We interrupt this series of posts from Italy and the Greek Isles to tell you about a recent Covid-related travel experience. We found ourselves Covid-Positive in Portugal. Maybe knowing what I know now, but didn’t know then, will come in handy on your next trip.
My vaccinated-and-boosted-Better Half and I traveled to Spain and Portugal this year, (2022), in April. After spending time in Madrid, we boarded a boat and cruised down the Douro river through port wine country.
Uh-Oh
On the final days of the cruise, several people were missing at dinner. We learned that they had contracted Covid, and were now in quarantine. Then on the last day of the cruise, someone we’d been hanging out with came down with Covid. Uh-oh.
After disembarking in Porto, Portugal, we kept in touch with friends we’d made on the cruise. We learned that within days after disembarking, everyone we’d been dining with had come down with Covid.
We didn’t have any symptoms, and had not yet tested ourselves. The United States had recently changed its travel policy. To enter the country, one must now show proof of a negative PCR test taken within 24 hours of departing for the US.
Even though we felt fine, we had been exposed, so we didn’t wait until 24 hours before departing to get tested. Who wants to find out they have Covid the day before returning home? Not us.
Double Uh-Oh
We went to a clinic and spent $150 each to get PCR tests just to put our minds at ease. We’d get the result via e-mail later that day.
The e-mail arrived around 4:00 PM: “O seu resultado foi POSITIVO.” (You’ve tested positive for Covid). Both of us. Oh no. So much for putting our minds at ease.
We couldn’t believe it, so the next day we went to a pharmacy and got tested. Positive again. Both of us. Even though we had no symptoms whatsoever.
We had no clue what to do next, so we inquired at the clinic where we got the PCR test. They gave us a Portuguese Health System phone number to call. We called, and an automated voice gave us only one option: leave our number and wait for a call back. The call back never came.
Today’s Outlook: Grim
We had read that one can test positive weeks after having Covid. Considering that, cancelled flights, an extended hotel stay, and PCR tests at $150 a pop, our outlook looked grim. Maybe someone in the Portuguese Health System could help.
A helpful person there told us clinics were over-booked, so the best thing to do was to show up at the nearest clinic in person. Unfortunately, she also told us it was Thursday, almost closing time, and that a 3-day holiday week-end started tomorrow. We’d have to wait until Monday.
We quarantined in our hotel room. We ate A LOT of sandwiches and watched A LOT of television. (You’d never believe how many creeps are out there until you binge-watch Discovery ID). On the plus side, sandwiches in Portugal are awesome.
I spent hours on the laptop, looking for guidance. I read that in Portugal, quarantining was required for 7 days after all symptoms had passed, but I read a lot of other things, too. Seven days from this. Ten days from that. Who knew what the real rule was?
Monday Morning at the Clinic
We masked up and went to the clinic early Monday morning. The waiting room was already full of people. Two receptionists tried valiantly to help us, but neither of them spoke english. They recognized one word, though – “Covid.”
Eventually, we got to see a doctor. He told us to wait until 7 days after the date of the positive PCR test, then bring him the test documentation and he’d see what he could do. He didn’t sound very reassuring.
Meanwhile, our friends from the cruise informed us that one way to get home is to get a “Certificate of Recovery” from a doctor in the US. They did it by teleconferencing with their doctor. That’s what we did, too, and that’s how we finally got home.
When I searched on-line for “Certificate of Recovery,” I found documentation for what to do. But in all my hours of searching without using those magic words, neither US nor Portuguese websites mentioned it. Hopefully it’s easier to find now.
To be continued…
Update/News Flash!
Per the CDC…
“As of 12:01AM ET on June 12, 2022, CDC will no longer require air passengers traveling from a foreign country to the United States to show a negative COVID-19 viral test or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 before they board their flight.”
(Let’s hope it stays that way).
Great photo of Porto at the top of this post – Credit: Diego Delso, delso.photo, Wikimedia Commons
