Coronavirus: Impact on Theme Parks

[Nicky Borrill]

I think you missed my point. Nobody can travel abroad with insurance whilst the FCO is advising against "all but essential travel". What I'm saying is that (for me, at least), the main reason for travel insurance is cover for medical emergencies. You don't need that (for now, at least!) if travelling within the EU.

Sure, you're not going to be covered for theft or lost bags etc. but those sort of things are of minor concern compared to medical coverage.

An EHIC only offers the same level of medical cover as the citizens of the member state you are visiting receive for free... Not all member states even offer free medical care across the board, and others that do often work differently to the NHS, with some requiring at least some payment up front and a percentage of the costs reimbursed back to you upon receipt of a completed application form.

Travel insurance with full medical cover is advised when travelling anywhere, including within the EU... Just thought that was worth pointing out.

Edited to add:

Applying for healthcare cover abroad (GHIC and EHIC)

Find out if you're eligible to apply for a new UK EHIC or UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC).

www.nhs.uk

 

[Mushroom]

Just some insider knowledge here regarding travel, I have been furloughed till the end of June.

 

[Nicky Borrill]

Just some insider knowledge here regarding travel, I have been furloughed till the end of June.

Cheers Mark... Suggests Easyjet aren’t planning to restart full operation before July then... Whizz air started flying again already, they landed their first public flight back into Luton today I believe... will be interesting to see how well they sustain a service in the current climate.

BTW The end of June is when the Furlough scheme is currently scheduled to end nationally

 

[Mushroom]

Cheers Mark... Suggests Easyjet aren’t planning to restart full operation before July then... Whizz air started flying again already, they landed their first public flight back into Luton today I believe... will be interesting to see how well they sustain a service in the current climate.

BTW The end of June is when the Furlough scheme is currently scheduled to end nationally

Whizz have been operating a few days already, plus flights are slowly going to come back. Can volunteer, but I think I am going to take the furlough.

 

[FarleyFlavors]

An EHIC only offers the same level of medical cover as the citizens of the member state you are visiting receive for free... Not all member states even offer free medical care across the board, and others that do often work differently to the NHS, with some requiring at least some payment up front and a percentage of the costs reimbursed back to you upon receipt of a completed application form.

Travel insurance with full medical cover is advised when travelling anywhere, including within the EU... Just thought that was worth pointing out.

Edited to add:

View attachment 8253

Applying for healthcare cover abroad (GHIC and EHIC)

Find out if you're eligible to apply for a new UK EHIC or UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC).

www.nhs.uk

So you might have to pay a small contribution towards the medical costs? Fine, I'd take that risk.

What I emphatically wouldn't do is travel anywhere outside the EU, obviously.

 

[Professor]

I think we are starting to hear some more positive noises in between the exaggerated media end of the world scare stories over the last few days. Lower ICU figures and lower death numbers in Western Europe.

Personally I don't think there will be a second wave, not over the summer at least.

I'm hoping thus we will see theme parks open from July onwards pretty much everywhere without "social distancing" stuff.

It is good to be prepared (Nightingale hospitals in the UK) and the no mass gatherings September 1st deadline set in The Netherlands and other places. I'm starting to think the latter will not be necessary either and restrictions could be lifted sooner.

If I owned a park I definitely would play the waiting game before adapting queue-lines and ordering 10 truck loads of branded FFP2 masks right now. My guess is many parks are actually doing the former and much of what we are hearing are simply worst case scenario ideas. Not viable at all regardless I think.

 

[JammyH]

I'm hoping thus we will see theme parks open from July onwards pretty much everywhere without "social distancing" stuff.

Not going to happen and very naive to think this will be the case. Social distancing isn't going to be loosened until worldwide we either have a cure or a vaccine. Remember there are some countries around the world which are yet to be even be hit by the first wave of the virus, let alone a second wave.

It would be extremely irresponsible to let any tourist hotspots open without social distancing in place unless we have a cure or a vaccine. The chances of a second outbreak are too high and it cannot be scientifically proven that if we relax social distancing that there won't be another major outbreak of this virus.

Better safe than sorry. If I was a theme park manager I would definitely want to be adapting my queue lines and ordering PPE so I can keep guests as safe as possible and protect staff. I would not put my staff back to work with no protective measures knowing there is a chance that I could be the one responsible for them getting infected and potentially infecting and killing their family members.

Businesses (should) have a duty of care to protect all of their staff in the workplace as well as their customers. This is covered by the health and safety at work act 1974 and to think any companies are going to reopen their business without any legislation to protect their staff is completely absurd.

If you want to visit a theme park without social distancing, wait until a vaccine which will hopefully be circulating next year then go back to parks next season. If you want to go this season, please respect the rules which are going to be in place for everyone's safety, especially park staff who will be putting themselves at risk so people can have a good day out.

