Covid-19

[Love To Travel 2]

We've stayed in campgrounds for 21 nights since April and feel very safe. On more than 50% of the stays, we knew our site number prior to arrival and didn't have to stop at the office for a check-in. We are not social butterflies so we don't join activities nor do we sit around the campfire with others. A wave when I'm walking the dog is about all I do now and did before.

In 2 days we leave Pennsylvania and the cold for South Carolina. We have a home there, but we use it for a base for our 'southern' expeditions. Since we don't think we will have many northern visitors this winter, the Jayco is going to get some extra heavy use. I think using an RV is absolutely the best way to travel...your own bed, your own bathroom, your own food. How much safer could you be?

[kayakkeith]

It is true that camping can be done fairly safely. However, the origonal question was specific to visiting Arizona. There is one thing I have not seen anyone mention: hospital capacity. Hospital capacity is what prompted shut downs and many of the measures implemented were to slow things down so that hospitals are not overwhelemed. If you go to the Arizona department of health and look at the county of Yuma they have a 15% positive rate which is high. What I would be more worried about though is this chart which shows that almost 90% of the ICU beds are filled. As for the people who down play COVID-19 because of their media consumption: 250,000 people dead from COVID is an insane number of people. Yearly car deaths 24,000. Yearly flu deaths 42,000, suicides 45,000 and total US deaths for all of world war II is about 400,000. To put is simply: You may not believe in COVID-19, but viruses believe in you!

[GABob]

Just returned from a trip to Texas last night. Both of the places we stayed (one for transit, the other for a few days) had folks wearing masks and keeping their distance. No issues at the pumps as folks kept their distance. We always pack food for the trip (pre-chill the fridge and use a cooler) and the facilities on board are more than adequate so we really don't stop for anything other than fuel. We did some shopping when we were there, everyone out and about had masks on, except for those dining. We ordered take out as we don't believe in tempting fate. I work in the Healthcare Mfg sector so I know this stuff is nothing to mess with, especially as we still don't know the longer term implications.


All said, just use your head...

[jimmoore13]

We camped locally all summer...every weekend. But, we were boondocking and wholly self-contained. No strange water sources, no food shopping trips other than our regular pick-up-in-the-parking-lot at Kroger, and so on. We toted our own water and used our own water equipment. We did propane refills at a reliable local propane dealer that masked up and gloved up, and all financial transactions were handled thru a mail slot...very careful. The most crowded place we went was a lakeside campground where sites are approximately 150' of lake frontage and minimal need to socialize other than to holler back and forth from a distance. Other places were truly remote - e.g. 1/2 mile down an ATV trail (see pix).

But, would I be willing to get on the road and drive 1100 miles to an RV park several states away? Not a chance. It's just too difficult to maintain reasonable social distancing and to be confident that others will mask up. And it's those who refuse to mask up who pose the greatest threat. That behavior is symbolic of an overall lack of regard for the safety of others. They are the ones who will kill you. And on a long trip, you will encounter hundreds of these people in restaurants, gas stations, rest areas, and in the RV park.

That's my 2 cents. Live to camp another day.

[ExxWhy]

11.5 million people in the US have been counted as having covid per the Johns Hopkins dashboard. 98% of them are alive and well. Probably 99% if you don't live in a nursing home, which is likely if you are contemplating camping. The younger you are the better the odds since the average age of covid deaths still hovers around 80. I guess it boils down to how one perceives and accepts risk.

[mharrison]

Originally Posted by Bulldogmills

Please don’t let the media hype predict what you do and don’t do. COVID cases are rising, all for the simple fact of the availability of testing absolutely everywhere now. The virus is not getting worse. Just a lot more testing. I work in Public Safety, so I say this by first hand experience. Camping is the safest recreation activity you could possibly do right now. Enjoy the outdoors and camping.

I agree with camping as a safe recreation, but coming from a person who has worked in the Fire/EMS field for over 35 years and has transported multiple COVID patients (last one this morning). Don't trust media that's fine, but listen to your local health departments and hospitals. There are a lot of COVID cases that recover at home, some asymptomatic, but the cases that require a higher level of care are overwhelming hospitals. When we transport to KC we are escorted by security to ensure hallways are clear to avoid any contact as we take the patient to their room.

Hell I worry every time I get in the truck to go deer hunting with my 80 year old dad, will I infect him?

[Freeman]

We are on our way from Virginia to Arizona taking a month to complete the trip. We will be in Arizona for four months and plan to explore the southwest. We are completely self contained, staying at Harvest Hosts, family RV pads, and campgrounds. Everywhere we have been, we have met people who share our values. Just like while at home, we mask and keep distance from others, avoid indoor gatherings, and utilize outdoor markets, sites, etc. I am not one who suffers fools well, so just as at home, I refuse to be among anti-maskers and others who fail to accept personal responsibility for the common good. We are as safe on our trip as at home (actually more so), have enjoyed our trip so far, met interesting people (masked and distant), and seen amazing natural sites. The way I see it — neither COVID nor COVID deniers are going to keep us from enjoying our travels.

