Covid has ruined their summer vacation plans.

As many Americans learned this summer: the epidemic isn’t over just because you’re gone.

Omicron subtypes are so contagious that those After more than two years of protection against the coronavirus, it cannot be cured, forcing even those who have been vaccinated to cancel trips, quarantine or adjust travel schedules. People who were previously infected with Covid were struck again.

The good news: thanks to the prevention and measures of past corona virus diseases, we are protected from serious complications.

The bad news: those simple infections can still ruin long-awaited plans.

As the vacation season approaches, many are looking back on more memorable trips than a bad sunburn. The Washington Post asked readers to share How to weigh the risks when trying to enjoy a long-awaited trip with loved ones. Here is their story:

A once-in-a-decade opportunity

Deborah and Delmer Harris He had dreamed of watching the Passion Play since childhood. Explained. Five hours long A theater production about the life of Jesus is held in a small German town once every ten years Oberammergau

70-year-old Gaithersburg, MD, husband and wife They felt that the 2022 revival of the Games could be their last chance. Book a 12-day Viking river cruise in Europe to attend the games in June.

They watched in horror as the doves rose above the stage and the actors portraying Jesus and the two thieves were crucified. They enjoyed a three-hour indoor dinner with hundreds of guests. This is where they suspect they may have been infected with the Covid virus despite having received two booster shots each.

Forced by the shipping line With 10 days of hotel check-in and check-out during their scheduled time in Vienna, they missed opportunities to visit Budapest and Slovakia’s capital, Bratislava, and admire the rolling hills of the Wachau Valley from the top of the boat. Instead of going to a Mozart and Strauss concert, the couple celebrated their 49th anniversary by holed up in their hotel. Cruz’s representative spent three long periods–Trunk A box of red roses and applesauce.

They are still pushing their travel insurance company to pay $3,000 in unexpected hotel expenses and about $7,000 for missed cruise episodes.

But they do not regret their decision.

“You have to live your life,” said Deborah Harris.

The continued man-cation

The day after Jeff Smith arrived at a friend’s house in Seattle, a terrifying second line appeared on a rapid coronavirus test. Now the men are faced with a choice: they have to decide their bodies go on?

In 2020, they canceled the annual Gaming, Grid and Geeking Summit due to the pandemic. In the year The 2021 meeting was moved from Seattle to Chicago, where Smith lives, because he was still young. He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow.

This year, they knew any time with Smith was precious, even though he was in remission. in order to All 10 friends He decided to remain masked.

Seven eventually tested positive, mostly experiencing mild symptoms such as fatigue. Smith, 44, said that while he can’t taste the barbecue, his symptoms aren’t much different from the side effects of his cancer medication — mucus and a cough.

It wasn’t the best trip to embark on many hours of board games complicated by the covid brain fog. So they stuck to the simple and familiar games of spring-loaded monkeys throwing coconuts into a bucket.

Returning home was more difficult. Smith, who can work remotely as an online infrastructure engineering manager, stayed at a friend’s house until his symptoms subsided. Those flying with the coronavirus who had no flexibility in their work and childcare schedules but were stuck on scheduled flights wearing masks.

After all, Smith said, airlines and government agencies aren’t making it easy — or affordable — to change plans because of Covid.

***

The little one could not be vaccinated in time to fly

Contamination of elderly parents

Newly confirmed Deb Trevor heads straight to her parents’ spare bedroom to isolate themselves from the massive spread of their 60th wedding anniversary in South Carolina. Covid was already a touchy subject for a politically divided house.

Trevor, who was visiting from Colorado, said her relatives dismissed her concerns about the coronavirus earlier in the day when she didn’t feel it. Because everyone is vaccinated. Some have questioned the merits of wearing a mask at the meeting. She confirmed that a brother who had contracted the virus in the past had told her to quit Covid. Good luck if she has.

To Trevor’s horror, her 82-year-old mother occasionally appears in the room unmasked. When her 87-year-old father also falls ill with Covid and her mother still does not take precautions, Trevor leaves isolation to take care of them. Her mother also fell ill. Shortly after taking the extended flight home, Trevor drove back to South Carolina where doctors suspected her mother had numbness in her left side. covid–Related.

Trevor The best thing she can do is keep her vaccinated parents up-to-date on their benefits because she worries that the conservative media they consume will discourage them from doing so.