There is no concrete evidence there won't be a global second wave, as insufficient antibody testing has been done worldwide, so we don't know what % of the global population have antibody immunity.

 

[Matt N]

As shallow as it might sound, I'd honestly be willing to return to a park no matter what the measures are. I don't think waiting 2m apart from other guests, staff in face masks/PPE, enhanced hygiene or other measures would really bother me, personally. Just being back at the park and being able to ride some rides would be good enough for me.

I could personally see parks reopening with measures at some point over the summer, and I will go and support them as soon as they do reopen, whenever that may be. But I don't think we will be seeing parks as they were before until 2021. I even heard a former Merlin employee suggest that they may have to design future attractions with social distancing in mind, but I don't personally think that will be necessary once a vaccine is in mass circulation, which should be at some point next year. The Oxford vaccine, which is going promisingly so far, reckons it could have 100 million vaccine doses by the end of 2020, and that's only from AstraZeneca in Britain. There's also an Indian company who's signed a deal to manufacture them, and I think there were others too.

 

[Nicky Borrill]

So you might have to pay a small contribution towards the medical costs? Fine, I'd take that risk.

What I emphatically wouldn't do is travel anywhere outside the EU, obviously.

It can be as much as 50% to 100% in some countries, 50% to 100% of thousands is... Well, thousands.

Then of course, any medical treatment could cause you to miss your flight, and without insurance you’re not covered to get a replacement flight, so may have to pay there.

And don’t get me started on repatriation fees for your loved ones to get your body home should the worst happen... (up to £17,000 for those wondering)

But whatever, you take that risk and travel without insurance against your own governments advice. ?

For anyone else reading... Don’t be daft, buy your £10 insurance when it’s available, and when it isn’t, because the government have advised against travelling... Then don’t travel

 

[Hyde]

Social distancing is going to be an absolute given for the foreseeable future. As I posted a few days ago, Six Flags leadership is simply seeing it as a "new normal" in order to resume operation: https://www.ocregister.com/2020/04/30/six-flags-rolls-out-plan-for-post-covid-19-new-normal/

Here in the U.S., it's important to recognize each state has regulation on how businesses are to operate and function - it isn't up the amusement park operator's call. As it stands, a significantly small portion of the population has been exposed to Covid-19, which is why such caution is being exerted on reopening businesses and services. And the notion that heat and sunlight kill Covid-19? We simply have yet to prove it (and Arizona, a place currently at 100 degrees Fahrenheit, paints a different story of continuing rise in case count despite high heat and plenty of sunlight). Governments are going to be slow on rolling back quarantine's, as public safety, even the mere threat of it, is always their top priority.

 

[Matt N]

Do we think social distancing will be phased out once a vaccine is in mass circulation (thought to be at some point in 2021), or do we think it will become permanent, with future attractions being designed around it?

 

[Heth]

I hope not the latter otherwise ride capacity is ruined forever. Likewise that's Halloween and summer concerts over with for good.

 

[Hyde]

Do we think social distancing will be phased out once a vaccine is in mass circulation (thought to be at some point in 2021), or do we think it will become permanent, with future attractions being designed around it?

?

The world with a Covid-19 inoculation and one we currently live in with social distancing and mask wearing as best measure are two very different realities. Overall no, a roller coaster built in 2023 is very the same as a coaster built now. It's the protocol and changing of social behavior that's the difference, and will remain different for the next year or two.

 

[Matt N]

I hope not the latter otherwise ride capacity is ruined forever. Likewise that's Halloween and summer concerts over with for good.

My personal opinion is that it probably won't be the latter, thankfully. Chris Whitty suggested that "the end of the year" is the threshold for which social distancing will be needed. By 2021, I predict that the theme park experience will be back to how it was in 2019, pretty much.

 

[Professor]

Not going to happen and very naive to think this will be the case. Social distancing isn't going to be loosened until worldwide we either have a cure or a vaccine. Remember there are some countries around the world which are yet to be even be hit by the first wave of the virus, let alone a second wave.

It would be extremely irresponsible to let any tourist hotspots open without social distancing in place unless we have a cure or a vaccine. The chances of a second outbreak are too high and it cannot be scientifically proven that if we relax social distancing that there won't be another major outbreak of this virus.

Better safe than sorry. If I was a theme park manager I would definitely want to be adapting my queue lines and ordering PPE so I can keep guests as safe as possible and protect staff. I would not put my staff back to work with no protective measures knowing there is a chance that I could be the one responsible for them getting infected and potentially infecting and killing their family members.

