- After more than a month of international travel, I cancelled my trip to Bali due to the coronavirus outbreak.
- While New York City has more confirmed cases than the entire country of Indonesia, the stress of constantly traveling amidst the coronavirus outbreak wore me down.
- I would rather be back in the US, as it remains uncertain how the outbreak will progress in America and how the government will respond.
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I just cancelled a dream trip to Bali because of the coronavirus outbreak. And, it’s not because I think I’m any more likely to get sick in Indonesia than I am in the US.
If anything, I think I’m more likely to catch COVID-19 if I head back to my apartment in New York City.
Over the last month, I’ve staunchly defended my decision to keep a trip through South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand going instead of returning to the US. The CDC did not advise against visiting the countries and, on the ground, I felt just as safe as I would have back in New York.
On a country-wide level, I still stand by my decision. As of Monday, there are more than 500 cases in the US, including more than 100 in New York state. Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand all still have less than 100.
South Korea's number of recorded cases exploded about a week after I left, reaching more than 7,300 as of Monday. However, the country's ability to test thousands of people and its extensive information campaign - which was already in place while I was in Seoul - have been applauded by experts.
If I feel so safe, why have I decided to head back to the US? There are a number of reasons, both personal and global. In the end, it's not a concern about getting sick that made me decide to cancel my trip - it's being sick of constantly traveling in a state of anxious uncertainty.
Here are the factors that helped me decide it was time to stop my endless international travel and cancel my trip to Bali.
I want to be back within American borders if the outbreak continues to grow.
It's counterintuitive, but I'd rather be inside the US if the outbreak is going to spread there, instead of dealing with difficulties getting back into the country.
Throughout this trip, my biggest concern has been getting quarantined or facing difficulties entering a new country. Since most of my friends and family are the US, I'd rather be in the same country as they are, just in case it becomes more of a struggle to reenter the US.
If you're not from the US, should you cancel your trip to the country? Other countries have not issued warnings advising citizens to avoid travel to the US; concerns over guns and the high cost of healthcare are more likely to be noted. If you're considering canceling a trip to the US, I would follow similar guidelines to what I used while trying to decide if I should visit a new country.
The American game plan isn't clear right now.
It is impossible to know how the coronavirus outbreak will progress in the US. And, it's also unclear how Americans and the US government will respond.
The US lags behind other countries in terms of testing capabilities. President Trump is reportedly obsessed with keeping the number of confirmed cases low. The Associated Press, citing a federal official, reported that health officials wanted to recommend elderly Americans avoid flying, but were overruled by White House officials.
In general, an apparent lack of a clear public game plan helped convince me that it was probably a better idea to get back to the US. I don't want part of the American approach to include travel bans that result in me being stranded in another country.
Indonesia is just now reporting coronavirus cases.
The CDC is not currently advising against traveling to Indonesia, as the only countries it has warned against visiting are China, Iran, Italy, Japan, and South Korea.
After weeks of insisting that there were no coronavirus cases in Indonesia, the country has six confirmed cases in the country as of Sunday. However, experts have expressed fears that there are many more unreported cases, telling Science magazine that there may be a "silent epidemic" in the country.
On its own, this wouldn't be enough to convince me to cross Bali off the list. But, it played a role in my decision.
I'm sick of uncertainty and having to change plans last minute.
With the situation changing on a daily and sometimes hourly basis, it is impossible to plan ahead. Constantly changing plans is exhausting, and makes me worried my work isn't as good as it could be otherwise.
I'm tired of stressing other people out, and my own anxiety levels have been rising.
I've mostly been able to avoid anxiety and letting the coronavirus take over the trip. However, I cannot say the same for my mother and some of my friends.
While I can manage any coronavirus-related anxiety, I'm more susceptible to coronavirus-related guilt. Dealing with news of the coronavirus spreading and others' worries on a daily basis has started to take a toll. While looking at the facts, I still feel confident about my safety while traveling, but it isn't worth worrying myself and others every day.
I'm going to have to self-quarantine anyway.
Business Insider imposed a mandatory 14-day self-quarantine if you've traveled to China, South Korea, Iran, Italy, and Japan in the last two weeks. Anyone who has traveled by air is advised to self-isolate and consider working remotely for 14 days.
Knowing that I would have to spend an extra 14 days out of the office helped put me over the edge in deciding it was time to go home. I promise, this is not me sucking up to my editors - being out of the office for almost three months instead of the originally planned slightly more than two months was not news I wanted!
Business Insider is banning all work travel.
I was already figuring out the logistics of canceling my trip to Bali when I found out that BI was banning all non-essential work travel.
I could have probably pushed back on this by arguing that on paper Indonesia is safer than the US. But, for all the other reasons listed, I decided it wasn't worth a fight.
I can quarantine outside of New York City.
Returning to New York would break my general rule of thumb to avoid big cities with confirmed coronavirus cases. And, I'm not that enthused by the idea of a cramped quarantine in my apartment. However, my mom is thrilled by the idea of me returning to the US and quarantining in North Carolina.
So, I'll be continuing my trip for another week, flying out of Phuket, Thailand to Australia, before finally heading back to the US from Melbourne.
I could not have predicted how much the coronavirus outbreak would impact the trip when I left New York in late January. But, I'm still thankful to have had the chance to take the trip at all.