“I wish I lived closer,” she said.

***

He flew to the city, but was forced to meet again by zooming

29 relatives on a beach trip. Half of them got sick.

Corinne Edwards’ sister has tested positive. The other siblings gathered outside the Southern Maryland beach house Check out Chesapeake Bay for what to do.

29 relatives – including Edwards’ seven siblings – were in two neighboring houses. Three days of family beach week left to go. Everyone was vaccinated.

The journey continues: wearing masks at home, eating at picnic tables outside. Isolation of those infected with the virus to separate bedrooms.

The next day, Edwards fell ill. on the whole, 14 members of the family test positive, some are so sick they can’t get out of bed.

Edwards’ mother felt guilty about the set-up that turned into such a big event, but her children assured her they were happy to be reunited.

“I told my mom, ‘We’ll never forget 2022,'” said Edwards, 44. “When was the last time we had a problem like this together as a family?”

Plus, she said, the timing wasn’t as bad as when the stomach bug hit another family gathering. There were not enough toilets for all the Puki people.

***

23 hour drive home

Sabrina Gilmore said to her husband John, “Oh my gosh! Talk from the hotel bathroom where you were doing a quick coronavirus test.

It was like a big record for three days. A week-long trip to San Diego for their toddler’s cardiac appointment, for the first time The Gilmores He has been flying in airplanes since the outbreak began.

Their 17-year-old son Lucas also contracted the virus, so he had to skip the last day of the convention due to the art of non-magical displays on playing cards.

John spent Father’s Day alone in his hotel room trying to get a car to fly to the Seattle area. At the time of transmission.

Leaving a day earlier than planned, they stopped at Crater Lake, a spectacular volcanic lake in Oregon’s only national park. Their two-day trip to Washington State. When they get home, Sabrina tests positive.

John said he was trying to “do the right thing” and limit the spread. Doing so That means spending 23 hours on the road and paying $328.86 for a rental car, plus summer gas prices are rising. They couldn’t get their flight money back.

Sabrina added: “I’m sure most people will be on the flight and hoping for the best.” Or they just don’t care.

The virus hits immediately before the break

Stuck abroad – with travel insurance

Patricia Johnson likes Portugal’s Covid-precautionary culture. She and her husband visited their country for four weeks for a vacation Texas – where vaccinations and masks are not so popular. The African American couple was looking for a new home where they would feel welcome and safe, protected from the racism they faced in the United States.

Her husband developed a headache and a cough near the end of the trip, but tested negative the day before their flight. That’s when Patricia, 59, became positive. Due to international flight requirements at the time, they were unable to stay grounded and confirm their flight.

Incidentally, VRBO hosting The Johnsons canceled at the last minute and allowed six more to stay in another apartment at a discounted rate of $480. Days. The fare difference for the rescheduled flight was about $1,000. Fortunately, the couple had purchased travel insurance, which would cover additional housing and airfare costs.

Johnson spent most of her quarantine with brain fog and a cough, struggling to breathe.

The Johnsons have a return trip to Portugal in October to set up a bank account and make preparations to relocate. They plan to purchase travel insurance through their paid carrier immediately.

“Portugal is a high point on the board.” Johnson he said. “It’s been a great experience except for the covid.”

Ever since their parents died, it was important for Ann Haber to see her two brothers and their families every year.

The 61-year-old Arizona resident, who has recovered from Covid-19, found the timing perfect to put a damper on her trip to Seattle. Oh, she thought. She tested negative before boarding her flight and wore an N95 mask because she had a stuffy nose and sore throat. But she tested positive after returning home, torn between exposing the family or exposing the other passengers.

The media decided to celebrate peacefully instead.

The VRBO property had a detached cabin. She can isolate. She wears a KN95 surgical mask near her family. He ate alone at another table. Everyone wore masks, canceled some day trips and kept the windows down when riding in the same car.

No one else got sick. After six days, Haber felt better She was still testing positive when she flew home wearing an N95 mask.

Her brother John Haber, 68, said the reunion might have been canceled if the relative had been immunocompromised. It was winter, or if his sister had to stay at home there.

“The whole thing I was driving home was this is what the future might look like.” Jonathan said. “It’s the kind of situation that a lot of people get into from time to time, and you can manage it.”