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I was due to travel to India and Turkey in March 2020 with my husband.
By February, before the virus was first reported in Australia we were still ready to go since we were travelling independently and thought we would be safe, it seemed that it spread more in groups. I kept my eye on Worldometer with no reporting of the virus at our destinations. I checked the Singapore Airport website, where we would be transiting, it was reassuring about the cleaning regime there.
However, gradually the news reports became unnerving. Temperature checks were being performed at airports. I thought, what if we just have a temperature due to a cold, would they stop us from travelling further? Will we need to be constantly taking paracetamol to disguise minor temperatures? Then I began thinking, will we need to wear gloves all the time? Masks? They were warning us that the virus remained on the gloves and mask so you had to remove them with care!
It was all becoming too much. Finally my son's workplace was the first city office to be sent home to work due to a possible contact.
What if we caught it from him and were taken ill overseas?
It was such a RELIEF making the decision 10 days before departure to cancel the trip regardless of the financial loss. As luck had it we would have departed the day BEFORE the travel ban was enforced. So many Australian travellers were caught overseas as borders closed and curfews enforced.
I felt so blessed to be safe at home as the horror of the epidemic unfolded so tragically overseas.
By February, before the virus was first reported in Australia we were still ready to go since we were travelling independently and thought we would be safe, it seemed that it spread more in groups. I kept my eye on Worldometer with no reporting of the virus at our destinations. I checked the Singapore Airport website, where we would be transiting, it was reassuring about the cleaning regime there.
However, gradually the news reports became unnerving. Temperature checks were being performed at airports. I thought, what if we just have a temperature due to a cold, would they stop us from travelling further? Will we need to be constantly taking paracetamol to disguise minor temperatures? Then I began thinking, will we need to wear gloves all the time? Masks? They were warning us that the virus remained on the gloves and mask so you had to remove them with care!
It was all becoming too much. Finally my son's workplace was the first city office to be sent home to work due to a possible contact.
What if we caught it from him and were taken ill overseas?
It was such a RELIEF making the decision 10 days before departure to cancel the trip regardless of the financial loss. As luck had it we would have departed the day BEFORE the travel ban was enforced. So many Australian travellers were caught overseas as borders closed and curfews enforced.
I felt so blessed to be safe at home as the horror of the epidemic unfolded so tragically overseas.