Coronavirus…How does this risk impact us as we head to India?..6 days and counting…

This photo taken in 2014 when we toured the Panorama Route was posted last year on this date. This handsome cheetah we met at Moholoholo Rehabilitation Centre was recovering from poisoning due to an attempt to kill him for his hide. He won’t return to the wild due to the risk of being killed by his species. He’s been made an “ambassador” to represent the rehab center in saving his and other species from becoming endangered. Watching him through the electrified fencing, we were anxious to get inside for “hands-on.” Here‘s the link from that post.

Of course, we’re concerned about the outbreak of Coronavirus in countries throughout the world. As of today’s stats, here is a breakdown of the countries impacted by this deadly virus: “The disease has also spread to at least seven other countries: Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, and the US.

At first, authorities suspected that the coronavirus — which most likely originated at a seafood market — could be spread to humans only from animals.”

Now, it’s been discovered that the virus spreads easily from human to human. This is a big concern for us. This morning we ordered more face masks certified to protect against viruses circulating from human to human.

We’ve decided to wear them non-stop for the almost 30-hour upcoming travel day and while at any public, crowded areas and, at all times, at airports. We don’t care how it looks. We’ll be diligent.

No doubt in no time will the virus reach India, which is adjacent to China. However, in the article below, it appears India is proactive in screening passengers entering the country, although this one step is no guaranty the virus won’t enter the country. See this article below:

“India screens over 9,150 passengers for Coronavirus (from this site)

Updated: 22 Jan 2020, 06:25 PM IST

Neetu Chandra Sharma

The health and civil aviation ministries have issued a travel advisory and shared it on their Twitter handle for broader circulation.
The death toll from the coronavirus has risen to nine in Wuhan, China, with several cases reported across the country.

NEW DELHI: The health ministry has screened over 9,150 passengers of 43 flights for the Coronavirus disease at seven airports. After the outbreak of the virus in China, India has stepped up its preparedness to prevent the entry of the virus into the country.

“Till now, no case has been detected through these screening efforts. We are on alert … Passengers traveling from China are being requested to report to the nearest public health facility in case they feel any symptoms,” said Preeti Sudan, secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The health and civil aviation ministries have issued a travel advisory and shared it on their Twitter handle for broader circulation.

The health ministry has instructed airport health organizations at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Cochin to screen passengers coming from mainland China at these seven international airports.

“Signages have been put up at prominent locations in these airports for encouraging the public about self-reporting of illness. Immigration officers manning the counters have been sensitized at these airports. Close coordination is being maintained with the Ministry of Civil Aviation to coordinate the screening effort and dissemination of information to inbound passengers through in-flight announcements,” a health ministry statement said. “The Health Ministry is constantly reviewing the evolving scenario working closely with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of External Affairs, Department of Health Research, and the Indian Embassy in China.”

The ministry has consulted the World Health Organisation (WHO) for updates on technical inputs. “Series of meetings have been held to review the evolving scenario, preparedness in terms of disease surveillance, laboratory support infection prevention, and control, logistics, risk communication and, in particular, hospital preparedness and need for coordination and collaboration with other Ministries” said a senior health ministry official.

The health ministry has also written to all states and union territories to review their preparedness, identify gaps and strengthen core capacities needed to prepare for, detect and respond to possible outbreaks.

National Institute of Virology, Pune, and ten laboratories under the Indian Council of Medical Research’s Viral Research and Diagnostics Laboratories network has geared up to test virus samples. Medical stores have maintained adequate stock of equipment for personal protection, the health ministry said.

The death toll from the coronavirus has risen to nine in Wuhan, China, with several cases reported across the country. The US has also written a case of the virus, raising concerns across the world.

The World Health Organization convened an emergency meeting in Geneva on Wednesday to decide whether the fast-spreading outbreak is a “public health emergency of international concern” and what recommendations should be made to tackle it.

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV).

A novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans. Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people. The outbreak is that of a new, unknown form of pneumonia, which has infected at least 400 patients across central China, spreading from the city of Wuhan, where the first case was identified on 31 December and killing six. As per the latest reports, the deadly virus has also traveled to South Korea, and a case was reported in Thailand and Japan each.”

This puts a bit of a damper on our travels, especially after we suffered from the outrageous virus we contracted on our last cruise in October, which lasted for over six weeks, resulting in the worst cough either of us ever suffered.

But, we continue with hope and prayers for a safe departure and for time spent in the next leg of our journey and the cruise from Mumbai on which we’ll embark on April 3, 2020. Will we need to wear face masks on the cruise? At this point, we don’t know.

From there, we’ll be in England, Scotland, Spain, and Portugal. Hopefully, strict precautions are being implemented in these and other countries. Some may say we’re foolish to continue traveling, but the virus has arrived in the US now. Nowhere in the world is exempt from the risks.

Today, we’re off to Goodyear, Arizona, to Laurie and Craig’s house. We’ll be back with photos for tomorrow’s post.

Have a safe and healthy day!

Photo from one year ago today, January 23, 2019:

We’d posted photos from 2014 on this date in 2019. Tom volunteered to feed the vultures raw meat. He wore a leather sleeve on his right arm from fingertips to shoulder. As soon as our guide put the raw meat into his hand, several vultures flew at him to grab it, leaving two to fight over it. Exciting, to say the least. See the year-ago post here.

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