Colombia / Travel Coronavirus Updates

[ShadowJ]

I'm stuck in the US waiting for my next trip. Would anybody care to speculate on when things will open back up for tourists to Colombia?

[TomJackin]

I'll tell you what's going to happen in the US.

Thank the father of jesus that we have an expert on the US on the Colombia hooker board!

[Dcrist0527]

I'll tell you what's going to happen in the US.

Federal government is going to fuck it up. You can't have a deluded bankrupt "businessman" manage any of this. But he's a TV personality so some people will lap it up. State governments are going to be key. Some of them are going to deal with this better than most. Big cities are going to be hit hardest. Human epidemics are born of cities.

By the summer things will start to get better. Most countries will use a "graduated" system of opening things up. We'll have a second and possibly third wave. Borders will close again. Isolation will be used and the work intensive contact tracing will happen again without much success because of the two week incubation period. Within two years we'll build up the herd immunity or have a working vaccine.

If you think you're going to be banging Colombian chicas by the summer you should realign your expectations. Investing right now is going to be great.

I mostly agree. But reality is no government, federal or state, will solve this. It'll be a medical breakthrough by private outfits that solve this. I agree, there will be what appear to be waves. But the virus is not going away. The only thing that a federal or state government can do is try to keep the calm by balancing quarantines vs completely obliterating the global economy. And frankly, I don't like their chances.

Invest? Hahaha. Where in the world would you invest at this point. We should invest in ourselves. There will be opportunities through this crisis. We should invest in ourselves to be prepared to seize those opportunities.

As for Colombia. Who knows? I imagine we'll see a varied response from all countries. Some will seal off borders as best they can for 2 years. Some will open much sooner. But also lost in this conversation is global trade. Very few countries, if any are currently self sufficient. Like it or not, global trade compounds the problems.

[Dcrist0527]

The US is still early in the cycle. But. I guess my point was that emphasis on social distancing, staying at home, etc. Is far more useful than arguing about drugs or blaming people.

I am truly not trying to argue here. I guess the lockdown is making me ornery. LOL But I disagree. The US numbers, by and large, are at a plateau or even decreasing slightly in some locations. And they did more than just miss the projections. They missed by threefold or fivefold. Yes, social distancing brought these numbers down. But now what? The virus hasn't disappeared. Short of a vaccine, it will not. Without it, the number will not get to zero. It won't be close to zero. So the question is, what did social distancing gain us? Time?

Certainly. But we're still at least a year off from a vaccine. So what is the interim plan? Social distance for 12 more months? The world would never be the same. Governments will fall. People around the world are struggling to feed their families. In 12 months, can you imagine what will occur socially? So yes, drugs are absolutely critical. Big if, but if hydroxychloroquine works, or if these engineered antibodies can be manufactured, that's our only hope. The only other option is herd immunity, which would happen but with horrific casualty numbers. My bigger point is that social distancing was a pause, not a cure.

[YippieKayay]

I'll tell you what's going to happen in the US.

Federal government is going to fuck it up. You can't have a deluded bankrupt "businessman" manage any of this. But he's a TV personality so some people will lap it up. State governments are going to be key. Some of them are going to deal with this better than most. Big cities are going to be hit hardest. Human epidemics are born of cities.

By the summer things will start to get better. Most countries will use a "graduated" system of opening things up. We'll have a second and possibly third wave. Borders will close again. Isolation will be used and the work intensive contact tracing will happen again without much success because of the two week incubation period. Within two years we'll build up the herd immunity or have a working vaccine.

If you think you're going to be banging Colombian chicas by the summer you should realign your expectations. Investing right now is going to be great.

[Zeos1]

Not sure if I'm considered a Trumpist. LOL In reality, I'm not. He has many flaws. And I agree with you that Trump has some of his following willing to suspend reality just because he said so. I would contend there are even more people who discount everything he says, simply because he said it. This drug is exactly that. It is discounted simply because Trump mentioned it, so it cuts both ways.

As for the predicament the US is in. To date, our number of infected, number of hospital beds needed, number of ventilators needed, our number of deaths. All have been just a small fraction of what was projected. And one thing everyone agreees on is that by and large, Americans have maintained social distancing well and that is by far the biggest reason we've outperformed projections. We can absolutely fight viciously, but that doesn't mean we aren't adhering to the orders.

I don't know that I would characterize it the way you have. The projections for the whole thing are a long way from known so far. The US is still early in the cycle. But. I guess my point was that emphasis on social distancing, staying at home, etc. Is far more useful than arguing about drugs or blaming people. Even blaming Trump doesn't help anyone at this point. I would love to see him lead the country to do the things that need to be done. It could save a lot of lives still. And that would be a lot better outcome for people than seeing him fail.

As for the drug. Every medical person I have heard interviewed has said it has some promise. But that it needs to be tested for this application to see if it is helpful or harmful. And that sort of testing doesn't have to take a long time. It is being done right now. He's looking for something positive to say. I get that. But it isn't too likely that this drug, even if it is moderately effective, is going to change the outcome of this epidemic in the short and medium term.

[Elvis 2008]

If you google it, this is a common way of saying the doctors are writing prescriptions for themselves or family members.

Doctors typically are not allowed to write for themselves or family members. It is a stupid anti-doctor meme. Doctors are buying it to dispense to their patients because so many pharmacies are out of the drugs.

[Elvis 2008]

The point he was making: the chartered flights that are organized and operated by the State Dept are ending. There were hundreds of Americans stuck in countries with no commercial flights out of the countries. The State Department chartered several flights. Peru had the most that I'm aware of. The message was simple. Those chartered flights are ending so there may be no way out. I don't say that as a scare tactic. He is just saying this is the last chance.

