What should travelers do if they test positive for Covid while on vacation?

Traveling for leisure has certainly become more complex due to the ongoing impact of Covid-19.

Despite over a year of navigating the pandemic, border restrictions remain fluid, continuously adapting as new variants appear. PCR and antigen tests are now routine requirements for travelers.

Many countries now demand a negative Covid test result upon arrival, regardless of vaccination status. In some cases, follow-up testing is also required, while certain locations like the US mandate a negative result before returning home.

But what are your options if you test positive after reaching your travel destination?

This is a situation that many travelers have faced over the past year or so.

In August, a South Carolina couple, April DeMuth and Warren Watson (pictured above), were preparing to return to the US after a two-week vacation in Greece when a positive Covid test result unexpectedly disrupted their plans.

“We took the test in the morning,” DeMuth recalls. “We’re at the airport, and the agent is about to check our luggage when we pull up the test results on our phones. That’s when Watson spoke up.”

Just hours before they were due to board their flight home, they learned that Watson had tested positive for Covid-19.

Although Greece permits fully vaccinated travelers to enter without restrictions, the couple, both vaccinated, were not required to take a PCR test before their arrival. However, they needed negative test results to board their return flight to the US.

Testing positive upon arrival

Soon after receiving their test results, DeMuth and Watson were contacted by Greek authorities, who swiftly arranged for their transfer to a government-provided quarantine hotel.

Although many travel insurance policies cover quarantine expenses, the couple had opted not to purchase insurance for their trip.

“We were lucky that Greece offers government-funded quarantine hotels,” Watson shares. “I had been feeling mild Covid symptoms in the days leading up to my positive test result.”

“They delivered three meals a day, took great care of us, and it cost us nothing. I’ve heard it can be quite expensive in other countries.”

Fortunately, Watson’s symptoms remained mild during their quarantine (DeMuth never tested positive), and after his next PCR test came back negative, they were able to return home after seven days with no additional costs.

“I’ll never travel without insurance again,” DeMuth admits. “We were lucky to be in a country that was very accommodating, but we’d never want to rely on that kind of luck again.”

Their experience could have been very different had they chosen a different destination. For example, travelers to Italy are required to pay for their quarantine expenses upfront if they test positive after arrival.

“Travel insurance with Covid-19 quarantine coverage helps cover lodging and other expenses that may arise if you test positive while on vacation,” explains Narendra Khatri, President and CEO of Insubuy, a provider of international travel medical insurance through various US-based companies.

While Watson didn’t need medical treatment during his time in Greece and made a full recovery, not all travelers are as fortunate.

A costly ordeal

In 2020, Gloria and Jose Arellano from California tested positive for Covid-19 after a trip to Mexico for vacation.

While Gloria recovered, her husband’s condition deteriorated, and he was hospitalized locally in Mexico.

Sadly, Jose’s condition worsened, and he was transported by air ambulance to the Naval Medical Center in La Jolla, where he passed away from a lung infection on December 28.

The medical and transportation expenses were enormous, prompting the family to start a GoFundMe campaign to help cover the costs, as their insurance didn’t fully reimburse them.

While this case is not the norm, Khatri recommends that travelers take into account the potential costs of a worst-case scenario when selecting a travel insurance policy.

“If there’s a chance your policy won’t cover it, it’s better to opt for a plan with more comprehensive coverage. Spending a little extra on insurance now can save you from massive medical or hotel bills in an unfamiliar place later on.”

Countries like the Bahamas and Costa Rica have implemented requirements for travelers to have specific Covid-related insurance before being allowed entry into the country.

Khatri also emphasizes the importance of having insurance that covers the entirety of your trip.

“If you test positive for Covid or experience another health issue on a Thursday while traveling, but your coverage doesn’t start until you land on Friday, your insurance won’t cover the costs,” he warns.

“It would be considered a pre-existing condition. Make sure your insurance covers you from the start to the finish of your trip.”

While travel insurance can help cover additional costs like quarantine or medical care for Covid-positive travelers, most are left with little option but to stay where they are until they can test negative for Covid.

Medical evacuation

However, Covac Global, a medical evacuation company launched in August 2020, offers a unique program that enables travelers who test positive for Covid while abroad to be transported home via a certified ambulance with medical staff – one of the “extremely limited” situations in which a Covid-infected traveler is allowed to re-enter the US.

The service, billed as “the first and only fully indemnified membership program,” is available to members who test positive for Covid after arriving at their destination and report at least one symptom.

Founder Ross Thompson notes that the company is experiencing a significant increase in membership each month, with a younger demographic now signing up, including more professionals in their 40s.

The majority of Covac Global’s evacuations involve transporting travelers from their hotels back home, with the company having been called to locations like Uganda, the Bahamas, and the Maldives to assist vacationers.

“We’ve picked up travelers in speedboats from their over-water villas in the Maldives and by helicopter from hotels on islands off the coast of Central America,” says Thompson. “If you can reach the location, we can get to you. And then we’ll bring you home. Very few situations require us to take you to a hospital.”

However, moving a Covid-positive patient is no simple task, especially if they’re in a remote area or in a country facing political instability.

“We recently carried out an evacuation from Ethiopia,” Thompson recalls. “We had to coordinate with the Ethiopian government to secure the necessary permits.”

“At the time, there was significant civil unrest in Ethiopia, so we had to involve our security teams to ensure the safe entry and departure of everyone.”

Challenging circumstances

John Gobbels, COO of Medjet, a medical evacuation company, explains that one of the biggest concerns among their members is the risk of testing positive for Covid-19 while in a location without available ICU beds, and the fear of being “stuck” in a hospital far from loved ones.

Medjet introduced air medical transport for travelers hospitalized with Covid-19 to its membership package in October 2020.

“We introduced this benefit at our own financial risk,” Gobbels explains. “Transporting someone just for testing positive isn’t covered by the membership, but it can be arranged at the member’s expense.”

So what can travelers do to better prepare for the possibility of testing positive for Covid during their vacation?

Gobbels suggests that vacationers bring at-home Covid test kits from “approved” brands to test themselves early while on vacation.

“Don’t wait until the ’72-hour’ testing window,” he advises. “You’ll still need to meet that requirement, but finding out earlier that you may test positive gives you more time to make backup plans.”

“And because false positives can happen, if you test positive, immediately take another test to confirm.”

Sadly, with Covid-19 infections still high in many parts of the world, the likelihood of testing positive while on vacation is a challenge that travelers will likely continue to face for some time.

“I believe this is something we’ll have to accept now,” says Thompson. “Just like how, after September 11, people began adding security evacuation to their travel insurance or memberships, this is simply the reality we live in now.”

“I think Covid-19 evacuation coverage will become a standard feature for travelers moving forward.”