigator with me when I travel and use a saline rinse daily or sometimes twice a day. I also had read that some ENT docs recommend their patients with chronic sinus infections add 1/2 tsp of baby shampoo to the saline mix. There was some discussion at the beginning of the pandemic that this might deter the replication of corona viruses in the nasal cavity but no confirmation either way on any peer reviewed studies that I can find. Still, it seems fairly benign to me and I use it when I'm traveling, usually the first night after I've been on the airplane or train.

• Yes to a couple of Covid Test kits.

• I do check the rules for each country I'm going to visit. My last 2 trips have been all or partially in UK which had no quarantine requirements and just recommended anyone with a respiratory illness wear a mask.

• Understand your tour company's rules regarding illness. I'm not sure if you are going on a Rick tour or if you are touring with another company. They may have no rules regarding illness.

Enjoy yourself. It's easier once you are out there!

I was traveling independently last fall and came down with some sort of respiratory virus. I had all the symptoms of covid (fever, bad cough, congestion, scratchy throat), but did not test positive on either of the 2 tests I took. I was glad I had brought the following:
1) covid test kit
2) Mucinex
3) thermometer
4) roll of cough drops
5) mobile phone and Ipad
6) masks

I basically spent three days in my hotel room until I was feeling better and my fever had been gone for 24 hours. The phone and Ipad let me make changes (e.g., canceling restaurant reservations) to my travel plan and google where the nearest grocery store was so I could go out and buy food. I was fortunate that my room had a small fridge and kettle. I was glad that I wasn’t on a group tour as no way would I have felt like going on an extended bus ride.

I don’t think you need to make any extraordinary plans. A smart phone with a data plan can help you solve all sorts of problems. Having a few OTC meds means you don’t need to immediately run to a pharmacy if you aren’t feeling well.

This is really the best and simplest answer, aside from insurance, have as much credit available as possible and buy what you need when you need it:

Pay down my CCs so I have as much money as possible available in case I need to charge extra hotels, transit, food.