[Frankp877]

Pay no attention to the "test numbers" as they are so skewed it's not funny. Go camping and enjoy yourself.

[Trapper2020]

Safe travels to all. The end of this virus is near.


Enjoy the journey

[Kim Gass]

Originally Posted by Trapper2020

Safe travels to all. The end of this virus is near.


Enjoy the journey

So not true. Otherwise my daughter would not have been ordered to Minnesota from Connecticut to organize bringing in ambulances from all over the USA. The State has requested them as they are overwhelmed.

Not reading any media. This is real life. She will miss Thanksgiving with her household and will be in a barracks mess. ( she is not military)

[Trapper2020]

Originally Posted by Kim Gass

So not true. Otherwise my daughter would not have been ordered to Minnesota from Connecticut to organize bringing in ambulances from all over the USA. The State has requested them as they are overwhelmed.

Not reading any media. This is real life. She will miss Thanksgiving with her household and will be in a barracks mess. ( she is not military)

Trying to see the light at the end of the tunnel. This started less than a year ago and the actual deaths is no where near the original 2.5 million they originally projected. Two companies will get approval by end of month making 20 million vaccines available by end of year, and 300 million available next year tells me end is near. Sorry for your daughter not being around during the holidays but we all choose what our profession is. Glad we have people like here working to protect us. Safe travels

[Midnightmoon]

Moderator's Note

Back when this COVID-19 section of the forum was created, the site team announced specific guidelines for posting in this section. The text for that announcement may be found below. Please keep these guidelines and our general Community Rules in mind when participating in this area of the forum.

"New forum for Covid-19 Topics - README
Please read carefully:

Because of the very high interest and posting activity regarding COVID-19, the site team has established this temporary new forum to contain all threads related to this topic. We have moved existing threads on this topic to this new forum and will continue to move posts and new threads to this area of the forum, regardless of where they were initially posted.

All Community Rules will be strictly enforced in this forum. Posts in violation of the rules may be deleted without notification based on the judgment of the moderators. In addition, posts that exhibit fear-mongering or other anti-social behavior may result in the author’s posting privileges being restricted. Please be especially cautious about posting politically charged content and be sure to report problem posts.

There has been a lot of very useful information and perspective shared here on this topic, but unfortunately also a good bit that doesn't align with forum rules. Please respect your fellow members by thinking through this before posting:

- Is it true?
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- Is it kind?

If you have any questions about this, feel free to message any moderator.

Wishing good health to all,
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[spark of insanity]

We are living our lives and do not fear the virus. We feel if we get and die? We did everything in this lifetime. We are having a Xmas and we feel that if you fear it. Fear it. We are living our lives and no biggie. Good luck with what ever you want to do. But we are having Xmas in another state this year.

[Lastbeer]

Originally Posted by Evoman55

Sabra & I want to leave for Yuma, AZ on 11/29 through 12/8. Now we're second guessing our decision due to the surging COVID-19 numbers. Anyone out there have any thoughts? Thanks, Bob & Sabra.

Frio River - Texas
Howdy,
There are many winter Texans at different places along the Frio River (clear water). Contact me if you would like to know different RV spots.

Good luck. The dam-demic is not as present in small, Texas towns.

[Evoman55]

I agree about this using common sense in using the precautions that we know about from the CDC. We're picking our trailer up from the dealership service department on Monday and plan on leaving 12/7 to go to Yuma. We're gonna stay for about a week. I appreciate all the posts to my original thread. We're going to go for it and use the common sense the good lord gave us. Thanks to all. 😎👍

[goducks]

Originally Posted by Bulldogmills

Please don’t let the media hype predict what you do and don’t do. COVID cases are rising, all for the simple fact of the availability of testing absolutely everywhere now. The virus is not getting worse. Just a lot more testing. I work in Public Safety, so I say this by first hand experience. Camping is the safest recreation activity you could possibly do right now. Enjoy the outdoors and camping.

Thats not true. Maybe is some places but not in most areas. Hospital rates are rising. Here in Oregon we've had the same testing levels since summer and our cases have gone from being in the low to mid 100's a day to in the low 1000's.

Hospital cases have also risen. Our positivity rate that was once in the low 5% range is now around 13%-14%.

It doesn't matter how many you test, it's how many of those tested are positive and how may positives end up in the hospital.

https://www.oregonlive.com/coronavir...ever-1225.html

[colby]

Originally Posted by 2edgesword

I would say go but use commonsense precautions. Where a mask when you're going to be in close proximity to others, stay away from crowds and practice good hand hygiene.

This is probably the best advice. Maintain physical distancing, stay in your social bubble, wear a mask when physical distancing is not possible, wash your hands well (20 seconds with soap and water), hand sanitizer when you need it and don't touch your face!

Camping is easy, especially if you are self-contained, and one of the easiest ways to "self-isolate".

