I woke up, startled in the middle of the night. It was my last night in Hawaii. Someone was standing next to my bed. I was relieved that it was only my boyfriend (and he wasn’t holding a knife or a rope). He said that he was woken by strange text messages and wanted to check my phone to see if I’d also received them too. Sure enough, I had. The messages purported to be from NHS, the National Health Service of the United Kingdom about Covid-19 contact tracing. We were groggy and did not know if the messages were real or not.
How could these messages be accurate? We were only in London, at Heathrow Airport, for less than one hour – 8 days before – when we transited from one plane to another.
Let’s start this at the beginning.
I’m triple vaccinated, but I’m still very cautious in my day-to-day life and even more cautious when it comes to travel. I wear masks in public. When it comes to travel, each country has it’s own distinct rules. Do you need to be vaccinated, which vaccinations are accepted and what proof of vaccination must you offer? Do you need to take a covid-19 test, and if so, which one (antigen or PCR) and how many hours before your departure or arrival at the country in question? Are there specific forms or apps you must use and when can/must you fill them out? It gets even crazier when you are traveling to multiple countries and even when you are transiting through a country, such as the United Kingdom, for only an hour!
My itinerary was this (and yes, I know it’s convoluted – – I’ll explain more about that in another post).
Flight 1- JFK New York to LHR Heathrow, London (AA) , Flight 2- LHR – BUD Budapest Hungary (BA)
We stayed in Budapest 3 days (we loved Budapest). A day before departing Hungary, we administered the Abbot BinaxNow for Travel Covid-19 tests – and the results were negative. And then went on our merry way to Hawaii!
Flight 3 -BUD to AMS Amsterdam (KLM), Flight 4 -AMS to LAX Los Angeles (KLM), Flight 5 -LAX to HNL Honolulu (DL).
For travel to Europe (both UK and Hungary), a negative PCR Covid test is required. Additionally, for travel through the UK – even if transiting for an hour – you had to complete a very detailed form – which included information far beyond your passport and dates of travel. For return travel to the United States, another negative Covid-19 test (rapid) is required. There are more forms and details, but that’s enough for now. Needless to say, we followed all requirements to a T.
The fifth night in Hawaii was our last night. We were leaving that day. Suddenly, at 2 am, the weird contact messages started flurrying in.
We also received a slew of phone calls from the UK.
We weren’t able to take the phone calls, and the numbers were “no reply” telephone numbers. We were instructed to go to our respective accounts and sign in to learn more, but the website wouldn’t let us to sign in.
We were as certain as we could possibly be that we weren’t infected. Our one-hour transit in the UK was 8 days prior to these messages, and we tested negative a few days after that. Plus, we’re fully vaccinated, and not showing any signs of illness. Under UK rules, isolation is not required if you are fully vaccinated. Nevertheless, we spent part of our last day in Hawaii calling local pharmacies to see if they had any Covid-19 testing kits in stock, with no success.
Finally, with few options left, we decided to mask-up and take our flights home. A few more calls came in while we were in flight. We got home Tuesday night (still feeling fine), and went to sleep. Brringggg. At 4 am, the phone rang and it was the NHS again. All the caller would tell me was that someone on my entire Boeing 777 flight from JFK to the UK had tested positive. She wasn’t even really sure of that. Really? One in 200 persons?
I asked if she could give me more information about the contact. Was s/he sitting near me? Was s/he also transiting at Heathrow? Was s/he an airline employee? When did this person test positive?
She would not offer any further information.
Was the NHS actually notifying the roughly 200 persons on the plane that they’d been in contact with a person who tested positive for Covid-19? I’m all for contact testing and tracing, but isn’t the standard close contact?
When does overkill render a well-meaning program ineffective?
Out of an abundance of caution, we got tested once again, and thankfully, we’re still negative.
Stay healthy and happy my friends!
A New York frequent flyer who elegantly combines her passions for worldwide travel, running a gazillion marathons all over the globe and staying fit ... without sacrificing her fancy for good wine and food.
This is the most asinine story I think I have ever read on a travel blog. In what world would you have even given this situation a second thought?? A middle school science class would teach you that given your history, you were in no way/shape/form at risk to yourself or anyone else. This is just poppycock, as my grandmother would say. SMDH…….
“In what world would you have even given this situation a second thought??”
In a pandemic world.
With respect to your grandmother, who I have every reason to assume doled out tons of wonderful advice, in this case she would have been wrong. UK public health officials have information the author does not have – like the seat number of the person that tested positive. Her doctor has insight she doesn’t have. Consulting with both before going about her day is not asinine; it’d be common sense.