Testing positive for COVID-19 on arrival
 

Hello,

I went thru all the hoops of getting permission to travel to Japan, and will be flying to Tokyo later this month. One thing I am worried about is the on arrival testing. I will get tested before flying, but what happens if I test positive on arrival? Can I continue on to my quarantine location or will I be forced to stay at the hospital?

Does anyone know the procedures of what would happen if I tested positive on arrival?

What type of permission will you be arriving with ?Do you have residence status ? If not I would hope that quarantine officials would do one of 2 things : 1. Quarantine you at a hospital (expenses covered by you), 2. Put back on the next flight back to your origin.

I don't think that the authorities will ask an airline to transport a person with a confirmed infection.

I'm good with that take, that said what are they going to do with what might be a growing number of arriving cases at the airports ?

This is a great question, OP. I was wondering the same thing.

Best to have someone who speaks Japanese call the local immigration authorities in Tokyo (they actually answer the phone - suggest you call the Narita office) and ask them. Please report back!

Put them on cruise ships.

Whether there is a requirement for a pre-departure test or not, I can't imagine flying anywhere without having a negative test of my own. The only thing worse than being sick, possibly very sick, possibly very, very sick is having that happen elsewhere.

There are no 100% solutions, but this is a risk which can be minimized.

There have been more than few cases where non-Japanese citizen tested positive to COVID-19 at the airport upon arriving to Japan. According to media in Japan those passengers were:

If a person had symptoms of COVID-19 then a heath department was contacted and the person was taken to the hospital equipped to handle COVID-19 patients which was specified by the health department .

If a person did hot have symptoms of COVID-19 then the person was taken to hotels around airport which was designated as a quarantine hotel by local government. The person was quarantined at the hotel for 14 days. literally not allowed to leave the room. Food delivered to the room (no choice of meals), etc.

Seems like the person had to pay the expense in both cases.

Yes, I will be taking a test before my flight. However, after I take the test I will go to the airport and fly for 15 hours. The airport and airplane is a very risky place to be, so my concern is catching the virus after getting tested, such as at the airport or during the long flight. I have not flown at all since the pandemic began and this will be my first flight in almost a year, but I have to fly as it’s an emergency, otherwise I wouldn’t fly.

Hopefully all goes well, but I would like to be prepared for the worst. I can’t find much info though...

thank you - this helps a lot.

The airlines flying the long routes transpac have significant information about the environment onboard. I would read up on that as it may allay some fears about the flight itself. The reality is the airplane is likely one of the safest places outside of your home you will be.

Agree with mjm completely. My research has yielded the same conclusion. What one cannot speak to; however, is the carefulness, safety and exposure of other pax prior to their arrival at the airport...

It takes a couple days from exposure to testing positive, so if you test negative pre-travel and positive post-travel, it's not because of the time you spent in the airport

I don't know about that. I've been on several flights this summer... some of them felt safe, others were more disconcerting. All depends on how densely occupied your vicinity is and how good your neighbors are. My last flight was SEA-LAX, middle seats blocked but probably 2/3 full, my neighbor had mask off 1/3 of the flight while clutching the snack bag and water bottle. Deplaning was the worst as, despite PA request to not do so, everyone just stood up and crowded the aisle as soon as we parked... I don't know that the HEPA purifier continues to crank after you're parked at the gate.

People take their masks off to eat/drink, some won't cover their noses. Even with no one right next to you, there could be a dozen or more people seated within 5-6 foot radius from you if you fly economy. With a TPAC flight, you're talking 10+ hours. I'd like to think the risk is still low, and I won't stop traveling. But flying (esp economy) is probably not recommended for risk-adverse people in Covid era.

All the above is nice and all, but no one has been able to answer what the quarantine officials are going to do if you test positive at the port of entry.

This is the official info. Mind you this is for NGO, but I don't see why the algorithm wouldn't be any different at TYO.

https://www.forth.go.jp/keneki/nagoy...uarantine.html

In short, if you're a gaijin and test positive, you go get medical eval followed by additional medical treatment and/or quarantine at a Covid 'accommodation', then return to the airport upon completion of the treatment/isolation to go through the arrival immigration.

The timing of exposure to infection suggests that a passenger could minimize (and greatly reduce) the risk of testing positive upon arrival by self quarantining at home for close to two weeks before departure, only going out to get a COVID-19 test at the appropriate time before flying and then to go to the airport.
It's even better if the test can be done without leaving one's car.

Who pays ?

Domestic vs. Int'l., apples to oranges. On a transpac the aircraft is cleaned to a different standard than a multiple trips in one day domestic aircraft. Wide body vs. narrow body and the associated extra space available due to more seats.

Internationally, at least on JL and NH who I have flown transpac in the past month, people wear masks all the time. Eating is a short part of the flight. The rest of the time masks are on. There is extremely generous spacing in the back, but I choose to sit up front for even better spacing. That and the fact I had surgery in the US and needed to be horizontal to avoid excess swelling and the subsequent pain and possible stitches popping.

Loads for SFO for example are 1-2 in F, 7-10 in business, and 35-50 in econ. Those are not percentages, those are people. :)

In the back, in the middle, and in the front there is the same filtration system, recycling all air every few minutes. There is not opportunity for particulates to hang around and cause extended breathing in of germs.

If people have been on FT for any period of time whatsoever they know how to get front of the bus seats at back of the bus prices. There really is no reason to even fly back there. That said, if you do, on a transpac flight on a Japanese airline, the risk is likely less than at your pwn home interacting with family members each of whom may have different interactions outside of the home.

Thank you for all the comments and suggestions - this will definitely help.