Businesses (should) have a duty of care to protect all of their staff in the workplace as well as their customers. This is covered by the health and safety at work act 1974 and to think any companies are going to reopen their business without any legislation to protect their staff is completely absurd.

If you want to visit a theme park without social distancing, wait until a vaccine which will hopefully be circulating next year then go back to parks next season. If you want to go this season, please respect the rules which are going to be in place for everyone's safety, especially park staff who will be putting themselves at risk so people can have a good day out.

There is no concrete evidence there won't be a global second wave, as insufficient antibody testing has been done worldwide, so we don't know what % of the global population have antibody immunity.

Sorry for my different opinion on all these matters in your thread.
I can delete the post if you want.

I never suggested businesses wouldn't be following rules governments would set or people who don't agree with social distancing rules wouldn't follow these either. Not sure why you are trying to get a rise here.

I seem to have offended you repeatedly with different opinions.
Bizarre.

 

[Nicky Borrill]

And the notion that heat and sunlight kill Covid-19? We simply have yet to prove it

Isn’t that what trump said ??

There are however studies and contact tracing results that show around 1% of transmission is occurring outdoors with the other 99% occurring indoors or in transportation. Why that is, is yet to be proven though.

(Think I posted some links to both News articles and studies somewhere in this thread already)

 

[Hyde]

Isn’t that what trump said ??

There are however studies and contact tracing results that show around 1% of transmission is occurring outdoors with the other 99% occurring indoors or in transportation. Why that is, is yet to be proven though.

(Think I posted some links to both News articles and studies somewhere in this thread already)

Oh that's right, I forgot about shooting up with UV rays per our President's guidance!

It's hilarious, when the World Health Organization has to make an entire infographic to counteract that claim:

You did cite the China study on indoor vs. outdoor; but also recognize China imposed a mandatory indoor lock-down, which would throwing the sampling off a bit, as going outside was never an option. It was also a paper written before Covid that isn't peer reviewed, so take it with a grain of salt; we are still far too early to have vetted, scientific research that can speak exactly to what threat going outdoors with relaxed social distancing protocol would pose in terms of threat; hence why gatherings of more than 10 people are only now being gradually re-allowed in some parts of the U.S.

This will be the first time in my life I do not visit Cedar Point in May, and opening day was supposed to be this Saturday. Glad to liquor stores are still open at least.

 

[Nicky Borrill]

Oh that's right, I forgot about shooting up with UV rays per our President's guidance!

It's hilarious, when the World Health Organization has to make an entire infographic to counteract that claim:

You did cite the China study on indoor vs. outdoor; but also recognize China imposed a mandatory indoor lock-down, which would throwing the sampling off a bit, as going outside was never an option. It was also a paper written before Covid that isn't peer reviewed, so take it with a grain of salt; we are still far too early to have vetted, scientific research that can speak exactly to what threat going outdoors with relaxed social distancing protocol would pose in terms of threat; hence why gatherings of more than 10 people are only now being gradually re-allowed in some parts of the U.S.

This will be the first time in my life I do not visit Cedar Point in May, and opening day was supposed to be this Saturday. Glad to liquor stores are still open at least.

Hilarious ? Have they done a “Don’t drink or inject bleach” one yet?

It’s still too early for peer reviewed studies on anything unfortunately. We just have to do our own peer (term used loosely?) reviewing. And it doesn't help that the media (in this country, don’t know about the USA,) are taking things and running with them as gospel. It works both ways, anything the WHO points out as ‘unproven’ suddenly becomes “untrue” in the papers... Yet anything any recognised scientist / doctor suggests is worth looking at, is suddenly proven fact. Do you guys have that issue too?

Back onto that study, I didn’t see anything that said at what stage the sample was taken from, which would have been useful. But it did take data from the track and trace process... Did China continue that process full steam after lockdown? Or did they, like other countries cease track and trace during lockdown? Obviously the bulk of transmission occurs before lockdown, by it’s very nature.

 

[Nicky Borrill]

deliberate double post, sorry, but it’s completely unrelated to my previous post’s subject matter...

I don’t think anybody here was expecting any significant unlocking to happen this week, but just in case, forget it... The app won’t launch until mid May, no way they’re doing anything significant, with immediate effect on Thursday, without that in place.

We may still get a small token, like more outdoor freedom, but I doubt it... More likely he’ll just announce steps coming in a week, 2 weeks or 3 weeks and so on.

 

[UP87]

There are however studies and contact tracing results that show around 1% of transmission is occurring outdoors with the other 99% occurring indoors or in transportation. Why that is, is yet to be proven though.

If I'm not mistaken the main cause of infection is through the air. To me it's quite easy to understand that an indoor environment features a lot less air circulation than the outdoors. I think that's already proven, as well. I don't have anything to cite at hand though.