I agree, and Peru pissed a lot of people off with how they did things. When the USA starts handing out loans via IMF or the World Bank, they may be last in line.

[Surfer500]

Yesterday Hong Kong started testing all International arriving passengers, and are also requiring a mandatory 14-day quarantine even for those who test negative.

Interesting and I suppose a way to start opening Countries up again. With the mandatory 14 day quarantine though that's not going to open the Country up to tourism.

It will be interesting to see how Colombia open's back up moving forward short of a vaccine or immunity certificate.

[Knowledge]

War is a strong word. The Pompeo aide who elaborated on the second announcement of the humanitarian flights that are being referred to as charters here on ISG emphasized Latin America as a region Americans should evacuate. I believe that was a reference to the Trump administration's earlier announcements about Nicolas Maduro and Venezuela, and US military movements in the region.

This means War.

[Dcrist0527]

I can observe the problem CNN has. There are plenty of examples that one can use to trash them but I think this one is not because it is reported widely by all news organizations. I think what you doing to CNN in this example is similar to what CNN is doing to Trump.

I agree with most of what you said. But I don't give a lot of credence to it being widely reported in other outlets. Sadly, journalism is dead. There are so few investigative journalists now. What we're left with are a bunch of good looking parrots that stick to bumper sticker slogans. And in fairness, that is our own fault. As a community, we take those headlines and don't try to think for ourselves. Add to that the ratings game within "news" organizations. And we're left with what we have: biased and partisan slanted news organizations, both on the left and right. And I don't see that changing until we as a community start thinking critically and stop being spoon fed.

[Dcrist0527]

It's incredible to me. There's the whole world basically. And then there's the Trumpists. The facts about everything are different with the Trumpists. Anyway. I don't have a dog in this race. I'm not an American. But it's all politics in the US. And arguments about shit. Meanwhile the US is going through the worst outcome in the world with this epidemic. The pill he is pushing may be good, it may not be. It could help save lives. But it won't come close to denting the impact as long as people don't stay home basically and not spread this thing to other people. And that has not happened because everyone is arguing about all the "distractions" being thrown out there.

Good luck to all of you. I hope most of you are still alive to argue about this stuff after this is all done.

Not sure if I'm considered a Trumpist. LOL In reality, I'm not. He has many flaws. And I agree with you that Trump has some of his following willing to suspend reality just because he said so. I would contend there are even more people who discount everything he says, simply because he said it. This drug is exactly that. It is discounted simply because Trump mentioned it, so it cuts both ways.

As for the predicament the US is in. To date, our number of infected, number of hospital beds needed, number of ventilators needed, our number of deaths. All have been just a small fraction of what was projected. And one thing everyone agreees on is that by and large, Americans have maintained social distancing well and that is by far the biggest reason we've outperformed projections. We can absolutely fight viciously, but that doesn't mean we aren't adhering to the orders.

[GeneHickman]

It's incredible to me. There's the whole world basically. And then there's the Trumpists. The facts about everything are different with the Trumpists. Anyway. I don't have a dog in this race. I'm not an American. But it's all politics in the US. And arguments about shit. Meanwhile the US is going through the worst outcome in the world with this epidemic. The pill he is pushing may be good, it may not be. It could help save lives. But it won't come close to denting the impact as long as people don't stay home basically and not spread this thing to other people. And that has not happened because everyone is arguing about all the "distractions" being thrown out there.

Good luck to all of you. I hope most of you are still alive to argue about this stuff after this is all done.

Don't know if you are from a EU country, but as a matter of fact the US is doing far better than EU on this despite the media distractions. US media has completely lost their credibility. This started before Trump but has escalated dramatically as Trump is a disruptive force with a disruptive mandate from people fed up with the status quo. He is also a person that relishes that antagonism and plays to that with the media. I for one take anything the US media says with a grain of salt. And that's a pity because there are so few sources of accurate information and that is giving the propagandists plenty of room.

Back to Covid-19, the US is like 6 x the population of the average European large country. There have been 12 k deaths so far.

Current modeling says 61 k deaths and there is reason to believe we can come in even lower than that. The UK alone is expected to exceed that number. So I would disagree with your premise that the US is much more affected.

[Nounce]

Point #2: you think doctors write enough prescriptions to family members to cause a national shortage? Even if that were true, their DEA number is attached to everything they write.

Lastly, even if that was the case, which I don't buy, how in the world would a news outlet accurately run an investigation to make that determination in a matter of days? They didn't. It's just another play on people's emotions by our beloved media.

I can observe the problem CNN has. There are plenty of examples that one can use to trash them but I think this one is not because it is reported widely by all news organizations. I think what you doing to CNN in this example is similar to what CNN is doing to Trump.

[Zeos1]

Trump pills? LOL I do believe a true study is needed. But I just laugh at those that discount the demonstrated effectiveness just because Trump mentioned it. It's TDS at its finest.

Here's a story that has to blow their mind:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ry/2967210001/

It's incredible to me. There's the whole world basically. And then there's the Trumpists. The facts about everything are different with the Trumpists. Anyway. I don't have a dog in this race. I'm not an American. But it's all politics in the US. And arguments about shit. Meanwhile the US is going through the worst outcome in the world with this epidemic. The pill he is pushing may be good, it may not be. It could help save lives. But it won't come close to denting the impact as long as people don't stay home basically and not spread this thing to other people. And that has not happened because everyone is arguing about all the "distractions" being thrown out there.

Good luck to all of you. I hope most of you are still alive to argue about this stuff after this is all done.