Michelle Fishman calls it “the worst scenario you really don’t think of.”
After a three-week vacation in Greece, Miami’s 52-year-old hotel art consultant and her husband underwent the pre-departure coronavirus test needed to return home from abroad. She tested positive, but he didn’t.
Although travel restrictions on the coronavirus have been relaxed in many parts of the world, the United States still requires all international passengers to present a negative test performed within one day of departure.When According to the guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and PreventionShe said she should have isolated her trip and delayed it by 10 days, but had to go home early to do her official duties at the wedding.
Instead, she took advantage of the quirks of the rule and returned home after five days (a compulsory self-quarantine period required by the Greek government) via a “backdoor” across the United States by land that does not require the coronavirus. .. Test, not air. Since Canada does not require immigration, the couple first flew to Toronto, where they spent the night, after which Fishman and her husband crossed the border to Buffalo and flew home. (There are no test requirements for domestic flights.)
“I had no symptoms, no fever, nothing. I’m fine and when you’re in the state, the CDC says you can finish the quarantine 5 days after a positive test, so I traveled. You have to apply the same rules when you’re doing it, “Fishman said. “It doesn’t make sense to be able to go to a wedding five days after a positive test in Miami, but if you get the virus while you’re on vacation, you can’t go home. That should be illegal.”
It is not clear how many infected people will return home using a backdoor route, such as a flight to Mexico or the use of a land route to Mexico, as the airline does not need to provide passengers with a reason for canceling or changing the flight. .. However, strong anecdotal evidence shows that some travelers (and travel advisors) share suggestions on how to avoid deadlocks.
During his flight to Available, Fishman said he was following the guidance of a family friend who returned to Boston using a similar backdoor route when he tested positive in France in April.
Asked if he was worried about infecting other passengers during his long journey from Greece (she tested positive again on day 5), Fishman said. CDC Guidance People infected with the virus in the United States say that asymptomatic people and those who have resolved their symptoms within a five-day quarantine period can leave the house. According to the CDC, this recommendation is based on the science that the majority of coronavirus infections occur in the early stages of the disease.
“I stayed in the same bed as my husband for five nights, but he couldn’t hear it, so I don’t think he was contagious by the time he flew home,” Fishman said. “I was wearing a mask all the time.”
The CDC does not state why different policies apply to Americans who test positive domestically and internationally, but do not allow travelers to travel before boarding a flight to the United States10 The agency spokesman reiterated that the daily guidance had to be followed. Even if they are negative. The Department of Homeland Security declined to comment on the possibility of travelers using borders to circumvent air travel testing requirements.
The United States introduced inspection requirements in January 2021. By this time, less than 10% of Americans were vaccinated, with new infections and hospitalizations reaching record levels. Due to the high vaccination rates and low severity of the virus, many American travelers and industry representatives claim that they rarely prevent new variants of the virus from spreading to the United States. A state that is asking you to lift the requirement.
“The existence of these workarounds highlights the absurdity of current inbound test policies, which is nothing less than ineffective,” said Erika Richter, vice president of communications for the American Society of Travel Advisors, an industry group. Says. “We do not follow science.”
David Friedman, president-elect of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Health, is concerned about travelers using this method, and infected people who fly or use public transport to border crossings-airport restaurants and The date of their vaccination at risk, including elsewhere along the way.
“From a public health standpoint, infected individuals may be carrying either a new variant, BA.4 or BA.5, which is more infectious and is not yet so common in the United States,” he said. Stated. “New enhanced vaccines may emerge by the fall, and it may be bad to introduce these variants early rather than later.”
After a positive reaction in Stockholm in early April, an American traveler and his wife decided to return to Seattle via Vancouver because the cross-border location between the United States and Canada is relatively close to home. did. She said she planned to go home and quarantine there if she needed to take a test when she arrived at Vancouver Airport. She was afraid of her negative effects, so the woman asked her to speak anonymously.
“I had symptoms for about two weeks before the test was positive. By the time we actually tested positive, I had few symptoms and felt good, so I was confident in my trip.” She said. “Vancouver Airport is pretty cold and unobtrusive. If you look healthy, determined and reassured, no one will pull you away from the crowd.”
Canadian officials often ask questions about passenger health upon arrival, and some airports, such as Toronto and Vancouver, may randomly select passengers to be tested for coronavirus before leaving the airport.
Canadian authorities warn infected people not to pass through Canada and are allowed to board a plane to Canada if they have Covid-19 symptoms or are infected within 10 days of departure. It states that it has not. Before arriving in Canada, travelers must complete a health and travel form with the ArriveCAN app. The form contains several questions, such as vaccination status and whether passengers have coronavirus symptoms.
“All travelers arriving in Canada are required by Canadian law to answer all questions honestly,” said Rebecca Paddy, senior spokeswoman for the Canada Border Services Agency.
“Travelers who deliberately travel to Canada with an active Covid-19 infection and do not disclose this information may face penalties and / or criminal accusations, and foreigners also refuse to enter Canada and / Or it could be banned, “Pardy said.
Mexican authorities did not return a request for comment. US travelers may have a medical examination upon arrival, but can enter Mexico without inspection or quarantine.
Despite the cost of last-minute bookings, backdoor routes are being used preemptively by people so they can get home on time.
User experience designer Hilary Aranda, 39, has just completed a two-week dance tour in Italy when 12 Americans in the group tested positive. To avoid positive results and possible headaches, she did not take the test and instead laid over in London and Mexico City and her to Los Angeles for a flight to Tijuana, Mexico. I canceled my return flight. After that, she crossed the border into San Diego and returned to her home. Due to her itinerary changes, she retreated more than $ 2,000.
“Everyone around me had a Covid, and if I was lucky, I would be positive if I took the test and didn’t want to risk it,” said Aranda, who wore a mask on the flight. I did. “In retrospect, it was a kind of crazy decision, a big mistake, but I had to go back to my life and my kids.”
Some travelers who are more risk-averse but still determined to avoid isolation in other countries use telemedicine services such as Quick MD to reach the United States without showing negative tests. I have a “recovery document” that I can travel to. .. This option is available to travelers who continue to test positive 10 days after the first positive test or onset of symptoms. This is because it can take weeks or months for some people to test negative.
During a video or telephone consultation with a medical professional authorized to grant a travel permit, some travelers allow them to return home without completing a 10-day quarantine period. I’m lying about the date when my symptoms started.
“I told my doctor that my symptoms started early after a three-minute consultation,” said one traveler who asked to speak anonymously for fear of trouble with the authorities. He tested positive in London the day before his regular flight to New York, but returned three days later, he said.
“I got the clearance document within an hour. It was very easy,” he said.
Quick MD did not respond to multiple requests for comments.
Fishman went home in time for the wedding and did not develop the symptoms of Covid-19, but she said she was exhausted and blamed the stress caused by the trials of trying to get back in time. did.
“The chances of catching Covid in Miami are as high as catching it while traveling, so in my opinion the test requirements are useless,” she said.
Travelers considering similar routes should be warned that they may be expelled. Violation of his instructions upon entry into Canada could result in up to six months’ imprisonment, a $ 750,000 fine (about $ 586,000), or both, Canada Border Services Purdy said. I did.
