Coronavirus–The facts and what it means for our travels?

I am finding it difficult to make travel plans with all this talk about Covid-19, the novel coronavirus. What apparently started out in the Hubei Province of the People’s Republic of China has now spread to many other countries creating a bit of panic.

Is it real?  Well, on January 30, 2020, the WHO (World Heath Organization)  Emergency Committee declared a global health emergency so there is great concern in the health industry. While the incidence in North America remains low so far that could all change very soon. So what does this mean for us full time travelers?

First I would like to share some facts I have researched regarding the coronavirus. There are many coronaviruses and they were first described in 1966. Among the subtypes of coronaviruses which may infect humans, the so called beta‐coronaviruses could result in severe cases and fatalities. The less problematic alpha‐coronaviruses result in asymptomatic or mostly mild infections.

Remember the SARS (SARS‐CoV‐2) outbreak? It too is a beta‐coronavirus which also apparently made its transition from animals to humans in Wuhan, China. (What is it with Wuhan, China?) Therefore, we now have Covid-19, coronavirus.

People who contract Covid-19 may remain asymptomatic and show no signs they have (the disease making it difficult to detect in some. While others who are symptomatic will, after less than a week, show symptoms of fever, cough, nasal congestion, fatigue and other signs of upper respiratory tract infections. In more severe cases infection can progress to severe chest pains due to pneumonia which mostly occurs in the second or third week of infection.

While Covid-19 appears to be more infectious than SARS was, it also appears to have a much lower mortality rate, 2.2% vs SARS of 9.6%. Mortality rates for Covid-a9 are lower in children but highest in those over 80 (14.8%). Those over 70 are also high at 8%. Also significant is that mortality is much higher for those with compromised medical conditions. It is 10.5% for cardiovascular disease, 7.3% for diabetes, 6.3% for chronic respiratory disease, 6.0% for hypertension, and 5.6% for cancer.

Now the good news! Those with the disease are categorized as Mild, Severe and Critical. A recent study showed that Mild cases were at 81%, Severe at 14% and Critical at 5%. Those with Mild or Severe case, or 95 percent of those with Covid-19, do not die due to the disease. Apparently even if you get Covid-19 it may be somewhat similar to contracting the flu. However, the mortality rate for those in the severe category is nearly 50%! Yikes!!!

What does this mean to us travelers?  For us, first and foremost we will avoid any travel in confined quarters. That means we won’t be flying anywhere for awhile and certainly won’t be taking any cruises. We will continue to travel as we have in the past in our RV but we will be avoiding densely populated communities and any areas with more widespread infection. In addition we will pay extra attention to our hand washing in accordance to the CDC guidelines

I guess there is an advantage for us in this lifestyle as we can move whenever and wherever we feel the safest until this passes…

NOTE: We are currently in Mesa Arizona until March 11th 2020, then over to Tucson for four nights.