Should you be concerned about the coronavirus? Here’s my advice after returning from Southeast Asia

Should you be concerned about the coronavirus? On our recent travels, the virus caused changes to our ship’s schedule and raised alarms amongst travelers. As the virus makes headlines, people throughout the world watch the trends and wonder what it means for them. Should you be concerned? I have four pieces of advice for you after returning from 3 1/2 weeks in Southeast Asia.

1. Know the basic facts

• The virus originated in Wuhan, in mainland China.
• Coronaviruses (CoV) cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-Cov), of prior years.
• This newest strain of the coronavirus has not previously been identified in humans.  
• While MERS and SARS originated from bats, no bats were sold in the Wuhan, China markets.
• China officials believe pangolins (anteater family) carried the virus in Wuhan.
• Scientists confirmed the virus now spreads from human to human contact, making it more difficult to manage.
• Symptoms of the coronavirus include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death. (Source: World Health Organization).

2. Watch the trends

We watched the trends closely when we were in Southeast Asia. Our highest risk came as we disembarked from our cruise in Hong Kong, which is part of China, yet distinct from it. Hong Kong is a special administrative region, under a “one country, two systems” arrangement, with some autonomy and separate borders.

At the time, the total number of identified coronavirus cases hovered around 3,000. Of these, only 12 confirmed cases had been reported among the more than 8 million residents of Hong Kong (a statistically insignificant percentage). A handful of coronavirus cases were also detected in Singapore, Thailand and other ports we visited. We considered our risk to be fairly low, but took appropriate precautions.

Today officials report just over 45,000 cases of the coronavirus, a significant increase. While 99% of confirmed cases are in Mainland China, travelers appear to be carrying the virus throughout the world.

3. Put it in context

People panic about unknown risks yet become immune to familiar risks, such as the flu, from which an estimated 646,000 die each year (source: medicinenet.com). The coronavirus in comparison, has caused a little more than 1,100 fatalities to date worldwide. These fatalities are tragic, and I send prayers and condolences to the families impacted. Every life is precious and we mourn those who are lost.

From a risk perspective, more than 1,000 of the fatalities are in the Hubei province of China (Wuhan area). Thus far, the virus seems to be concentrated in this geography, however additional concentrations occur as the disease spreads. Several cruise ships have had outbreaks onboard and face quarantines. The Princess Diamond has at least 64 confirmed cases of the virus.

My mother in law showed me an interesting article regarding how people view new risks: generally, if you have little information, you assume the worst. Put it in context as you evaluate your personal risk. Consider how close you are to the action, and if you are traveling in high-risk areas, take appropriate precautions.

4. Take appropriate precautions for your area and circumstances

In our travels, the captain and other onboard staff advised us to use normal “good” hygiene procedures, including frequent hand washing, avoiding touching hands to face, coughing into a shoulder rather than hands, and judicious use of a mask. At the same time, they advised us not to over-react: the risk from flu is actually much higher than the current infection rates with the coronavirus.

Those in the travel industry and managing countries work hard to protect themselves and their constituents from initial cases. This is why you see countries closing borders and airports, cruise terminals and even school districts implementing screenings or even closing to minimize concentrated populations particularly in heavy risk areas.

If you are planning travel to Southeast Asia, take precautions. The ship we traveled on, Holland America’s Westerdam, continued to additional ports in Southeast Asia, and modified its next cruise to avoid China. Although no passengers on the Westerdam have the virus, countries in Southeast Asia are understandably concerned. Since leaving Hong Kong, the ship has been refused entry in four ports, including Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, and the U.S. Territory of Guam. The cruise line established a revised itinerary, including the new point of disembarkation.

Should you be concerned about the global risk? Officials caution continued awareness

While the impacts are fairly isolated in China — the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a Global Health Emergency. The WHO praises China’s response (although some concerns have been raised about attempts to quell initial reporting from doctors), and has not yet classified the outbreak as a pandemic, or worldwide spread. WHO warns however that there is a narrow window of opportunity to control the outbreak.

Leaders across the world are responding and most, if not all, have restricted access for Mainland China residents and anyone who has visited within 14 days (a maximum incubation period). These restrictions will hopeuflly reduce the spread of the virus.

Should you be concerned about personal risk?

That’s a question that only you can answer. From my experience, I recommend that you continue to monitor the situation and take appropriate precautions. When/if contracted, the symptoms are very similar to a common cold or the flu with respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. If you suspect you may have come in contact with the coronavirus, call your medical provider to seek advice prior to visiting a medical facility.

For us, the benefits of travel outweighed the risks (at the time)

As the coronavirus grows in the region, please stay informed and be smart about your decision to travel to impacted areas. If you do go, take appropriate precautions and stay flexible.

I can’t wait to share more about my travels in future posts. I learned so much! And it may take me years to understand it all.

Thanks for listening! And please, wash your hands!