Stay safe everyone.

[Bookemdanno]

I'm just now starting to get better from COVID...it's been 2 weeks to the day that I came home from work with fever and body aches on 11/6. I'll share my experience for those that are curious...I had low grade fever (100.2 was highest it got, but it never really stopped), body aches and chills for 3 days. I started to feel better, but went to get a COVID test on a Monday (11/9). I felt 85% better on Tuesday (11/10) and went back to work, but remained in my office with my mask on. Got the positive COVID results on Wednesday (Veteran's Day, 11/11) morning and went downhill quickly from there. I was in bed for exactly 1 week with fever, chills, aches and I developed a horrendous cough. I would say that the worst part was the fatigue! I took 4/5 naps each day....and I wasn't doing anything! Heck, I already took a nap today for an hour! And I never nap! Yesterday (Thursday, 11/19) was the 1st day that I ventured out of the bedroom in over a week. I still have the cough that I can't shake, but feel about 90% better! Overall, this was the longest period of time that I've been this sick before. I had the flu about 6 yrs ago and I would definitely say that the flu was way worse, it just didn't last as long. I'm a 43 year old adult male in "relatively" good health. I would say that my biggest concern during this sickness was after I developed the cough...I was worried that I might get pneumonia. I have sleep apnea and I think that my breathing machine helped, because it forces air into your lungs when you sleep.

Having gone thru my version of the COVID, I don't think it is necessary to shut down the economy. BUT, if you have underlying health issues, such as my parents, it would be a BIG problem. With my dad's heart issues and my mother's lung issues, I have no doubt that COVID would probably kill them if they contracted it. I just hope that everyone stay's healthy and does what works for you! My profession doesn't exactly allow me to stay home in a bubble! I'm sure that I got COVID from arresting someone or just going into the main office building 48 hrs before I got sick.

Edit: I should add...if there's a plus, I lost 18 lbs in the last 2 weeks!

[CAG]

To those on their way to or thinking of coming to Arizona I strongly suggest you reconsider. Our numbers are going up daily, along with deaths. There is mounting evidence that there will not be enough beds for the sick. We have a high senior citizen population and add to that snowbirds. There is mounting pressure on our wishy-washy Governor to do something more drastic than his "no-policy" that he has right now. There is no State mask mandate, and Arizona has more than our share of "we have rights, and you can't force me to wear a mask" That simply means there is really no place you can go without running into some fool who is maskless. The schools are beginning to go back to distance learning because of the numbers increase.



Add to this scenario is the idiots who have begun hoarding again. I expect some stores to begin putting limits on what you can buy of certain items.



So, travel if you must but you might want to be prepared for a lock down, limited access to anything, and difficulty getting supplies.

[CAG]

Originally Posted by Bookemdanno

I'm just now starting to get better from COVID...it's been 2 weeks to the day that I came home from work with fever and body aches on 11/6. I'll share my experience for those that are curious...I had low grade fever (100.2 was highest it got, but it never really stopped), body aches and chills for 3 days. I started to feel better, but went to get a COVID test on a Monday (11/9). I felt 85% better on Tuesday (11/10) and went back to work, but remained in my office with my mask on. Got the positive COVID results on Wednesday (Veteran's Day, 11/11) morning and went downhill quickly from there. I was in bed for exactly 1 week with fever, chills, aches and I developed a horrendous cough. I would say that the worst part was the fatigue! I took 4/5 naps each day....and I wasn't doing anything! Heck, I already took a nap today for an hour! And I never nap! Yesterday (Thursday, 11/19) was the 1st day that I ventured out of the bedroom in over a week. I still have the cough that I can't shake, but feel about 90% better! Overall, this was the longest period of time that I've been this sick before. I had the flu about 6 yrs ago and I would definitely say that the flu was way worse, it just didn't last as long. I'm a 43 year old adult male in "relatively" good health. I would say that my biggest concern during this sickness was after I developed the cough...I was worried that I might get pneumonia. I have sleep apnea and I think that my breathing machine helped, because it forces air into your lungs when you sleep.

Having gone thru my version of the COVID, I don't think it is necessary to shut down the economy. BUT, if you have underlying health issues, such as my parents, it would be a BIG problem. With my dad's heart issues and my mother's lung issues, I have no doubt that COVID would probably kill them if they contracted it. I just hope that everyone stay's healthy and does what works for you! My profession doesn't exactly allow me to stay home in a bubble! I'm sure that I got COVID from arresting someone or just going into the main office building 48 hrs before I got sick.

Edit: I should add...if there's a plus, I lost 18 lbs in the last 2 weeks!

I am not going to throw stones but I do have to ask, why would anyone with those symptoms go anywhere but home to isolate until you know for sure? The infected leave a "trail" of infection for anyone walking through that trail and everything that infected persons touches can infect the next person.



I am sorry that you got that. It is very bad but we need to be responsible if we suspect we have it.