The_Bouncer

Brazil has now reopened for tourism, under pre-covid rules.

889

Timatic is now showing Brazil as open, but with this restriction: "Passengers with a maximum stay of 90 days must have a medical insurance coverage for the duration of their stay."

The_Bouncer

Brazil could turn out to be a viable option. Perfect weather and the currency is pretty weak at the moment.

nk15

This trip could be survivable, correct. I would say it is 50-50...

lmk

The currency isn't the only thing that's weak.
I can't imagine looking at all the available options and choosing the one with the second-highest number of total covid-19 cases and the second-highest number of total covid-19 deaths in the world.

kayexalate

Aren't you a tourist from China who went to Thailand?

HalconBCN

Point is, Brazil is a massive country made of many states, some rich, others poor, so you can still find pockets of the country where the virus has not hit so hard. Rural parts will have escaped much of the pandemic. Even within the cities there will be huge differences. The densely populated favelas have borne the brunt of the cases, whereas richer Brazilians have been able to selectively apply their own personal lockdowns. That said, two members of my family have caught the disease, so nobody is immune...

MSPeconomist

Rural areas are less likely to have good health care availability, especially for foreigners.

HalconBCN

True, a foreigner would want to carefully choose an area. A good choice would be in the south of the country within striking distance of good care facilities just in case something were to happen. As a general rule, places with low crime rates would correlate well with good healthcare. Renting a house by one of the wealthy beach towns on the coast between SP and Rio could be a good option. Or St Catharina island, the Ibiza of Brazil, would be an excellent choice as the city of Florianopolis is nearby with its world class medical facilities. Helicopters are easy to come by in Brazil and not expensive in case an airlift were needed.
Having said all that, I would not be willing to take the risk myself, mainly because I like cities and all the social aspects Brazil is famous for. The idea of having to keep a social distance does not appeal!

nk15

If someone is not willing to social distance and take precautions, paradoxically, their best bet is a place that takes the pandemic seriously and keeps the infections low, as this environment will keep them safe and keep the lifestyle going...

invisible

Hello from Singapore.

If Singapore and Qatar statistics - I will let you go and check on your own - will give some clue, it is that covid for men in the age 20-40 y/o is much less lethal compared for people in their 80s with underlying health conditions.

But we all know that this and other statistics will do nothing to convince others because everyone already made up thir mind with the ‘truth’ and reality they are comfortable with.

P.S. Answering the topic question - Singapore and other SEA countries would be a good places weather wise, but I would cross them off entirely. Especially Singapore. In addition to lockdown and de-facto travel ban for the local population, the current measures also include that to enter any building/place one must scan QR code which transmits to government server full personal details of the person. You do the same when you leave the building. So you want to get coffee from Starbucks inside mall - do the procedure 4 times. The next step is to give everyone in the country electronic bluetooth tag they must carry all the time.

nk15

At least you are lucky you are locked up over there, they will keep you alive against your will and better judgmement...

Antonio8069

I don't understand your point? Avoid Singapore because of electronic monitoring? I can think of # countries which are doing better coping with covid-19 because of electronic monitorig - Taiwan, South Korea & China. Why are you better off to avoid it?? I understand ethical issues viz-a-viz civil liberties. But if I have to choose between pubic health and civil liberties, I know where I am going!

Sjoerd

Almost all visitors are banned from entering Singapore at this moment (and I expect for many more months), so visiting Singapore is purely theoretical right now.

GUWonder

Singapore has good healthcare facilities for those who can afford it.

Death isn’t the only consequence of being hit by this virus. Damage short of death also happens to a contingent of people who are well below traditional retirement ages. Healthcare matters even for those who are unlikely to die from COVID-19. Even for those who aren’t going to get hit hard by this virus.